You mean, there were only two? That’s one of the questions I am left with after Tuesday’s big news that Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño and Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi were arrested on federal bribery and extortion charges. Ladra is not too surprised that these two mayors — both of whom have been accused of abusing their power in […]
One of the boleteros nabbed last year in a series of politically-connected absentee ballot arrests is set to be in court today. Or is Tio Sergio Robaina, uncle of former and indicted Hialeah mayor Julio Robaina, going to escape the limelight of the courtroom again and further prolong answering questions? There was a motion filed July 26 to […]
Maybe he was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez made a very well publicized about face last month when he backward flipped on his original budget proposal — going from what he said would be a necessary but small tax hike to keep services at current levels to a […]
Miami-Dade Firefighters – already in shock about the mayor’s about face on the budget for next year, which calls for six to eight stations to be shut down and 144 firefighters to be fired – got another surprise Friday. In a meeting they requested to go over the rolling brownouts due to the $15 million […]
Aha! So, now it seems there may be a reason why Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel) was so aggressive against the Republican that challenged State Rep. Michael Bileca (R-Pinecrest) in the primary last year. Maybe Weatherford needed Bileca’s vote on the Citizens Property Insurance thing. The Miami Herald, using records obtained by the Florida […]
Several people have wondered out loud whether Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s sudden change of heart on the budget, setting a flat tax rate, had anything to do with Norman Braman and a possible threat at a recall like the one that paved the way for his existence. I mean, all electeds cower at the auto […]
The rumored recall against Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert has not materialized. Despite claims that there would be a petition filed last Monday by recall maven Vanessa Brito — who loves to take credit for the recalls of former Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Commissioner Natacha Seijas, even though it was Norman Braman‘s money that did it — there had been no paperwork […]
If you want to know who’s giving to the campaign coffers for Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez‘s million-dollar mayoral bid, all you have to do is look online: The city posts candidates’ financial campaign reports on its website. Ditto for the races in Homestead and Miami Beach. But if you want to see who is funding […]
Former Hialeah Mayor Julio Martinez, who jumped into the race for his old job on qualifying day, has a lot of catching up to do. Hialeah Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez has already amassed more than $170,000 for his re-election campaign so far. And that is not counting any possible PAC money. Much of his funding is […]
It’s been driving me crazy all week, but I can’t remember the exact time or place that Ladra met Ricky Garcia, the veteran Hialeah Police officer who played a large role in exposing the wrongdoing by the administration and who decided to run for city council seat after he retired last year. I do remember, […]