For Miami Beach mayor, third man Steve Berke is the charm

For Miami Beach mayor, third man Steve Berke is the charm

Steve Berke is looking better and better every day. Berke is the former comedian running for mayor in Miami Beach on a platform that advocates for decriminalized marijuana and a “2020 Vision” plan anchored by a skyline cable car system to boost tourism, which I thought was pie in the sky until he got the […]

Doral Mayor Luigi Boria’s assistant quits amid probe

Doral Mayor Luigi Boria’s assistant quits amid probe

An assistant of Doral Mayor Luigi Boria‘s, who had worked on his campaign last year, resigned Monday amid allegations that there were campaign finance law violations related to the rental of the campaign office. Gonzalo Bello, who pretty much ran the day-to-day operations at the shopping strip campaign office and later became the mayor’s administrative […]

5 things to know about the Jeffrey Garcia AB fraud plea deal

5 things to know about the Jeffrey Garcia AB fraud plea deal

As expected, Congressman Joe Garcia‘s former chief of staff pleaded guilty Monday to soliciting absentee ballots illegally without the voter’s permission in a deal where he agreed to serve 90 days in jail. Jeffrey Garcia, who was the congressman’s campaign consultant when he came up with the hair-brained scheme to send absentee ballots to low-performing […]

New claims about Michael Pizzi is tip of federal iceberg

New claims about Michael Pizzi is tip of federal iceberg

Thank God for the feds coming to the rescue. I’ll call them the cavalry. The scandalous claims that came out Sunday about former Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi wanting three years ago to plant cocaine on former Councilman Richard Pulido or take him out more permanently — as in hire someone to whack him […]

Balanced justice? Jeffrey Garcia to plea, get 90 days in AB scam

Balanced justice? Jeffrey Garcia to plea, get 90 days in AB scam

Looks like Congressman Joe Garcia‘s former campaign consultant-turned-chief of staff could be doing time. Jeffrey “No Relation” Garcia, who admitted immediately to a scam that generated hundreds of unauthorized absentee ballot requests in last year’s Congressional race, has reportedly reached a plea agreement and will be sentenced to 90 days in jail. His crime: illegally […]

Manny Maroño plea deal may mean handing over bigger fish

Manny Maroño plea deal may mean handing over bigger fish

Former Sweetwater Mayor Manny “Maraña” Maroño was facing federal extortion conspiracy charges for his role in a bogus grant application scheme in which authorities say he intended to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government in exchange for thousands of dollars in kickbacks. But Friday, Maroño — once on a rumored shortlist […]

Sasha Tirador comingles campaigns on Hialeah mailer

Sasha Tirador comingles campaigns on Hialeah mailer

Is she at it again? Absentee Ballot Queen Sasha Tirador is under investigation for co-mingling campaign funds from her judicial and municipal campaigns last year (more on that later). But that doesn’t stop her from flirting with the same kind of disaster for the upcoming Hialeah elections. Tirador doesn’t only represent Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez […]

First absentee ballot fraud claim arises — in Homestead race

First absentee ballot fraud claim arises — in Homestead race

A Homestead voter said two men came to her house Wednesday and filled out ballots for her and three family members — before the voters realized that at least one ballot was marked for the wrong candidates. Those candidates, according to one of four ballots filled out, are mayoral hopeful Mark Bell, the husband of […]

Domino table gifted to voters by Miami Commissioner in race

Domino table gifted to voters by Miami Commissioner in race

Now that Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez has bowed out of the mayoral race and nobody came out of the shadows to replace him, we only have two races worth watching. And one of those is the fight by Commissioner Frank Carollo to keep his seat against challenger Alex Dominguez. Carollo may have a little questionable […]

Joe Carollo goes off the reservation, naming names in Doral

Joe Carollo goes off the reservation, naming names in Doral

Doral City Manager Joe Carollo might want to get a bodyguard or some protective custody from the FBI, maybe. That’s because he went on a verbal rampage Tuesday night and threw everybody under the bus in an effort to defend himself against allegations of acting unprofessionally with a business associate and friend of Mayor Luigi […]