As a blackballed steroid abuser who favors mesh t-shirts, it’s not easy to hit a new low when you’ve already had your personal street name revoked and you’ve been evicted from your house (and not even allowed to take your chandeliers with you). So if hometown hero Jose Canseco wants to really land on…
Mark March 22 as the moment the world started paying attention to Miami’s embattled police department. That’s when an ex-Miami Herald reporter named Don Van Natta Jr. parachuted in to write a New York Times piece telling millions of readers what everyone in black Miami knows too well: Miami PD…
Wielding a thick black marker, Marlins President David Samson flourished his signature onto a gray steel beam. Moments later, a massive crane hoisted the girder high above the new Marlins stadium and guided it into place as the last link in the new retractable roof.Voters may not be enthralled by…
Police Chief Miguel Exposito slumped silently against a wall, his hands clasped tight behind his back, as a parade of family members of men killed by his department petitioned the City Commission last night for one thing: Exposito’s head.”I have two sons myself and I’m asking you for their sake…
Willa Mae Reed cries when she remembers the last time she saw her grandson, Tarnorris Tyrell Gaye. “He said he was getting a haircut, and he kissed me goodbye,” Reed tells Riptide. “I still got a lot of questions about what happened next.”Gaye was shot and killed by Miami police…
As we count down the full list of 2,000 personalized license plate requests reviewed by Florida’s Obscenity Board — a mind-blowing document we got our hands on a few weeks ago through the Freedom of Information Act — we’ve learned a few things about the good folks of the Sunshine…
Fight over Modigliani masterpiece turns ugly
Adilenia Martinez worried that something was wrong when her mouth wouldn’t stop bleeding after a dental operation. When her husband pushed the dentist, Angel Nolasco, for a receipt in case she needed follow-up work, he uttered the words that haunt the nightmares of so many dental-phobes: Well, I’m not exactly…
When City Manager Tony Crapp Jr. hired Paul Philip to “audit” the Miami Police Department, we assumed the ex-G-man’s job was to write a bad report so Crapp could fire embattled Chief Miguel Exposito. So what the hell is Philip doing in the New York Times today justifying the string…
With Randy Shannon at the helm, the University of Miami’s football team may not have won any titles — but it did keep its nose clean, with zero player arrests since 2007. That’s one record that new coach Al Golden’s regime has already shattered.Ramon Buchanan, a senior linebacker from Melbourne,…
When Norman Braman launched his campaign to oust Mayor Carlos Alvarez, he made it clear that charter reform — including term limits — was his real goal. Braman inched a step closer to making that happen today as three of the front-runners to replace Alvarez all promised to back his…
In Miami Beach, a storm is brewing over accusations that city officials strong-armed the New World Symphony to give them free tickets to concerts. But Beach leaders aren’t the only politicians accepting free seats.Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and city commissioners have accepted thousands of dollars worth of tix to Miami…
The painting is lovely: A young woman with a mask-like face twists her ethereal neck to the side. Titled Young Woman With a White Collar, it’s a classic by Amedeo Modigliani. The fight over the $5 million work, however, is anything but beautiful.Tod Tarrant, a Miami Beach-based dealer, says he…
Barry Minkow’s life could have been an American archetype: A seemingly successful young entrepreneur goes to prison for in fact running a Ponzi scheme, and then finds Jesus and dedicates his life to helping the feds sniff out other frauds.But like any good crook, Minkow just couldn’t keep his hands…
Steve Berke: Comedian for Miami Beach mayor
City of Miami awards AEM’s George Munne, a construction company owner charged with felony fraud, a six-figure contract
The 29th floor of County Hall had all the ambiance of a funeral procession on Wednesday afternoon. Staffers with puffy eyes hid in cubicles, and an uncomfortable silence reigned until County Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Manager George Burgess walked into a room packed with reporters.The day after getting overwhelmingly recalled…
Hours after voters tossed out the bums (ahem, Carlos Alvarez and the vile Natacha Seijas), County Manager George Burgess got the hint as well. Burgess is set to resign his post today at a 2 p.m. news conference.In memorium, we’ll just toss out two things about Burgess: $422,118 (yup, that’s his salary), and…
Don’t line up that tag-team wrestling job just yet for Carlos Alvarez — even if voters recall the county’s strong mayor today, Alvarez says he’s seriously thinking about running in the special election. Alvarez tells a Wall Street Journal reporter that if he’s booted from office, rerunning for the seat…
If only every case was this easily solved with a box of stolen dildos. Monroe County Sheriff’s officers investigating the burglary of a trailer in Marathon caught a break when a woman turned over a box of sex toys and told them her ex-boyfriend had stolen them from just such…
In October 2009, prosecutors charged George Munne, the owner of local construction firm American Earth Movers (AEM), with felony organized fraud. His crime: Paying kickbacks to a minority contractor who never did any work, all so his firm could meet county standards on a big-money project in Virginia Key.Fast-forward to…
Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather — a University of Miami star drafted in the first round in 2007 — is under investigation in the shooting of two men at a house party in central Florida last week, according to a lawyer representing the victims.Meriweather allegedly pulled a gun at a party…
