Taxes

A Homestead Non-Profit Used Taxpayer Funds To Pay Off IRS Debts, Auditor Says

Back in 2008, Galata Inc., a social service agency that assists minorities and low income residents in Homestead, was one of 37 local non-profit organizations that received a no-questions-asked Miami-Dade County grant. Galata got $500,000 from a $30 million pot that was part of the county's Building ... More >>

Fat Joe Pleads Guilty to $3.7-Million Tax Evasion, Faces Two Years in Prison

These days, Fat Joe ain't so fat. But he owes an obese (or is that obscene?) amount of back taxes to the IRS. According to a press release from the Department of Justice: "Joseph Cartagena, the rapper popularly known as 'Fat Joe,' pleaded guilty [in New Jersey] today to two counts of failing to fil ... More >>

Convicted Cocaine Trafficker Alexander I. Perez Gets Huge Tax Breaks for a Questionable Sugar Company

Carlos Gimenez, Rebeca Sosa and David Rivera Shower Favors On Ex-Cocaine Trafficker

On July 13, Alexander I. Perez stood underneath a new street sign christening a portion of SE 10th Avenue in front of his Hialeah warehouse as "Banah Sweet Way." A gaggle of local politicos -- including Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, his Hialeah counterpart Carlos Hernandez, and County Commissione ... More >>

Mitt Romney Greets Convicted Criminals Fausto and Remedios Diaz-Oliver in Miami

Norman Braman Registers Boat in the Caymans to Avoid U.S. Fees

Mayor Gimenez to Uncle Luke: Back Off!

Last week, our columnist Luther Campbell slammed Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez. The following is Gimenez's response: Last year, while campaigning for Mayor of Miami-Dade County, I made certain promises to our residents for a better community. In the fourteen months since then, we have worked day ... More >>

George Clinton and Four Other Funky Brothers Who Owe the IRS Back Taxes

He's considered the forefather of funk and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 15 years ago. But to the Federal Government and the Internal Revenue Service, George Clinton is a delinquent. According to TMZ, Clinton owes Uncle Sam more than $115,000 in unpaid taxes from 2007 and 200 ... More >>

Jean Monestime pushes $3 million grant to felon for questionable Liberty City project

Almost Half of Floridians Think Republicans Are Intentionally Trying to Hurt the Economy

Some Democrats have accused Republicans of intentionally trying to slow economic recovery for political gain. Republicans have tried to dismiss that theory, but it's not just partisan Dems who believe it. Nearly half of voters in Florida believe "Republicans are intentionally hindering efforts to bo ... More >>

Corina Esquijarosa, Embattled North Bay Village Mayor, Gets Canned

​North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa now has more time to fight the recall effort against her. She's been laid off from her job as a project representative for the city of Miami Public Facilities Department. Esquijarosa's position, which paid her an annual $97,000 salary and benefits packa ... More >>

Marco Rubio Says Obama's Jobs Plan Won't Work, Moody's Top Economist Says It Will

​Yesterday, President Obama outline a proposed $447 billion jobs bill that would cut payroll taxes, increase spending on infrastructure and public works programs, and extend unemployment benefits.Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, with lightning-fast speed, released a statement and video response last nigh ... More >>

North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa Sued For $3,859

​As the recall against her gains steam, North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa continues to have personal financial problems. This past July 18, Capital One Bank filed a lawsuit against her in Miami-Dade Circuit Court alleging she owes a $3,859 unpaid credit card bill. The complaint gives more ... More >>

Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell made a promise she hasn't kept

Mayor Carlos Gimenez Shows Commissioner Barbara Jordan His New Shiny Badge

Barbara Jordan has climbed to the top of Carlos Gimenez's Most Hated List.​Even though she has no plans to run against Carlos Gimenez in 2012, county Commissioner Barbara Jordan is definitely cementing her place as the Miami-Dade mayor's number one adversary. We already know Jordan is peeved Gimen ... More >>

Time for Miami Tax Evaders to Come Forward, Warns Local Attorney

The days of hidden offshore accounts are drawing to an end, it seems​Not everyone in Miami is on the up & up. Sure, your neighbor could have bought that brand-new Mercedes-Benz with the Christmas bonus. Or it could have been that narco slush fund in the Cayman Islands. The truth is that ... More >>

No, Your $4,000 Tax Refund Was Not Legit

IRS: the tax man cometh.​Did you pay Tomeka Wimberly at Wizard Tax Services Inc. to fill out your return this year? Did she claim Doritos and Mountain Dew on your work expenses? How about the little known "new underwear credit"?And did you get a nice refund of roughly $4,000?If so, we hope you hav ... More >>

North Bay Village Closer to Giving Mayor Corina Esquijarosa the Boot

North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa​North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa's days in office might be numbered. Political action committee Citizens for Full Disclosure has collected 414 signatures from village residents for its petition to give the mayor the boot.The group targeted Esqui ... More >>

Miami Springs Mayor Zavier Garcia Owes IRS Nearly $200,000

Miami Springs Mayor Zavier Garcia.​No wonder Miami Springs Mayor Zavier Garcia made it a point in his campaign to plead for lower taxes. Not only is there a $1,803.41 state tax lien on his company, ZMG Media, which we reported about last week, but on June 8 the IRS filed a $198,672.75 federa ... More >>

Five Reasons Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina Is The Wrong Man For The Job

Don't let the smile fool you. This man can't be trusted. ​Only in Miami-Dade County can a politician like Julio Robaina be considered a front-runner for the top elected post. With one day left for early voting before election day on May 24, we've compiled five reasons Robaina does not deserve beco ... More >>

Letters from the issue of May 12, 2011

Allen West, uncut

A candid conversation with South Florida's rising Tea Party star.

