An excerpt from Tom Ricks’ 2006 book Fiasco alleges that former U.S. Army Lt. Col. Allen West — a candidate for Congress in Broward and Palm Beach — had to be told by a subordinate that the interrogation of an Iraqi detainee had gone too far.For background on that August…
The founder of the private firm set to receive a controversial, no-bid outsourcing contract in the City of Pembroke Pines has a long history of raking in millions of dollars in business from Broward’s second-largest city.St. Augustine-based Facility Contract Services LLC. was founded by Shawn Hiester, who once owned Capri…
A few weeks ago, I wrote that the oil leak in the Gulf was like an action movie desperately in need of a hero. We still don’t have one, least of all President Obama. Now Obama is talking about finding an “ass to kick” over the devastating spill. That’s just…
Sen. George LeMieux is beginning to doubt whether this Barack Obama fellow really is the Chosen One. Because if he were, Obama would be standing on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, parting the sea. Oil to the left. Saltwater to the right. And his people (Americans) would be…
The headlines in Broward and Palm Beach:Mercedes Morales may be an even more bloodthirsty spouse than Dalia Dippolito. The Miramar women is accused of hiring a hit man (who turned out to be an FBI agent) to murder her ex-husband as retaliation for his providing information that led to her…
Anybody who’s passed the corner of Federal Highway and Oakland Park Boulevard on a Saturday has seen the local tea partiers and their weekly demonstration. They started sometime right before the 2008 election and just never stopped.One Fort Lauderdale man named Robb (he asked that his last name not be…
Now that the government has come out with a recommendation that Scott Rothstein receive 40 years, the final over-under on the sentence Judge James Cohn will hand out on Wednesday morning is… 40 years. I was going to go with a Solomonesque 35, but I have a feeling the judge will…
A political bromance is brewing between Florida’s former governor and the mayor of New York City, leading the New York Post to speculate that Jeb Bush and Michael Bloomberg are plotting a political marriage of sorts, running for the White House in 2012.On one hand, it makes sense. Both Bush…
History will remember Jim Greer as one of the worst party officials in state history. But most of that will be due to the allegations that Greer stole from Republican donors. The pending felony case obscures a number of earlier episodes that should have been grounds for Greer’s resignation. Among…
The prayers of local Christian leaders have been answered — if not by God himself, then at least by investigators with the Broward Sheriff’s Office. That’s because two Blanche Ely High School teachers accused of harassing an atheist teacher have been reinstated.The South Florida Times reports that BSO investigators told…
We recently learned that Michael Vick could be facing a possible lawsuit over his Memorial Day weekend no-show at the MI-VI nightclub at Gulfstream in Hallandale Beach. The protesters outside the club that night wondered why they never saw his entourage or never saw any news coverage of the controversial…
The morning he was shot and killed, L.C. Swain Middle School special-ed teacher Calvin Williams, 41, allegedly showed up drunk at a lover’s house, looking for a hookup.Between 1 and 2:30 a.m. on May 14, Williams invited Lawrence Hunt, 20, back to his apartment in Riviera Beach, according to a…
Security was tight this weekend at Rush Limbaugh’s Palm Beach nuptials, where only good (heterosexual conservative) hard-working (plutocrat) Americans like Sean Hannity and Karl Rove were on the guestlist. An exception was made, however, for a gay man named Elton John with the condition that he play the piano, sing…
The Miss Florida USA program held a preliminary event in Hollywood over the weekend. And along with dozens of young women hoping to compete in the Donald Trump-owned Miss USA Pageant, there were a few dozen animal-rights activists outside the building, holding signs and yelling to the women as they…
[jump] Joel Steinger and Scott Rothstein wanted Crist’s help in their Ponzi schemes; Crist obliged. George LeMieux wanted to get political power and vast wealth through his law firm Gunster Yoakley; Crist was happy to help. Jim Greer and Harry Sargeant wanted Crist’s help to gain more power — and…
A look at the local news for this Monday morning:During the confusion of last night’s storm, a mother in West Palm Beach backed out of her driveway while her 3-year-old child was behind her SUV, striking the child, who later died. [WPTV-5]Lonely times for Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti, who is…
Also writing a letter to Judge Cohn for Scott Rothstein was attorney Bill Scherer, who is not only a member of the bankruptcy committee but is also a representing several of Rothstein’s victims in a civil suit against alleged co-conspirators. I’ve reported here before that Rothstein was giving Scherer information…
Here’s the text of the letter from Gay and Harvey Rothstein. A few family friends who knew Rothstein when he was a kid also weighed in, with the best line coming from one Sandra Zucker. “”He had many obstacles growing up, but always kept his focus and discipline to achieve…
There were no protesters standing outside the Puppy Palace in Hollywood this weekend. Most of the animals-rights activists who frequent the scene were telling the organizers of the Miss Florida USA that they shouldn’t support the fur industry.But a few days ago, there was another colorful scene in front of…
Oil from the disastrous BP spill in April has reached the west coast of Florida. It’s already washing ashore and showing up on animals. The South Florida-based nonprofit Planting Peace is doing something about it. Aaron Jackson, the charity’s founder, says they’ve already purchased oil booms, absorbent socks, hay, and…
