Yesterday, law enforcement officials finally busted the criminals behind one of the most brazen real estate scams in the state that has the second-most cases of mortgage fraud in America. Ayda Young, Yohany Garcia, Zoraida Abreu and Johnny Bou-Nassar were criminally charged in a multiple-count racketeering and grand theft indictment…
Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman makes illegal campaign ad, stiffs videographer
It was an Only-In-Miami scam first reported by New Times. Three women promised local and out-of-state investors luxurious homes in foreclosure at super awesome discounted prices by claiming they had inside sources at the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s Office that could get them the properties before going to auction. They also…
One word describes Fane Lozman perfectly: Pugnacious. Today the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the ex-U.S. Marine pilot’s appeal that the City of Riviera Beach unlawfully removed his “floating home.” Last year, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Lozman’s complaint, in which he argued his “floating home” is…
The 94-second video opens with a still shot of Homestead Mayor Steve Bateman sporting a crisp white dress shirt, bold red tie, and dark pressed slacks. His hands are on his hips and his hair is slicked back, Mitt Romney-style. An off-screen narrator with a baritone voice praises Bateman as…
When he was a kid, Steve Petersen had a cameo role alongside Don Johnson in an episode of Miami Vice, the epic fictional crime series that captured the city’s heady cocaine-fueled era during the 1980s. As a teen, he interned at the Miami Herald where he met great reporters like…
Call us crazy. But if two people saw Banana Republican approach someone, sucker punch him or her, and then pin our victim to the ground, chances are we’d be taking a ride down to Miami-Dade County jail. In fact, any Joe Schmo would have been arrested for assault or battery…
Over the weekend, Dhafir Harris, aka Dada 5000 — the Perrine-based Kimbo Slice protege trying to bring backyard fighting into the mainstream — invited Riptide to watch a grudge match between a pair of dudes who don’t like each other one bit. Instead of a backyard, this bout went down…
Jean Monestime pushes $3 million grant to felon for questionable Liberty City project
Miami Beach’s two towing companies will attempt to hornswaggle the City Commission this afternoon into granting them a rate hike. If commissioners and Mayor Matti Bower cave in, Beach Towing and Tremont Towing will charge people an additional $64 to get their cars back. Obviously, Miami Beach residents are pissed…
A recent New Times article helped convince Miami-Dade commissioners Tuesday to rescind a $3 million grant they had awarded to the family of shopping center developer Yoram Izhak.At the commission’s regular meeting, Commissioner Dennis Moss requested his colleagues reconsider a vote to help pay for the upgrade of Northside Shopping…
Over the weekend, Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez revealed he is entertaining the idea of eliminating the city manager’s position in favor of the strong mayor form of government. His proposal, which would require voter approval to change the city charter, makes sense because it gives residents one top elected official…
Are you looking for taxpayer money from Miami-Dade County for a questionable project, but you’ve been convicted of felony tax evasion and a misdemeanor attempt at boarding an airplane with a loaded gun? No problem! At least it’s not a problem for Yoram Izhak, a commercial property owner who recently…
Khalilah Camacho-Ali remembers the first time she walked into 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach was during the summer of 1967. Back then she was known as Belinda, the 17-year-old second bride of the man who would go on to become the greatest boxer of all time: Muhammad Ali. At…
A politically connected Miami Lawyer who’s gained fame dispensing advice to Hispanic folks who are losing their homes is in his own financial pickle. John H. Ruiz, who hosts La Ley TV, a popular financial advice program on Spanish-language GenTV, recently had his luxury cigarette boat repossessed. And he also…
Project Hope employees say tutoring program won’t pay up
Hialeah Park, Florida’s greatest racetrack, battles mega-casinos and lawsuits
An Opa-locka official booted from office six years ago won’t be prosecuted for the crimes that got him thrown out in the first place. Banana Republican has learned that the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has quietly dropped multiple grand theft and official misconduct felony charges brought against Terence Pinder, Opa-Locka’s…
Miami City Attorney Julie Bru pulled a sneaky maneuver to ensure City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff continues to receive free legal representation from her office. Near the end of last Thursday’s city commission meeting, Bru requested approval for a “pocket item” — so-called because it was not included in the city’s…
A Liberty City tutoring program is under fire from former employees who say not only has it failed to pay about $50,000 in wages, but also it employs two children of the program’s chief, Anthony Dawkins — both of whom have criminal convictions for fraud. Dawkins is head of Project…
In the race for the White House, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich don’t seem to have a problem taking money from corporate pirates accused of breaking the law to maximize their profits. Romney has collected at least $100,000 from a Miami-based investment fund that owns run down apartment buildings in…
The four firms representing Miami-Dade County before the state legislature are mired in potential conflicts of interests and ongoing controversies. Yesterday, county commissioners awarded $120,000 each to law firms Ronald L. Book P.A. and Rutledge, Ecenia & Purnell, as well as $50,000 each for Akerman Senterfitt and Ballard Partners –…
