Stephanie Kraft

Till Firing Bad News

Conflict of Interest 101

Her critics accuse Sunrise Commissioner Francine Klauber of using her other job, on the school board, to play favorites

Undercurrents

Her critics accuse Sunrise Commissioner Francine Klauber of using her other job, on the school board, to play favorites

Best Politician

Stephanie Kraft

River of Greed, Part 2

When it comes to the Broward School Board, bad plans never really die

That Fishy Smell

Slooow Wins the Race in Boca

Heckuva Job

Yo, Bat Mitzvah Sweetie

Feud For Thought

Real estate squabble puts Broward school board member in a snit

Morning Juice: Adventures in Bad Parenting

Time to get your Monday on. But first, a look back on what made news this past weekend.​Tamarac mayoral candidate Ed Portner gave a short interview to WPLG about why he went over to his daughter Stacy Ritter's home with a gun last week: "I wanted to scare the crap out of her." Mission accomplished ... More >>

Morning Juice: Which Kraft Gets Paid and Which Kraft Gets to Vote?

​Let's look at what's in the news this morning:Big, big trouble for Broward County School Board member Stephanie Kraft. New Times' Bob Norman has confirmed that Kraft's husband, Mitch, took payments from Prestige Homes to negotiate a deal with the district for the mitigation fees associated with t ... More >>

School Board Member Stephanie Kraft Has a History of Shady Deals

​Let's look at what's in the news this morning:Big, big trouble for Broward County School Board member Stephanie Kraft. New Times' Bob Norman has confirmed that Kraft's husband, Mitch, took payments from Prestige Homes to negotiate a deal with the district for the mitigation fees associated with t ... More >>

Morning Juice: One School Board Wrestles With Corruption; the Other With Curriculum

​The headlines in Broward and Palm Beach:Investigators are circling Bruce Chait of Prestige Homes -- and not just for the developer's hiring of Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft's husband. Tamarac Mayor Joe Schreiber has alleged that Chait offered a $200,000 bribe in exchange for Mae Sch ... More >>

Broward Teachers Play Hardball With Scandal-Rocked District

School Board Member Beverly Gallagher faces corruption charges.​No more dragging a stack of papers home to grade at night while watching Glee. No more late afternoon conferences with parents, or volunteering to chaperone the math team's car wash -- at least not until after Thanksgiving.For the nex ... More >>

Morning Juice: Fin Circling in Playoff Waters; Feds May Soon Have Kraft Work

​Headlines from the weekend past in Broward and Palm Beach:The Dolphins squeaked out a win in Jacksonville yesterday afternoon, thanks to some hard running by Ricky Williams and a timely sack by Randy Starks. [NFL.com]Matthew Bent, one of the Deerfield Beach boys accused of torching Michael Brewer ... More >>

Merry Christmas, Broward School Board. Here's Some Coal.

Courtesy of Broward Teachers Union​ In the spirit of holiday giving, about 6,000 postcards from Broward Teachers Union members are expected to begin arriving at the homes of Broward School Board members today. The cards, featuring lumps of coal and some adorably angry-looking children, are not ex ... More >>

Morning Juice: All Eyes on Haiti

​Thursday brings another chilly morning but warm weather is on the way. Let's look at the local headlines:A Boynton Beach man was at the Port Au Prince airport when the earthquake hit and says it felt like an airplane strike. [Palm Beach Post] Members of a united nations United Nations stabilizati ... More >>

Morning Juice: Break in 25-Year-old Murder Case in Jupiter; Ethics Panel Driving Hard Bargain in Broward

​Your daily glance at the headlines in South Florida:The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office closed a 25-year-old cold case yesterday with the help of DNA evidence that linked a Fort Myers man to the 1984 murder of Vickie Lynne Long in Jupiter. The suspect, Todd Clayton Campbell, was 22 and lived on the s ... More >>

Broward County Commissioners Face Questions About Shady Deals

​Your daily glance at the headlines in South Florida:The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office closed a 25-year-old cold case yesterday with the help of DNA evidence that linked a Fort Myers man to the 1984 murder of Vickie Lynne Long in Jupiter. The suspect, Todd Clayton Campbell, was 22 and lived on the s ... More >>

Sue Gunzburger Ensnared by Corruption Probe

Photo: C.StilesSue Gunzburger​The Broward Sheriff's Office is getting mighty ambitious with its corruption investigation. The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger is a target of agency investigators who are looking at deals that her husband's company made with Broward ... More >>

[UPDATED] Broward School Board Member Phyllis Hope Let Taxpayers Pick Up Her Legal Tab

