U.S. Department of Justice

Medicare Fraud Is Sweetest Crime in South Florida

Puerto Rico's Wave of Drugs and Brazen Murders Reverberates to Florida

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Coral Springs Pig Battle Rages On

Fort Lauderdale Firefighter Steven Loleski Arrested on Extortion Charges

A 35-year-old Fort Lauderdale firefighter has been arrested on extortion charges after, police say, he illegally recorded a conversation and tried to use it as leverage to get information out of union president William Humpherey about a criminal investigation.Steven Loleski was held on $51,000 bond ... More >>

Cedrick Shivers of Fort Lauderdale Gets 12 Years For Being Worst Bank Robber Ever

Here's a tip for future bank robbers: If you get picked up by the police, don't tell them, "You've got me red handed" even if your hands and get-away car are soaked with red dye.Cedrick Shivers of Fort Lauderdale, according to the Justice Department, walked into a Wilton Manors bank earlier this yea ... More >>

Is It Porn? HotSpots Magazine: Full of Man Candy but No Frontal Nudity

Is Local Gay Publication HotSpots Porn? Feds Might Think So

Earlier this month, the Justice Department arrested a 26-year-old Boca Raton resident John Michael Romero Mendoza for allegedly using the iPhone app BoyAhoy to arrange a sexual tryst with a 15-year-old boy.According to the criminal complaint, Mendoza's car was stocked with "condoms, lubricant and ho ... More >>

New Poll: Florida Republicans Like Purging Voters Even More Than Standing Their Ground

Despite widespread debate over both the state's voter purge and its "Stand Your Ground" law, a Q poll released this morning shows both are overwhelmingly supported by the state's wide Republican base.Of Republicans polled, 90 percent they said they approved the voter purges, despite claims from the ... More >>

Boca Man Arrested for Trolling BoyAhoy in Search of Minors to Diddle

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of John Michael Romero Mendoza, a 26-year-old Boca Raton resident who was allegedly trolling the iPhone app BoyAhoy in search of teenaged boys to have sex with. For those not in the know, BoyAhoy is the self-proclaimed "fastest growing ... More >>

Feds Nab Broward and Miami Identity Thieves Who Scammed Nearly $10 Million From IRS

Another day in South Florida, another multi-million-dollar scam collapsing. This time around federal officials working with the Broward Sheriff Office arrested Ft. Lauderdale resident Alci Bonannee and several others for filing more than 1,000 bogus tax documents that yielded $9.5 million in re ... More >>

Feds Tell Florida: You Can't Purge Voters -- There Are Laws About That

Gov. Rick Scott's campaign to purge "noncitizens" from the voter rolls less than three months before a primary election violates federal law, according to the Department of Justice.In a letter sent yesterday to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, the chief of the DOJ's voting section gave Detzne ... More >>

Gay Bullying Goes From Rite of Passage to Public Enemy

Mercius Dorvilus, Pompano Beach Pirate Radio Operator, Fined $10,000

​A 31-year-old DJ who ran a Haitian, reggae, and rap station out of a room in a Pompano Beach home must pay the Federal Communications Commission $10,000 by the end of next month or face a suit from the Department of Justice, according to federal documents.FCC enforcement agents raided a home wher ... More >>

DOJ Continues to Press for Gun Charge Against Buju Banton

​The Department of Justice on Friday filed its latest -- and most likely last -- argument as to why a Tampa judge was wrong to throw out gun charges in the case of Buju Banton, an iconic and controversial reggae star who won a Grammy just hours before standing retrial on federal drug and gun ... More >>

Frederica Wilson on Trayvon Martin: "I Am Tired of Burying Young Black Boys" (VIDEO)

​South Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson took to the House floor yesterday and slammed authorities for their inaction in the case of Trayvon Martin, the Miami Gardens 17-year-old who was killed in Martin County last month, calling shooter George Zimmerman "a renegade wannabe policeman neighbo ... More >>

Trayvon Martin Killing: Why George Zimmerman Could Still Totally Get Away With It

In light of the news yesterday about new evidence from Trayvon Martin's girlfriend, one might think 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman is done for. He isn't.Yesterday's story revealed that the 17-year-old Martin was on the phone with his girlfriend when Zimmerman killed him wi ... More >>

