The Van Buren File

From deep within the Miami Police Department comes a convoluted tale of sketchy videotape, allegations of official misconduct, and two tickets to the Stanley Cup finals

A A A Comments By Robert Andrew Powell Thursday, Aug 5 1999

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Despite all the leads he provided (however dubious), Van Buren is wary of publicity. So certain is he of his eventual vindication that he didn't even want to cooperate for this story. "I don't need attention from the press right now," he said when first contacted. "I'm going to win in court no matter what you write."

Mostly he's worried about his gator.

Michael Steinbacher

Van Buren watches the "missing" videotape featuring Thomas Laura on the walkie-talkie

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"I feel if something about Gwendolyn pops up, I'll completely cut you off," he warns. "If Laura or Locke find out that I'm the one who owns Gwendolyn, they're likely to say, 'That fucking scumbag, let's give his alligator a loaded fish for a snack.' For them to retaliate against a helpless animal is a realistic possibility.

"You don't think they're capable of doing it?" he asks incredulously. "Look how they covered up this whole thing. From my perspective, these guys committed armed robbery and extortion. Period. They threatened my life. They beat me to within inches of my life in some abandoned lot. They sold my tickets or gave them to a friend. They are flat-out banditos of the worst kind. They have to hide behind the shield."

When he speaks he's not laughing at all.