North Bay Village Mayor Faces Lien For Unpaid Property Taxes

​The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser's Office is looking to collect $3,109 from North Bay Village Mayor Corina Esquijarosa. That is how much she owes in unpaid property taxes on a downtown Miami condo she claimed was her homestead. Following our report that Esquijarosa was getting a tax break on the ... More >>

Forbes: Miami is the Second Most Miserable City in America

According to Forbes, the only good things about living in Miami are the weather and the fact we don't have a state income tax. Other than that, apparently Miami is a miserable hellhole. So much so that we're the second most miserable city in America, according to the finance mag's annual rankings.&n ... More >>

FAIR-y tales: The immigration saga continues

Mayor Alvarez Successfully Stalls Recall Attempt

Miami-Dade Carlos Alvarez has successfully, if only temporarily, bought himself some time to breath. Billionaire Norman Braman's recall effort collected about 112,000 signature and seemed to be heading to a ballot, but Alvarez's lawyers are fighting the effort on a procedural technicality. The two s ... More >>

Spending IRS Refund Could Be Taxing

You're not going to deposit that refund check, are you?

Wyclef Jean Uses Charity to Get Paid

According to tax documents posted by The Smoking Gun, Wyclef Jean has used Yele for his own gain.​All over Facebook, Twitter, television newscasts, and radio broadcasts, reporters and ordinary folks have been encouraging relatives, friends and anyone who cares to donate $5 to the Yele Haiti ... More >>

News Roundup

Today is sentencing for five members of the Liberty City Six. Each could face up to 70 years in prison. [CBS4]Miami 21 got its first stamp of approval from the city commission Friday night. But there's still plenty of hoops the plan has to jump through before becoming official. [SFBJ]Say h ... More >>

Time: Miami-Dade County Commission is "a Feckless, Corruption-Tainted Body"

via MiamiDade.gov​The sun still shines. The beaches are still some of the best in the world. The weather, unfortunate for this time of year, is still the same as it ever was. All of those stereotypical things that draw people to call Florida home have gone more or less unchanged, so what's to blam ... More >>

Club for Growth Calls Crist a Closet Communist

Club for Growth, a fiscally conservative group that helped push Sen. Arlen Specter into the Democratic Party with the threat of a primary challenge, sure does not like Gov. Charlie Crist. Now that ol' Arlen is gone from the party, Crist might be the group's number one GOP target. This month, Club f ... More >>

Helio Castroneves Strikes Back

After a year of dodging tax charges, Miami's fastest driver takes the Indy 500.

Castroneves Acquitted

Two days after everyone paid taxes, and thousands protested this basic fact, one guy got off free on charges of evading his taxes. Indianapolis 500 and Dancing With The Stars champion Helio Castroneves was acquitted on tax evasion charges. Castroneves was charged last October with failing to report ... More >>

Florida Probably Doesn't Want New Hampshire's Leftovers

Considering most runners in the 2010 Senate race haven't held a position higher than congressman, it might behoove anyone with a stronger resumé to think about entering the fray, and what better job to have in your past when seeking a Senate seat than senator? Reportedly, former New Hampshire Sen. ... More >>

Floridians Favor Some Sort of Legal Recognition for Gay Couples, Despite Banning Marriage in the Constitution

It was pretty evident to anyone with basic reading comprehension skills that the part of Amendment 2 that read, "no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized," would ban civil unions in the Florida Constitution. Florida voters pa ... More >>

Banana Republican - Transit Follies

Pretty in the City – Blow Your Tax Rebate Out With a Bang

Beenie Man

Alex Daoud’s Election Day

Forget the runoff between Matti and Simon. Mayor Alex is the man.

Are Newspapers Pocketing Illegal Taxes?

To IRS With Love

The restaurateur and candidate for county mayor has had major money problems

Revenge of the Penny Tax

FIU and MDCC foundations draw new scrutiny from state investigators

Best Politician Convicted In The Past Twelve Months

Alberto Gutman

The Deep Blue Greed

The Arison clan built Carnival into a money machine by cleverly avoiding tax laws

Won Way

You Say Cemetery, Miami Says Deadbeat

The city's surfeit of tax-exempt properties costs tens of millions

A Taxing Process

It's Only Money

Owing to bureaucratic bad judgment, Miami Beach taxpayers will have to pay (and pay, and pay) for the city's vaunted new parking garage

In the Dead of the Night

While you were sound asleep, the Dade County Commission spent hundreds of millions of your dollars. Aren't you glad they didn't bother to wake you?

Whoppers!