Victim of $2.8 Million Gold Heist in Coral Gables Dies

Cuban gangster Raonel Valdez won’t have to worry about his victim George Villegas testifying against him. Over the weekend, Villegas died of a heart attack in his Coral Gables apartment, the same one Valdez had been staking out for months in late 2012 hoping to catch Villegas slipping. On October…

WLRN Cans Anchor Phil Latzman and News Director Dan Grech

If you wake up to WLRN weekday mornings, you might have noticed a familiar voice missing from the airwaves. Last week, the Miami-Dade County School Board-owned public radio station fired anchor/reporter Phil Latzman after he allegedly stormed out of a training session. Latzman’s departure follows the canning of news director…

Despite Federal Probe, Carlisle Development Group Gets New County Deal

In early May, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez and the County Commission delayed the certification of 11 affordable-housing developers because one of the firms, Carlisle Development Group, is under investigation by a federal grand jury. Citing a Miami Herald report, Gimenez’s administration put on the brakes because the feds suspect…

A $2.8 Million Gold Heist Shows Cuban Gangs Still Rule Miami

Raonel Valdez strolls through the quiet parking lot behind a salmon-colored Coral Gables apartment building. As dawn pales a warm autumn morning, the small-framed 33-year-old Cuban refugee with short, gelled black hair patiently scans a third-floor window, waiting for signs of life. Known to his cohorts as “Matojo” for his…

Mark Weithorn Fined $3,000 For State Ethics Violation

Word to the wise aspiring politicians: If you omit financial information when disclosing your personal net worth to voters, you will get caught. Just ask Mark Weithorn, who ran a failed campaign for state legislative seat representing Miami Beach last year. At its regular meeting in June, the Florida Commission…

The Christian Family Coalition Hates Transgender People Too

While Miami-Dade residents are gearing up to celebrate American Independence, the Christian Family Coalition is making sure one group of people don’t get to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In response to a proposed amendment to the county’s human rights ordinance that would protect transgender folks from…

Homestead Mayor Steven Bateman’s Top Shadiest Moments

Boy, Steven Bateman doesn’t know when to quit. Today, the Miami Herald published an article about another suspicious deal involving the Homestead mayor that appears riddled with conflicts-of-interest. It’s becoming a pattern that has spawned separate investigations by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission into Bateman’s…

Florida’s Bong Ban Changes Nothing for Head Shops

Did you hear, bro? Gov. Rick Scott is such a buzzkill. He just signed a law that makes it illegal for smoke shops to sell just about every pipe, bro! Glass, wooden, acrylic, stone, metal, with or without screens, with carburetors too! We’re gonna have to stock up on apples…

Judge Dismisses Gun Charge Against Buju Banton

Terri Wright will forever regret granting an exclusive interview to Chris Sweeney, a former New Times staff writer who wrote about her questionable conduct as a jury forewoman during the 2011 drug trafficking and gun trial of reggae megastar Buju Banton. Earlier today, Tampa federal judge James S. Moody Jr…

Blogger Mike Hatami Helps Take Down Ghost Boat Racket

Ah, there is nothing quite like a scam perpetrated in Miami. Just about any racket can thrive in this sunny place for shady people. All it takes is a little moxie and a whole lot of deviousness. The latest example involves four locals who suckered 11 banks and two credit…

Lock & Load: Machine Gun Experience Set to Open in Wynwood

Miami, are you ready to get your Tony Montana game face on? Or perhaps you’re feeling like James Cagney in The Public Enemy. Whichever fictional gangster you prefer, Lock & Load: Machine Gun Experience has the arsenal to satisfy your firearm fetish. Amid the art galleries of Wynwood, a 14,000-square-foot…