The Rich Will Inherit
Wade will win: In response to "Dwyane's Disaster" (Gus Garcia-Roberts, July 9): Baron Richard von Hautman sounds like quite a character. He's too full of himself, to the point of intoxication. It really won't be that hard to legally arrange for his fall. All Dwyane Wade needs is a motivated attorney with a good investigator, and the baron will be spare-changing for a cup of coffee.
Tony
Vero Beach
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The baron will triumph: A lot of deals over the past couple of years have gone rancid. These guys chose each other as business partners. Wade can dig himself out of it — he's still that good a player — but this is why professional sports teams have seminars on business. When it goes bad, it gets ugly. Von Hautman, like most "suits," is always looking for the next hot talent to market. If this had all gone right, they'd love each other and be making the dough.
Von Hautman won't be left exposed and impoverished. A guy like this always finds another victim. Whether it's brutality or charm, this kind of guy always seems to know when and how to parlay it to his benefit.
Jim
Miami
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Good Cop
Tavss killed a couple, but he's OK: For everyone who read "Blood Badge" by Gus Garcia-Roberts (July 9) and wondered who Adam Tavss is, I can tell you, in my experience, he is a great guy. He is the kind of person who rescues small animals that have been abandoned by their owners. He is the kind of person who not only recognizes small animals like squirrels in the park, but also shares his trail mix with them. He is the kind of police officer who believes in giving people a chance and not always simply locking them up. He would rather educate someone on the law than mess up their lives by taking them to jail. But he also realizes that sometimes people need to be arrested.
He thinks people with mental illnesses should be helped and not picked on or arrested because they are a nuisance. He is not a monster and he is not evil; he is a man who was doing his job to protect the citizens and visitors of Miami Beach. He is not gun-happy. Please remember that when you read all of these one-sided news articles. I know him well, and I am honored to call him a friend.
Kitty
Miami Beach
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Support the Law, Get Rid of the Trash
These people are garbage: In July 2's "Immigrant Crackdown, Tim Elfrink referred to the crackdown on illegal aliens as "profiling." This term became popular as a result of law enforcement using people's color as a reason to pull them over or detain them without cause. The use of this term in reference to illegal aliens who are arrested with a criminal history is an insult to all Americans.
To think that an illegal alien who commits a crime deserves leniency and should not be deported is nothing less than disgusting. Every crime committed has multiple victims. If it is violent, friends, family, and the community are affected. If it is monetary, it affects the victim and every consumer.
America has enough criminals. If you are an illegal alien who came here and committed a crime, you qualify as nothing more than trash to be disposed of. If Charu al-Sahli of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center does not agree, he should pack up and work where his criminal trash is welcome.
Jeffrey Fichtelberg
Miami Beach
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Weekly Winners
Miami New Times dominated its division in the Florida Press Association's Better Weekly Newspaper contest at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach last weekend. Staff writer Gus Garcia-Roberts took the Gwen Stephenson Memorial Award for "Redemption Run," about former North Miami Mayor Elton Gissendanner's return to politics. Also winning first place were staff writer Natalie O'Neill (outdoor writing), Carlos Suarez De Jesus (arts criticism), and former staffer Janine Zeitlin (community history). Second place went to staff writers Tim Elfrink (in-depth news) and Francisco Alvarado (investigative reporting), art director Pam Shavalier (overall design), and editor Chuck Strouse (sports columns). Garcia-Roberts took third in business writing, and O'Neill received an honorable mention in the feature story category. Our website, miaminewtimes.com, was also tapped best in its category.
