Crime and Law

Santiestebans Plead Guilty to Marijuana Trafficking

The family that grew ganja together is now the family that pleaded guilty together. In the spring of last year, federal agents and Miami-Dade narcotics detectives dismantled a clan of marijuana growers that distributed thousands of pounds of high-grade weed from South Florida to New York City. Gilbe ... More >>

Pastor Who Worked at Disney World Caught Looking at Child Porn at the Office

Someone looking at child porn in the office is creepy. Someone looking at child porn while at Disney World is skin crawling. A pastor looking at child porn is just sick. Only in Florida, though, do you get pastors who work at Disney World getting caught looking at child porn and contacting underaged ... More >>

Trina's Brother Murdered in Miami

On Tuesday morning at approximately 9:35 a.m., Wilbrent Bain Jr., the 19-year-old brother of local rap legend Trina (born Katrina Laverne Taylor), was shot and killed in Northwest Miami-Dade near 91st Street after a dispute with a friend devolved into gunshots. His street name was "Goonkie." He'd s ... More >>

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files Offers Little That's New

Riptide's Ten Most Popular Posts of 2012: Porn Stars, Roadside Masturbation and the Miami Zombie

Another year down. Thousands more blog posts committed to Riptide's digital page. So what better way to look back at the previous year than to look at the posts that racked up the most page views on this here humble blog. Of course, that makes the year of 2012 look like it was dominated by the Miami ... More >>

End of the World: Weird Last Meal Requests From Death Row

Having a hard time coping with the fact that the world might end tomorrow? Yeah, we thought you might, and since the idea that civilization as we know it may be wiped out so that the dawn of a new age can begin is a little morbid, we've thought of a cynical approach to make you feel a little better. ... More >>

Federal Tax Loopholes: Big Corporations Profit From This Mafia-Like Protection Scheme

Carnival Let Drunk Man Fall Overboard, Falsely Called It Suicide, Lawsuit Claims

A Texas woman claims in a lawsuit that Carnival Cruise Lines was not only responsible for the death of her husband after he fell overboard last September, but also slandered her family by telling the media that he had committed suicide. Clint Markham, who died after falling off a Carnival cruise sh ... More >>

Victor De Yurre's Custom Rim Shop Can't Pay Its Bills

George Zimmerman is Out of Jail Again

George Zimmerman, the self-proclaimed neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed Miami teen Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida, is once again out of jail. He posted his $1 million bond and walked out of jail at about 3 p.m. Though he originally bailed out after his initial arrest, he was ordered ... More >>

Miguel Exposito, Former Miami Police Chief, Asks Judges Today To Give Him Job Back

For two years, Miguel Exposito was the head honcho at the Miami Police Department. They were jolly times for the Magic City's muckrakers, who made an easy living as Exposito butted heads with Mayor Tomas Regalado and produced a too-crazy-to-be-true litany of scandals and shootings. When he was fired ... More >>

Miami Police: Jury Finds a "Policy" of Abuse

Miami-Dade TNT Unit Loses the War on Drugs and Liberty City's Trust

Miami Cop Michael Ragusa Raped Dozens, New Documents Show

Carl Scalise: "Congress Must Take Action" to Bust the Mafia

​Carl Scalise is not afraid of the Mafia. Concrete boots don't faze him, and neither does sleeping with the fishes. We met him yesterday outside Miami New Times offices on Biscayne Boulevard protesting the Mafia, and fighting for your freedom."For the past 7 years I've been fighting the Mafia," he ... More >>

Steven Warren Arrested for Multiple Rapes of Homeless Women

​Police believe Steven Warren, 37, prowled the Overtown area of Downtown Miami preying on homeless women. Warren was arrested on New Years Day and charged with raping two women, and police believe he may be responsible for more. Warren has also been linked to the death of a woman in a popular ... More >>

Key West Resident Sues Delta Airlines Over "Illegal" and "Outrageous" Lost Luggage Policy

Wikimedia CommonsSusan Miller is mad as hell and she ain't going to take it any more.The Key West resident has filed a class-action lawsuit against Delta for its "illegal" and "outrageous" lost luggage policy, claiming that the airline lost her bags and then lied to her about reimbursements to which ... More >>

