As he sat in the Westin Diplomat hotel room with the “old man,” then-Miramar Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman spoke of how he’s a man of action. The old man — an undercover FBI agent whom Salesman believed was a wealthy construction magnate from up north — asked him how he felt about…
When Darrin Podder went to dig up some dead trees from a construction site in Pompano Beach on June 5, 2008, he had no idea he’d end up in handcuffs being led away to jail. Podder didn’t know littering was a felony. He didn’t even know he was littering. Like…
At some point after 62-year-old Yvonne Oulton left The Isle casino in Pompano Beach she was murdered. Her body was discovered late Sunday by Broward Sheriff’s Office, responding to a call about a woman needing assistance at 1450 SW 3rd Street, a few blocks from the casino.Judging by the news…
Around 2:45 in the video above, you’ll see Republican congressional candidate Edward Lynch make a rather explosive allegation: that the U.S. imposed sanctions against Israel and that the effect of those is tougher than those against Iran.That moment from Sunday’s debate on This Week in South Florida With Michael Putney…
What does a real estate agent like Joe Kessel know about managing city government? Whatever it is, it’s worth at least $36,000 per year based on a consulting agreement that Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good forged with Kessel in July 2008.Kessel, a former specialist in health-care information technology, now…
Here’s what’s happening in South Florida news this Monday morning:Scott Rothstein is said to have hired Mafia associates on the pretext of needing their help shredding documents that could damage the investigation into his Ponzi scheme, but while they took the money, the mobsters never destroyed the documents, which were…
The Miami Herald is reporting that Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin won’t seek reelection. She’s citing health reasons (Parkinson’s disease), but as we reported here first, she’s under investigation by the State Attorney’s Office relating to some nasty business in her town of Southwest Ranches. The best part of the Herald article is the story about how…
At the risk of inspiring more interblog conflict about religion, here are some memorable quotes about the topic followed by those who uttered them. The answers come after the jump. Quotes 1. “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” 2. “Religion is what keeps…
You know the stories about how famous people have humble beginnings?Don’t get too excited; this is another story just like that.Kyle Shea grew up in Fort Lauderdale. He lived with his parents and interned at Telemundo in Miami.But he had bigger dreams that involved standing behind a camera, schmoozing with…
An investigation into possible misuse of taxpayer dollars in Deerfield Beach has led straight to the local church till. The pastors of three North Broward congregations have been questioned by auditor Michael Kessler as to how they used thousands of dollars entrusted to them by the city.Their answers have not…
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz must think that local tea party activists don’t have Tivo. (Actually, since a lot of ’em are retirees, maybe they don’t?) She just announced a town hall meeting for Monday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Fort Lauderdale City Hall. That means tea partiers would have…
After celebrating her 50th birthday last night, Apryl Flanigan took her dogs for a walk in the backyard of her Dania Beach home. But she never came back. Her family found her floating in the canal near her home. CPR failed to revive her.The Broward Sheriff’s Office release indicates the…
Like drug dealers to the ghetto, the Ponzi schemers flocked to Palm Beach. The latest to be accused in a criminal court is Donald Anthony Young, who happened to live next door to Ponzi king Bernard Madoff.The indictment for fraud against Young has been expected since January 2009, when the…
UPDATED: New details have emerged about the Scott Rothstein Mafia case. First, when Rothstein cooperated with the feds against alleged Sicilian Mafiosi Roberto Settineri, he began by contacting Settineri directly, a source close to the case told me. When Rothstein offered to meet with Settineri in a public place, the reputed mobster…
The Broward State Attorney’s Office made a generous accommodation of disgraced former County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion, allowing his prison sentence in the state case to run concurrently with the one in the federal case. But those kinds of favors don’t come cheap. I wonder what Eggelletion gave to prosecutors.Remember, the…
An old editor I used to know gave me a line to use every time someone complained to me that journalists write only about bad news: “Would you rather read an article about a plane that landed safely or about the one that crashed?”For Fox News producers, the mere prospect…
A quick look at what’s making news around here:A Palm Beach County jury gave a not-guilty verdict to Allison Dinsmore, the 27-year-old teacher from Boynton Beach tried on felony animal-cruelty charges after leaving her two cats home alone, where they starved to death. [Palm Beach Post]The bodies found in the…
Just look at that happy, handsome couple! A May-December romance that surely had little to do with David Keezer’s vast wealth. Indeed, Palm Beach County records show that the Keezers’ crib in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton is owned by his young wife, Lori, who…
Those were the words of Brazilian national Luis Renato Jung when he allegedly picked a fight with the wrong guy — alleged Sicilian Mafiosi and Scott Rothstein target Roberto Settineri. That’s when Jung allegedly “began harassing and taunting the victims by saying, ‘You fucking Italian, look at your fucking face,”…
The program director of Deerfield Beach’s Community Development Block Grant allegedly has family ties to the Poitiers, who run a charity at the center of an investigation for misuse of taxpayer dollars.Wednesday morning that program director, Stephanie McMillian, received an email from the investigator, Michael Kessler. It began thus:Stephanie, I…
