A XING RESTR NOT MET ON ACCOUNT OF MALFUNCTIONING DME LEADS TO A VECTOR FOR TFC INTO TURB. RPTR WONDERS ABOUT THE MOTIVATION OF THE CTLR FOR NOT ISSUING AN ADVISORY.

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ON A NORMAL DSCNT ON THE MRLIN 4 ARR; WE WERE GIVEN A XING RESTR TO CROSS MRLIN INTXN AT 7000 FT. ZMA RECONFIRMED OUR XING RESTR AND ASKED IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE IT. WITH A QUICK CHK OF THE DME; I TOLD MY COPLT TO RESPOND IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. A VERY SHORT TIME THEREAFTER; THE CTLR CALLED TFC AT 12 O'CLOCK POS AND 7 MI. WE RESPONDED THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR THE TFC AND THE CTLR IMMEDIATELY CAME BACK AND INFORMED US THAT WE WERE AT THE MRLIN INTXN; TURN R 30 DEGS FOR TFC; WHERE DO YOU SHOW MRLIN? WE IMMEDIATELY TURNED FOR FEAR OF CONTACT WITH THE TFC WE COULD NOT SEE; PLACING OURSELVES INTO SEVERE TURB CAUSED BY A THUNDER CELL; AND TOLD THE CTLR WE SHOWED MRLIN 5 MI AHEAD. AT THE SAME TIME MY COPLT WAS COMMUNICATING THE PREVIOUS MESSAGE; I WAS INCREASING MY DSCNT DUE TO THE NEW INFO GIVEN BY THE CTLR CAUSING ME TO QUESTION MY POS; AND SLOWING FOR THE TURB WE WERE ENCOUNTERING BY USE OF THE SPOILERS. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; THE CURRENT CTLR HAD US WRITE DOWN A NUMBER TO CALL AND SWITCHED US TO MIA APCH CTL WHERE THE REMAINING FLT WAS NORMAL AND UNEVENTFUL. ATC IS THERE TO AID IN THE PROGRESS OF A FLT AND ADD A MARGIN OF SAFETY TO AIR TRAVEL. FOLLOWING THIS EVENT; WE HAD THE DME IN THIS ACFT CHKED WHERE WE FOUND IT TO BE PRESENTING ERRONEOUS READINGS. THIS WOULD INDICATE THAT OUR DSCNT PROFILE WAS NONSTANDARD AND THE CTLR'S QUERIES TO IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE MRLIN OR NOT WOULD TESTIFY TO THIS FACT. BY NOT LETTING US IN ON THE INFO THAT THE CTLR HAD AND WAITING UNTIL WE WERE AT THE FIX WHERE THE XING RESTR HAD TO BE MADE; THEN SPRING THE INFO ON US INDICATES 1 OF 2 THINGS: 1) THE CTLR WAS NOT FULLY COGNIZANT OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THAT SECTOR; OR 2) THE CTLR WAS LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO ISSUE A VIOLATION TO IMPROVE THEIR CURRENT JOB POS AND RATING. THEREFORE; WAITING FOR THE ALTDEV TO OCCUR INSTEAD OF BEING A SAFETY NOT FOR A POSSIBLE PROB.