Miami Lakes Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi decided not to run, after all, for the seat from which he was suspended earlier this month, after he was arrested on federal bribery and extortion charges in an FBI sting where he allegedly and knowingly facilitated bogus grant applications in exchange for kickbacks and campaign contributions. The race to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Qualifying hasn’t even started yet in the spring Miami Lakes election, set for Oct. 1, and already there are candidates with signs and handouts, knocking on doors and sending mailers. Council candidate Frank Mingo — who is seeking to replace the outgoing Councilman Nelson Hernandez, who is seeking to replace the suspended Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi, who […]
Look like it’s going to be a busy week in the 305 for political intrigue, what with a caliente county commission meeting, the arraignments of two allegedly corrupt elected leaders, a hearing for a Hialeah boletero and the qualifying deadlines for the suddenly open seats in Miami Lakes due to the mayor’s arrest. Ladra expects […]
Don’t they say that it’s always the cover-up that gets you? Of the two local mayors that went down a couple of weeks ago in an FBI sting that nabbed them on charges of bribery and extortion, the best case seems to be the one against suspended Sweetwater Mayor Manny “Maraña” Maroño. We have all long […]
Miami Lakes Interim Mayor Ceasar Mestre — who was vice mayor until the arrest last week of Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi on bribery and extortion charges after an FBI sting operation — has dropped out of the race to replace Pizzi permanently. In a text message to his friends and other council members, Mestre said […]
The federal kick-back sting that led to the arrest this week of two Miami-Dade mayors and two of our local lobbyists also sheds light on some stark differences between two council members in Miami Lakes. The feds call them Councilmember A and Councilmember B in the affidavit that supported the arrest of Miami Lakes Mayor […]