Miami's Federal Detention Center Barely Paralegal

Stynx, Shark Teeth, and the Funnest Guy at the Racetrack

​Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro t ... More >>

Shaquille O'Neal Sues Rogue IT Guy Shawn Darling For Sharing His Saucy Emails With The World

​Shaq has fired back at the computer hack who exposed him as a clumsy mack. The insane battle between Shaquille O'Neal and his ex-con IT guy-- who sued his former boss and leaked scandalous emails of the retired basketball behemoth being an extra-marital lothario-- got more complicated Thursday.Sh ... More >>

Jose Cassola, Miami Herald Reporter Busted For DUI: "You Can't Get Drunk Off Vodka!"

Jose Cassola claims that the Miami Herald , where he worked as a Neighbors reporter until Wednesday, is trying to throw him under the bus by publicizing his recent DUI arrest. He also claims that he's innocent-- although he admits to driving after five to seven cocktails-- and the victim of Miami Be ... More >>

Police Officer Peter Munoz Arrested for Killing Woman While Driving Drunk

​Peter William Munoz, a 24-year-old member of the Coral Springs Police Department, has been arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter after hitting another car in Coral Gables over the summer. The other driver, Jennifer Gutierrez, 23, died of her injuries.

Richard Scruggs Goes From Public Corruption to Gang Busting

Richard Scruggs​The public corruption unit at the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is getting quite a makeover. Longtime unit chief Joe Centorino will soon depart to take on a new gig as executive director of the Miami-Dade ethics commission. And assistant state attorney Richard Scruggs is now w ... More >>

"Bold" Arsonist Tries To Burn Down Wynwood Warehouse Twice In One Night

via Google StreetviewWho wanted to burn down this warehouse?​If at first you don't succeed, just set a few more fires and hope that this time the firefighters can't get there quick enough. That was the mindset of an arsonist in Wynwood last night who tried to burn down a warehouse near North Miami ... More >>

Mugshots Friday: Mr. Babyhair, Future Justin Bieber and a Cranium Tarantula

​​Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to ... More >>

Miami cops beat 85-year-old lady turned ninja assassin

Casey Anthony Will Be Free Next Wednesday

Orange County Dept. of Corrections​If fans of the Casey Anthony trial were outraged by Tuesday's verdict, they're probably steaming after this morning's sentencing. She will be a free woman by next Wednesday. That means Anthony, 25 and in excellent shape, can attend Splashion at LIV next week an ... More >>

Andy Rodriguez Faces Life in Prison for 2009 Stabbing of Coral Gables High Classmate

​A trial date has finally been set for the 2009 murder of Juan Rivera at Coral Gables High. Beginning July 19th, 19-year-old Andy Rodriguez will face a judge and jury for second degree murder charges. 

Black Tuna Pot Smuggler Gets Five Years In Prison After Three Decades On The Run

​One of the strangest chapters from Miami's pot-smuggling glory days came to an end in federal court today, when a judge sentenced Mark Steven Phillips -- a long-lost associate of the Black Tuna ring -- to five years in prison. Phillips fled during the gang's infamous 1979 trial and hid under fake ... More >>

Ana Maria Cardona Back on Death Row for Murder of "Baby Lollipops"

via Miami-Dade Corrections​The Miami mother convicted of murdering her three-year-old child Lazaro "Baby Lollipops" Figueroa in 1990 was sentenced to death by a Miami-Dade judge Friday. Judge Reemberto Diaz's sentencing puts 50-year-old Ana Maria Cardona back on death row, where he had been place ... More >>

Three-Year-Old Boy Shoots and Kills Mother

​A 33-year-old woman was shot in the back last night at her home in Miramar, Florida, and police believe that her 3-year-old son was the gunman. The boy might have been playing with the gun when it accidentally fired and sent a bullet through his mother.

