The union impasse meeting droned on and on and on. But after the brilliant and funny and engaging in-your-face-liars speech by union lawyer extraordinaire Mark Richards, the second best moment for Ladra was when Commissioner Barbara Jordan brought up one of my guilty pleasures: The ABC show Scandal, which is, of course, about political intrigue, […]
He may have gotten arrested and he may have been suspended from his post by the governor, but Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman is not going down without a fight: He is still campaigning to be re-elected mayor. Nevermind the scathing details in the arrest warrant that charges him with multiple counts of unlawful compensation — […]
Miami Lakes Councilman Nelson Hernandez thinks he can win the special mayoral election by lining up support from the Hialeah-Tallahassee mafia, which is throwing him a fundraiser next week. Sen. Rene Garcia, State Reps. Jose Oliva, Eddy “Here Comes Hialeah” Gonzalez and Manny Diaz, Jr., as well as Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban “Stevie” Bovo have invited […]
When the unions come to heads with the Miami-Dade Commission today on their multiple impasses, one commissioner may be even more aggressive toward them than others. Judging by Monday’s committee of the whole performance, Commissioner Esteban “Stevie” Bobo has taken on the role of labor raider in the county’s very obvious efforts to lay blame […]
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has not given up on getting public financing for some of his planned $350-million in upgrades to his privately-owned SunLife Stadium, even though efforts to do just that this year were thwarted in the Florida legislature. “Have I given up? The answer is no,” he said earlier this month. “The […]
Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz got a hospital bed for his birthday Tuedsay. And, no, it wasn’t that he got sick from Monday’s committee of the whole meeting. Diaz was admitted Tuesday morning for a “severe back injury,” a staffer said, adding that he was still recovering Wednesday. “On behalf of Commissioner Diaz, we want […]
Interestingly enough, there is a common denominator in the two different arrests this month of three local mayors on corruption charges: South Dade lobbyist turned FBI informant Michael Kesti. Kesti, who served Sweetwater Mayor Manny “Maraña” Maroño and Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi up to federal authorities as a paid informant in a bribery […]
Another day, another local mayor arrested: Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman was taken into custody Wednesday on charges of taking unlawful compensation. That’s police code for bribes and kickbacks and, in this case, taking secret jobs to use your political influence on other government officials. The mayor has been under investigation for a multitude of things […]
Finally, the third time is the charm. After two reset hearings, accused Hialeah boletero Sergio “Tio” Robaina will be in court Wednesday — but only to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges in exchange for a year’s probation. Oh, and prosecutors will drop the felony charges stemming from his tampering with the ballot of a woman […]
Both Sweetwater Mayor Manny Marono and Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi — busted earlier this month in an FBI bribery sting — have asked to have today’s arraignment reset to Sept. 20. And people who know about this stuff think that means that they are ready to cooperate in order to have charges reduced […]