Phyllis Hope​During a year when state and federal investigators have been circling the Broward County School Board, it seems as though every member of that ethically challenged outfit would have reason to keep a personal attorney close by. But only one school board member had the nerve to give her ... More >>

UPDATED: Leaked Confidential School Board Document Used in Campaign Smear

[UPDATED: Just received word from Broward School Board governmental affairs specialist Requel Bell that the sensitive school board background check document being used in the smear campaign against School Board Member Phyllis Hope is indeed exempt from public record disclosure. That means ... More >>

Stephanie Kraft and the Lobbyist

Broward County School Board records show that on October 10, 2008, then-School Board Member Stephanie Kraft and lobbytist Neil Sterling exchanged four phone calls in the afternoon. The Krafts​On that same day it was announced that the insurance committee on which Kraft was sitting had chos ... More >>

She's Baaa-aaack

Broward Cleansweep There's indicted former Broward County School Board member Stephanie Kraft back out mingling with the peeps at last night's debate between Jaemi Levine and Kraft's favored candidate, Dave Thomas. There are more shots on the Broward Cleansweep blog, including a couple t ... More >>

When it comes to the poor Sun-Sentinel, old habits are hard to break. That newspaper followed the crushing handshake story yesterday afternoon and who was the lead witness the newspaper found? Stephanie Kraft. Indicted, deposed, disgraced still-clinging-to-public-life Stephani ... More >>

One Blog, One Vote

I'll be writing more about the infamous crusher handshake later, but a few people have asked me who I'm voting for (or would vote for if in a certain district). I got it a lot in the primary too. So I thought I'd go ahead and spit it out. Don't call these endorsements. I wo ... More >>

Levine: "I'm Going To Be The 'Columbo' Of The School Board"

As media attention continues in the infamous handshake, attacks on School Board candidate Jaemi Levine are intensifying. It's no secret where they're coming from. "Ivory Johnson" may be dead, but dirty anonymous attacks are alive and well in this race between Levine and Dav ... More >>

Election Mantra: Que Sera Sera

​-- Ken Keechl, the outgoing Broward mayor, is getting some love on Facebook. Hey, it was good while it lasted. -- Speaking of former elected officials, Stephanie Kraft continues to lurk. She was spotted at the election victory party in Coral Springs for several politicians including A ... More >>

Deadlocked Jury in Leyritz Trial

​ UPDATE: This just in: The jury is deadlocked in the Leyritz trial. They're apparently ready to call it a hung jury, but Judge Marc Gold is trying to get them back in there to try again. That's right, we're looking at a probable 'nother go-round. Call it: Leyritz Trial II, The Sta ... More >>

Villegas Video, Awarding Incompetence, and Judge Lazarus' Latest Stupid Email

UPDATED: My colleague Lisa Rab obtained this video of Debra Villegas speaking with Plantation police officers about the Melissa Britt Lewis murder. It was taken in December 2009, after the Rothstein Ponzi scheme and the RRA law firm imploded. Make sure and read Rab's post. Villegas d ... More >>

RIP, Leslie Nielsen

Some of the best moments from one of Fort Lauderdale's finest.   -- Stephanie Kraft's path: Lawyer. PTA mom. School Board member. Tool for special interests. Corrupt tool for special interests. Scandalous politician. Criminally charged politician. Jailbird for a day. Suspended S ... More >>

Official: Supt. James Notter Made Call for Dirty Developers

In a sworn statement with state prosecutors, late Broward Superintendent Michael Garretson gave a downright creepy description of the telltale sign of when "cunning" former School Board Member Stephanie Kraft, who is facing corruption charges, was lying.   ... More >>

What's Going On

-- Tamarac Mayor Beth Talabisco, a figure in the ongoing State Attorney's Office corruption investigation, was released from Broward General Hospital on Sunday after undergoing surgery for a serious medical condition. The Pulp wishes her a speedy recovery to good health. What impact&n ... More >>

Is Stephanie Kraft Working Off Time?

