OK, so over here, we have the Marlins stadium, the port tunnel, and the Design District cable car. Cost: More than $1 billion.
Then over here, we have the paltry $5 million that Brazilian racecar driver Helio Castroneves is trying to get away without paying taxes on. Yesterday in Miami was a big day in the federal trial of Castroneves and his agent -- former NFL star Alan Miller.
NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson testified on Miller's behalf. Talk about trying to snow the jury with star power.
Johnson testified that Miller is a great guy and had helped him earn his millions. The case is one of those only-in-Miami deals. Lots of sound and fury, but nothing more than a cool few million stashed in a Dutch bank. It's a weak case that likely isn't going anywhere. We wish prosecutors -- including the federal type -- would spend less time fishing for superstars and more time going after local corruption.And we wish Howard Srebnick, Miller's attorney in the case, could be freed up to get back to Efraim Diveroli's fake munitions case. 'Cause that one is really ugly. No superstars. Just a party boy illegally selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in bad munitions. (This one really killed people, Mr. Acosta.)
