A former municipal official in Florida who assured condo board members that their building was in “very good shape” three years before it collapsed has left his new job, a city spokesman said Wednesday.

       Rosendo “Ross” Prieto is on a leave of absence from his temporary job with a contracting business that provides building services for the city of Doral, a city spokesperson said in an email statement Wednesday. Doral is about 20 miles west of Surfside, where the Champlain Towers South collapsed last week.

       When he was a building official in Surfside in 2018, Prieto told members of the Champlain Towers South board that their condo building was sound. His assessment came a month after an engineering firm identified key structural deficiencies requiring major costly repairs.

       World & Nation

       After the fall of a Florida condo, some residents confront their future on the coast

       World & Nation

       After the fall of a Florida condo, some residents confront their future on the coast

       Many residents and second-home owners in the tiny coastal city of Surfside, just a few miles northeast of Miami, spoke of being unnerved about their future on this barrier island.

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       The Doral statement said Prieto works for a firm called CAP Government Inc., which provides building services to governments. That firm notified Doral that Prieto was on a leave of absence, the statement said, with another person taking over on a temporary basis.

       Efforts to reach Prieto by telephone and email since the condo tragedy have not been successful. He left his Surfside job in November.

       The Champlain Towers South collapse has left at least 16 people confirmed dead and 147 still unaccounted for.