Angelina and Michele Mastrangelo seemingly reveled in "popping it" for two Miami Beach Police officers who arrested them a couple of days before Christmas. Police station video footage — first published on the local blog Random Pixels — shows the handcuffed Toronto siblings voraciously showing off some comical booty-shaking for cops Eduard Alba and William Beeker, who arrested the Mastrangelos December 23. The department's release of the silent 55-second clip was perfectly timed.
The young women, both in their early 20s, were back in town this week for their arraignment hearing at the Miami-Dade County criminal courthouse. They each faced a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence. Michele was also charged with disorderly intoxication and criminal mischief.
See also:
- Miami Beach Cops Accused of Roughing Up Toronto Sisters, Calling Them "Dirty Canadians"
New Times broke the story of the Mastrangelos' wild accusations about Alba and Beeker falsely arresting them, roughing them up, and hurling insults at them about their weight, their appearance, and their nationality.
The sisters claimed they filed a complaint with internal affairs. However, police department spokesman Robert Fernandez tells New Times that the Canucks wouldn't give a sworn statement. He also cast doubts on their allegations by pointing out that the police station on 11th Street at Washington Avenue has video and audio surveillance.
Still, the department had the shift supervisor perform an administrative review of the two officers for discourtesy. Since then, the sisters have become media darlings in their hometown. The Toronto Star sent a reporter to Miami Beach to document the women's return to the sunny, yet allegedly wretched, paradise they vowed never to visit again.
Apparently, they forgot or were unaware the American criminal justice system required them to return to Miami to face a judge. What's that all aboot?
(Angelina Mastrangelo did not respond to a voicemail message left yesterday afternoon on her cell phone, the only contact number New Times has for the sisters.)
Tuesday, the Toronto Star reported how the frightened Mastrangelos were all skerred of being sent back to county lockup once they arrived back in Miami. Reporter Rachel Mendleson wrote February 5:
The saga's continuing for the pair of Toronto sisters, who now fear they'll be immediately nabbed at the border since a bench warrant has been issued for their arrest for missing their arraignment hearing.
Ermahgerd! Yeah, didn't happen.
Wednesday, the siblings sailed through Customs at Miami International Airport because, ya know, the feds have more pressing matters to attend to, such as intercepting cocaine shipments and smuggled human fetuses. In a video embedded in a February 6 Toronto Star report, the sisters repeated their allegations against the Miami Beach Police.
"We are here in Miami because of a false accusation that the police reported and put us in jail for," Angelina said. "On the way here, I felt very scared, because I thought I was going to jail for no reason because the cops like to do that down here."
The Mastrangelos were so afraid that they did what any cowering defendant wrongfully accused by the po-po would do:
Michele and Angelina, who own a day spa in Toronto's east end, said they plan to spend the next few days tanning, shopping, and celebrating their mom's birthday, making this visit much different than their last.
By Thursday morning, the Miami-Dade County clerk's online database showed the Mastrangelos had their bench warrants set aside and a hearing scheduled for later in the day. Enter Random Pixels: The blog's author, Bill Cooke, informed New Times he was posting the soundless video embedded above and a second one showing Michele rubbing her pee-soiled bottom on several chairs and the floor in the booking area.
In New Times' initial report, Michele admitted to urinating on two chairs and complained that the cops had refused to remove her handcuffs so she could use the bathroom. That's why she was charged with criminal mischief. According to her arrest report, Michele did not want assistance from a female officer.
Leaking the videos was a deft display of damage control by Miami Beach Police officials to discredit their accusers, citizens of a country that sends tens of thousands of visitors to our shores every winter. There's a fine line between acting foolishly belligerent and fighting for your right to party.
Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez told the Toronto Star that the videos show that the Mastrangelos were the aggressors. He added Alba and Beeker won't be disciplined. "I think it shows just really bizarre behavior by these girls," Martinez said. The chief might be the first man in the 305 who has never witnessed the ass clap, but he makes a valid point. Bandz can make a woman dance at the club, but sitting handcuffed in a police station? Not so much, eh.
However, if audio tapes exist, the police department should also release them, because the young women are now claiming viewers can't hear Alba and Beeker allegedly taunting them.
Rather than drag the ordeal out any further, the Mastrangelos accepted an assistant state attorney's offer to pay a $250 fine and enter a pretrial diversion program without admitting guilt. They must complete community service hours with any nonprofit agency in Canada within 90 days.
If the Mastrangelos end up in Miami Beach jail again before they return to the Great White North, they need to consult Disco Rick on how to really do the nasty dance:
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