It's a question that keeps popping up: Is Stephanie Kraft cooperating with law enforcement? I've never seen anyone so disgraced try to retain such a high profile. She's running around town, claims she's going to beat the nails-hard case against her, and is trying to maintain a presence in scho ... More >>

Dirty Developers Sue City; Ritter on Diplomat Tab: "I Don't Remember"

Bruce and Shawn Chait paid off a who's who of Broward County public officials to get government approvals for their controversial housing development on two golf courses in Tamarac. ​The father-and-son team bought since-imprisoned Broward County Commissioner Joe Eggelletion a golf ... More >>

Former School Board Construction Chief Talked of "Machine"

When we stop to remember Michael Garretson, we should never forget that the late School Board construction chief led the spending of a billion dollars a year in what was one of the largest and most damaging school building booms in Broward County history. For ... More >>

UPDATED: Alleged Bribe-Taker Serves On Powerful City Committee

​When elected officials are charged with crimes, the governor suspends them from office until the case is resolved. But if a member of a key government committee or other government appointees get hit with, say, felony bribery charges, there is no such prot ... More >>

The Dirty Dozen: 2010's Most Despicable People

​When elected officials are charged with crimes, the governor suspends them from office until the case is resolved. But if a member of a key government committee or other government appointees get hit with, say, felony bribery charges, there is no such prot ... More >>

Notter May Not Remember, but Document Doesn't Lie

  Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter has unveiled a new haircut. This photo comes from her latest "Coffee With Stacy" event last week. ​Enough about fashion, let's get down to business. When Broward County School Board construction chief Mike Garretson gave sworn testi ... More >>

Grand Jury Report Another Exercise in Futility

When ineffective governments lack the strength or wherewithal to act, there is only one thing left for them to do. They issue reports. After Rick Scott is sworn in as governor tomorrow, grand jury starter Crist will have more time to party​I can't say that the statewide gran ... More >>

Sheriff's Top Political Aide Defends Criminally Charged Krafts

You may not expect much drama and controversy out of a Coral Springs/Parkland Democratic Club meeting, but you got some last night. The night was meant for Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, who gave a very successful speech, but the drama arrived in the form of Sheriff Al Lamberti and his ... More >>

Cindi Hutchinson: Another Broward Pol Flushed

​Was it worth it, Cindi? ​Former Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Cindi Hutchinson not only wins the the award for selling out her seat the cheapest -- a toilet, really? -- but also for the worst mug shot in a procession of public official mug shots.  Look at that ... More >>

Rick Scott Does Something Good. Yeah, I Said It

Model Citizen Scott deserves a hand today. ​Rick Scott's move to force government employees to contribute to their pensions (like everyone else) and drop the horrid DROP triple-dipping program is flat-out wonderful. It's high time someone derailed the gravy train that government ... More >>

Grand Jury Report: School Board Blew Hundreds of Millions of Taxpayers Dollars While In Lobbyists' Pocket

Well, it's finally official. The Broward County School Board wasted hundreds of millions of your dollars while doing the bidding of a select group of contractors and lobbyists. You've been reading about that here for the past five years. Now the statewide grand jury has found the same thing.&n ... More >>

Grand Jury Slams Jennifer Gottlieb's "Beachside Boondoggle"

The Sun-Sentinel obtained some comments from school boarder defending themselves from the findings of the statewide grand jury.   Said Broward Schools Supt. Jim Notter: "I've built a 37-year career by being passionate about digging through the data, emphasizing accountability and gett ... More >>

Notter: "I have No Plans To Resign"

UPDATED: At his 4 p.m. press conference regarding the Statewide Grand Jury report, Broward Supt. James Notter said he's not going anywhere. "I have no plans to resign or retire at this point in time," said Notter, who was flanked by the entire board as he spoke. ... We will take expediti ... More >>

UPDATED: Stephanie Kraft Was Behind The Dr. Bill Boondoggle

You may remember the post about Bill Mathis, the psychologist hired by the board four years ago after it was discovered during the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools that the board was "dysfunctional." He was also contracted to help the school board do its dog-and-pony show evalu ... More >>

More School Board Investigation? Bring It On

Well, the state's Education Commissioner is sending an inspector general down to Broward County to look at the dysfunctional and corrupt embattled school board. Let's hope they find a way to clean house. Notter and JenJen bask in all their success​The state is involved thanks to the grand ... More >>

Newsflash: Jim Notter Wasn't the Real Problem

Jim Notter couldn't even tell the truth as the was going out the door. The Broward schools superintendent made a surprise announcement that he was retiring yesterday, leaving three years left on a contract that pays him $299,000 a year. Notter always did pretend to be boss, but he ... More >>

Bob Norman's Greatest Hits

Bob Norman is not a man to gloat, so we're doing it for him. During his 13 years as a writer at this periodical (four as feature writer, nine as a columnist, five of those nine as the Daily Pulp blogger), he has had a rash of successes -- especially if you count sending corrupt public officials to ... More >>

Stephanie Kraft, It's Time to Plead Guilty

The most resounding message sent by the conviction of former Deerfield Beach Commissioner Steve Gonot is this: Not this time, Stephanie.​Juries, at least those in Broward County, don't buy politicians' convoluted explanations for apparent wrongdoing. So those of you now facing corruption char ... More >>