State, Federal Agencies to Investigate Killing of Trayvon Martin

​Twenty-two days after 17-year-old Miami Gardens boy Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in Sanford, the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice announced late Monday night that they will be investigating his death at the hands of 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, according to t ... More >>

Buju Banton's Appeal Pisses Off DOJ, Causes Government to File Its Own Appeal

​On Friday, the Department of Justice filed an aggressive response to Buju Banton's appeal and continued to write off the fact that the drug case was built by a deceitful snitch with tremendous financial incentive to entrap people -- as detailed in last week's cover story.The DOJ al ... More >>

Buju Banton's Attorney: "We Had Ten Really Good Issues for the Appeal"

​The Department of Justice should have filed a response to Buju Banton's appeal on Friday, but as has been the government's style throughout the more than two-year-long saga, it's dragging its heels. Now federal prosecutors have until February 10 to counter arguments made in the hulking, 17,000-wo ... More >>

Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch Are Sponsoring the Bill That's Upsetting the Internet

​If you go to Wikipedia's website today, you may cry after finding it's not giving out information today. The Google logo is also blacked out on that website, and Reddit and other sites are also blacking themselves out today.If you're looking for someone local to blame for any of your internet-rel ... More >>

How Broward Bulldog's Dan Christensen Broke a 9/11 Conspiracy That's Actually True

Wikimedia Commons​Dan Christensen lost his job in the Miami Herald's Broward bureau in 2009, a casualty of rampant cost-cutting in daily journalism. Rather than throw in the towel, Christensen started his own local news site, Broward Bulldog, and vowed to continue breaking stories. "This website w ... More >>

Mandy Dawson Arrested Again -- for a Little More Than Prescription Pill Fraud This Time

chinalawandpolicy.com​Remember that $87,000 former State Sen. Mandy Dawson allegedly received from ophthalmologist-turned-felon Alan Mendelsohn between 2003 and 2006? That investigation finally landed her a trip to jail yesterday.Dawson was hit with federal tax-evasion charges yesterday in her fir ... More >>

Allen West on NPR: Do We Really Need the Justice Department?

How important is the Justice Department, really?​Yesterday, NPR host Robert Siegel interviewed U.S. Rep. Allen West about the federal debt fight. West, a member of the House Tea Party caucus, is adamantly opposed to raising the debt limit. He doesn't want the U.S. government to borrow any more mon ... More >>

Casey Anthony Effect: State Rep. Bill Hager to Introduce "Caylee's Law"

billhager.orgRep. Bill Hager​Apparently Nancy Grace fans aren't the only ones up in arms over the fact that Casey Anthony was found not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter.Republican State Rep. Bill Hager, who represents Boca Raton, announced today that he's currently drafting legislation he ... More >>

Harry Sargeant III Under DOJ Investigation for Alleged Bribes to Jordanian Government

democraticunderground.comHarry Sargeant III (center) in between his buddies Charlie Crist (left) and Jordan's King Abdullah II. (right)​Harry Sargeant III -- the energy mogul, Delray Beach billionaire, and former Florida Republican Party finance chairman -- is under investigation by the Department ... More >>

Krazy Locos Ruffians Combine for 237 Years Up the River

PBSOJonathan Gonzalez, leader of Krazy Locos.​Six members of Krazy Locos -- a Lake Worth-based gang -- were sentenced to prison time yesterday for a few crimes.By "few," we mean the U.S. Department of Justice's Southern District Office says the gang has engaged in murder, weapons trafficking, and ... More >>

ACLU To Florida: "Two Lawsuits. Three Days Apart. And It's Only The Beginning."

aclufl.orgACLU of Florida's Howard Simon​The American Civil Liberties Union says Florida is "ground zero" in their fight for civil liberties -- which explains why it filed two lawsuits in three days against Gov. Rick Scott-approved legislation.The ACLU filed two federal lawsuits last week -- o ... More >>

That's Not Funny: Comedy Club Owners Trade Putdowns in Email Exchange

Perry Sak: Which club will he choose?​Last week, we heard from Pete O'Neil, the newcomer to Fort Lauderdale who decided to speak out about the FDA's antiquated ban on blood donations by homosexual men. That's not the only issue he's going to battle for -- it appears he's taking to the bullhorn in ... More >>

Asylum Denied

Only a fraction of Mexicans get U.S. asylum.