Marguerite Jean, Alleged Ponzi Schemer, Fleeced Her Own Pastor Out of $70,000

Marguerite Martial Jean, accused of running a $3.4 million Ponzi scheme that targeted her fellow Seventh Day Adventists​Seventh Day Adventist? More like Seventh Day A-hole.According to investigators, Marguerite Martial Jean ran a $3.4 million Ponzi scheme targeting nearly 300 of her fellow Haitian ... More >>

High Times

Pedobear Makes Awkwardly Appropriate Appearance in Florida Coupon Book

​Pedobear, the online meme meant to mock pedophiles, recently popped up in a Lakeland, Florida coupon book for a computer parts distribution company called CP Distributor. Unfortunately, CP also stands for "child pornography," and it appears some clueless coupon designer included the image not kno ... More >>

Man in Freddy Krueger Mask Robs Grocery Stores

​Watch out for Freddy Krueger! He'll kill you in your dreams! Or, apparently, rob your grocery store. Police are on the search for a man in a Freddy Krueger Halloween mask who pulled off an armed robbery at a Food Giant grocery store this weekend.

Buju Banton Found Guilty in Cocaine Case

​Despite a triumphant concert in Miami and a Grammy win within the last few months, Buju Banton's dark days are not behind him. After an initial trial on drug charges was declared a mistrial, Banton has been found guilty of conspiring to set up a Florida cocaine deal back in 2009.

Hialeah Man's $40 million Ponzi Scheme Nets More Arrests

Julio Robaina​Nine more individuals have been criminally charged in the ongoing federal investigation into a $40 million ponzi scheme in Hialeah. The arrests come in the wake of news reports that the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service are investigating Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina for alleged loa ... More >>

Cocaine King Max Mermelstein's Long-Lost Daughter Found Out He Died Through New Times

Courtesy Rochelle Desiree Mermelstein Gomez​Last year, New Times published a feature detailing the strange last days of Max Mermelstein, the master cocaine smuggler who turned snitch in the mid-80s and died under government protection in 2008. Among the readers: Rochelle Desiree Mermelstein ... More >>

Big-Top Big Fun

Guns! Prostitution! MURDER! This New Ron Klein Spot Is the Scariest Ad Of the Year

photo by Roy Lister via Wikimedia CommonsThis guy hearts Allen West and will murder you, says Ron Klein. (Yes, we know this is a Hell's Angel. There are no free Outlaw pictures on the interwebs.)​A political race has obviously gone off the deep end when its attack ads are easily confused with prom ... More >>

Willard Trent Sues Archdiocese of Miami for $5 Million Over Alleged Sexual Abuse

Fr. Thomas Dennehy, who died in 1999.​Willard Trent, 13-years-old at time of alleged abuse​In what could be the first test of its new leadership, the Archdiocese of Miami is defending itself against charges it concealed the sexual abuse of at least one altar boy since the late 1960s.In a lawsuit ... More >>

Walter Coleman, Retired Priest, Sued for Molesting an Altar Boy in Connecticut

St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Fairfield, CT where Coleman worked at the time of the alleged abuse​It's not just disgraced Latin American dictators who come to South Florida to bury their dirty pasts. Apparently, men of the cloth do as well.Walter Philip Coleman, a retired priest now living in Pompa ... More >>

Scott Rothstein Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison

Kim Rothstein and friend Stacie Weisman leaving the courthouse after the sentencing.​Unless you've been under a rock for the past few months, you should know that South Florida got stuck with its own mini-Madoff who goes by the name of Scott Rothstein. Yesterday, Rothstein was sentence by U.S. Dis ... More >>

The Escobars, Colombia, and Narco-Soccer

FIU Running Back Kendall Berry Stabbed To Death In Front Of Campus Rec Hall

Florida International University's campus is still in shock this morning after Kendall Berry, a junior running back on the football team, was stabbed to death in the heart of the Miami campus last night.via FIUSports.comJunior running back Kendall Berry died after a stabbing on FIU's campus last nig ... More >>

Scott Rothstein's work as a Mafia informant might help him in his Ponzi case

Attacks Against the Homeless Could Be Considered Hate Crimes

​A bill that would classify certain attacks against the homeless as hate crimes is moving through the state legislature. Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti is championing it after a spate of unprovoked brutality on the homeless in his county, with security camera footage of some of the attacks making the ... More >>

On the Level

Part thug, part street fighter, Rene Martinez flattens his opponents. Can his punch save him from himself?

Remember Old Jim Crow

Still Dreaming

Celebrate MLK Day by candlelight