-- JAABlog reports on the latest developments of the Judge Ana Gardiner saga. The evidenciary hearing to determine if Gardiner did anything wrong when she partied with then-prosecutor Howard Scheinberg during a murder trial (and allegedly spoke with him about the case) is now scheduled to happen in Judge Paul Backman's courtroom. Problem: Backman and Gardiner are friends who were recently spotted dining together at Bova Prime (nice little plug there for you, Scotty). The question is how in the hell did this thing land in Backman's lap? Seems there's no corruption big enough that a little courthouse coziness can't cover up. Chief Judge Victor Tobin should "fix" this problem quickly.
-- Speaking of corruption, the Miami Herald's Dan Christensen reports on a soft form of it coming from Broward Mayor Stacy Ritter, and her crooked lobbyist husband Russ "What Do I Do Now, Uncle Joel?" Klenet. It's another one for the compendium and it's nice to see after the front-page correction, which was overblown from the get-go. The backscratching this time involves Parkland Vice Mayor Jared Moskowitz, the son of Klenet crony (and attorney) Michael Moskowitz. Christensen also reported what the Pulp stated a long time ago: Ritter violated ethics laws when she didn't disclose her conflict regarding the Arena Operating Company.
Look, let's simplify this thing: Ritter and Klenet (and their chums) are involved in a devious and complicated web of corruption. Every newspaper in town has touched on it now. The feds need to stop pussyfooting around with Ritter, pop for honest services on the Mutual Benefits scandal and then crack open a giant can of racketeering on all their asses.