Get Out! Arizona and America Join Joe Arpaio in Rushing to Inquire: Are Your Papers in Order?

At Speech in West Palm Beach, Attorney General Eric Holder Touts Fraud Task Force

Flickr: MainJusticeEric Holder​What better place to promote a new Justice Department task force against financial fraud than South Florida? Specifically, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder gave his speech this afternoon at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, which staged a luncheon in his honor at ... More >>

Morning Juice: Bernie's Boats Go to Auction; Dalia's in Deep

​Let's check out local news on this Tuesday:Which boat of Bernie's floats your boat? The whole "flotilla" is to be auctioned today in Fort Lauderdale, with proceeds going toward a good cause: the scores of cheated investors. But mostly, attorney fees. [Sun-Sentinel]Dalia Dippolito, the Boynton Bea ... More >>

President Obama Fails to Go After Those Responsible for Financial Meltdown

Feds' New Stance on Medical Marijuana May Be Boon for West Palm-Based "GreenCard"

Flickr: captainandapants​Now that the U.S. Justice Department has committed -- at least rhetorically -- to an "efficient and rational use" of its enforcement powers against marijuana users and sellers, there's money to be made. Maybe Commerce Online of West Palm Beach will emerge as a kind-of moun ... More >>

Fugitive From Jersey Lived Under Assumed Identity in Delray Beach

Flickr: spinadelic​For those of you who thought you knew James Present, you didn't. You knew Ronald Hippolyte, the mastermind of an identity theft ring who was to serve a 4-and-a-half-year a prison sentence in New Jersey. He bolted in 2005 and has been living in Delray Beach as James Present since ... More >>

Deal Forged in South Florida Will Peel Back Secrecy of Swiss Bank

Flickr: twicepix​More details are emerging about the agreement between the U.S. Justice Department and UBS, the Swiss bank accused of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes -- a case that's been bandied about in South Florida's U.S. District Court and which has attracted the two nation's top diplom ... More >>

Morning Juice: Mystery in Miramar; Hurricane's Northern Path May Kill Bill

​So far, the morning brings no new information on what, exactly, happened yesterday in Miramar -- just that whatever it was was horrible. WPLG has some video with interviews from neighbors. In the meantime, here's what else is happening in South Florida:The U.S. Justice Department has indicted Alb ... More >>

Boca-Based Office Depot: More Screwed Up Than Dunder Mifflin?

Office supplies giant Office Depot, based in Boca Raton, is the latest major American corporation to get itself in trouble with federal regulators. The company, which claims $14.8 billion in annual sales, is being investigated for improper contact with business analysts. Specifically, representative ... More >>

Morning Juice: DCF Protects Children with Racists, State Beats Legion of Doom for Most Corrupt

The children of DCF.DCF Managers Use Racial Slurs That You'll Need to Look UpEmployees at the Department of Children and Families office in Tallahassee apparently like to throw around racial insults. An internal DCF audit found that six employees, even supervisors, were throwing around words, like " ... More >>

Janet Napolitano's Sorry Service Makes Her a Terrible Choice as Homeland Security Secretary

Avast, Ye Pirates

Get yourself -- and Congress -- ready for the next wave of absurd anti-file-sharing tactics

I SCREAM!!!

Buyout Revisited

Yoo-hoo! Investigators! Check the president's pockets!

Felon Follies

A problem that marred the 2000 ballot is back

A Family Affair

Wackenhut Corp.'s days as a South Florida firm are over, but its legacy lives on

Admitting Terror, Part 4

The INS's Mary Schneider warned of the terrorist threat, but nobody listened

Admitting Terror, Part 3

Florida INS director Dan Cadman fooled Congress; then his bosses promoted him

Admitting Terror

The immigration service's own describe how America failed to protect its borders from the September 11 terrorists

Letters to the Editor

Letters for May 3, 2001

Cyber Stakes

South Florida is at the heart of the internet gambling boom -- and of the war to stop it