Two years ago, I profiled Dhafir Harris, aka Dada 5000, backyard fight promoter and one-time member of Kimbo Slice’s entourage. Standing over six feet tall, weighing 275 pounds and sporting a mohawk that resembled a Spartan helmet, Harris cast a pretty menacing figure. But beneath the intimidating profile, Harris demonstrated the marketing…
With all the negative publicity that has engulfed the affluent oceanfront town of Golden Beach, you would think its officials might want to act with a little more caution.First, CBS4 exposed the town’s decision to allow Lt. Robert Barrio to remain on the Golden Beach police force even though he…
North Bay Village Mayor Oscar Alfonso cheated the IRS, the bank, and his city
On December 21, 1995, Lynn Hartrick received a sweetheart deal of a lifetime. The Homestead Community Redevelopment Agency gave the city’s code enforcement officer deed to an 11,000-square-foot empty lot at 136 NW First St. Selling price: A buck.Hartrick developed a two-bedroom single story residence on the land, then sold…
So Banana Republican just got word from a friendly political insider who attended Mayor Carlos Alvarez’s state of the county address today that Carlito El Fuerte was introduced to the tune of Superman’s theme music. Bad choice.He’s really more like Superman’s monotone, zombified clone Bizarro — full of superpowers but…
Miami Lakes Councilman Richard Pulido is a petulant bully who thinks state and town laws don’t apply to him, judging from his abrasive behavior with other town officials. Councilman George Lopez and town clerk Marjorie Tejeda claim Pulido has been harassing and threatening them over the past three months. “He…
For more than a decade, North Bay Village Mayor Oscar Alfonso has evaded repeated attempts by city building officials and code inspectors to correct unauthorized construction work at his three bedroom house at 7520 W. Treasure Dr.And his next-door neighbor James Carter claims Alfonso will continue to thumb his nose…
North Bay Village residents believe Mayor Oscar Alfonso (left), city attorney Joseph Geller (center), and city manager Matthew Schwartz (right) are in cahoots, doing bad things.North Bay Village manager Matthew Schwartz is under fire. This past Tuesday, during the city commission’s regular meeting, a small group of upset residents called…
Bad Surfside cop Woodward Brooks finally gets busted
You can always count on Jose “Pepe” Diaz to give Miami-Dade residents a reason to impose term limits on county commissioners. Seriously, who is advising Diaz? Scott Rothstein?How else can you explain the scam Diaz wants to pull on county taxpayers. Last week, he unveiled a legislative measure that would…
A tiff over scheduling has exposed a nasty feud between a famous dj and the group that throws one of the biggest week-long gay and lesbian bashes of the year.Organizers and supporters of the Winter Party Festival have been circulating a mass email calling for a boycott of dj Peter Rauhofer’s appearance at…
Woodward Brooks finally lost his badge for his bad cop behavior. This past February 3, the 46-year-old lawman was kicked off the Surfside Police force following his arrest on three felony counts of official misconduct, grand theft, and filing a fraudulent insurance claim.This is the second time the tiny beachfront…
Isiah Thomas struggles to reshape FIU hoops
News that Rep. Kendrick Meek is sponsoring NASCAR driver Mike Wallace’s car in this weekend’s Daytona 500, as well as being part of Wallace’s pit crew, had Banana Republican scratching his peel.The South Florida Democrat, who is giving up his congressional seat to run for the U.S. Senate, does not…
Over the weekend, Florida International University men’s basketball coach Isiah Thomas denied a Foxsports.com report that the Los Angeles Clippers were courting him to be the NBA team’s president, general manager, and coach.During his postgame conference following the Golden Panthers’ latest home loss, Thomas said, “I’m very happy here at FIU…..
Turns out North Bay Village Mayor Oscar Alfonso is not so neighborly. James Carter, a mortgage broker who lives next to Alfonso’s three-bedroom waterfront house at 7520 W Treasure Dr., says his property gets completely soaked in water every time hizzoner turns on the sprinklers.Carter says he’s angry that the…
Can’t blame Commissioner Katy Sorenson for calling it a day. Sixteen years is a long time to spend battling the unreformable majority on the county commission.For a decade and a half, Sorenson has consistently been the voice of ethical reason on an elected body that has often voted in favor of…
North Bay Village is a place where corruption and unethical behavior rolls in with the tide on a regular basis.The small three-island city once saw four elected officials indicted and removed from office in one fell swoop.But that hasn’t stopped Mayor Oscar Alfonso from throwing ethics into the murky bottom…
Miami-Dade con man Karl Thompson swindled an ex-cop and got caught
Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein bilked investors out of $1.2 billion, but at least he didn’t bamboozle a poor one-armed handyman like Karl Thompson did.The 40-year-old scammer defrauded friends and business associates in Aventura, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Miramar, North Miami, and North Miami Beach between 2008 and last year.Franklyn Walsh, who…
As reported here earlier, Cobb frantically tried and failed to ditch a caravan of Miami Police officers last Friday. Along the way, he smashed up other vehicles and a couple of squad cars. Turns out investigators wanted to question Cobb about the murder of Arsenio Harden. The 20-year-old victim was shot…
Last Friday, I told you about a wild police chase on NE Second Avenue. Well, here’s a mug of the culprit who thought he was reprising Wesley Snipes’s role in U.S. Marshals. His name is Jonathan Henry Cobb, a 25-year-old Brownsville resident who booked it when a blue-and-white attempted to…
