Have You Seen This 250-Pound Mermaid?

Police in Boynton Beach are on the lookout for a large green mermaid. Or a statue of one anyway.Last night, Timothy Gallo, 47, reported to police that the statue had apparently been stolen from the backyard of his house on NE Tenth Avenue. The statue has been gone for a…

Warren Newell and Tony Masilotti, Out of Prison and Crying Innocent

There’s nothing quite so heartwarming as a convicted political felon crying foul and asking for his hard-earned bribes back. Two former Palm Beach County commissioners are fighting that fight, and their chutzpah is admirable.Warren Newell and Tony Masilotti, freshly freed from prison, argue in federal court documents that the money…

Thompson Academy’s Owner Faced Similar Abuse Allegations in Other States

Allegations that teenaged inmates were sexually assaulted, malnourished, and physically abused at the Thompson Academy juvenile detention center in Pembroke Pines echo similar accusations the center’s owner has faced in other states.In Iowa in 1995, a 15-year-old girl died after not receiving proper medical care at a facility run by…

More Allegations of Abuse Filed Against Thompson Academy

More teenagers have come forward with allegations of physical abuse and mistreatment at the Thompson Academy juvenile detention center in Pembroke Pines. Last month, a 15-year-old boy alleged in a federal lawsuit that he had twice been sexually assaulted by a counselor at the for-profit lockup. Now, attorneys from the…

The Rothstein-Salamone Emails

UPDATE: In November 2012, a lengthy letter from Chris Salamone’s attorney made its way to one of this company’s publishers. In it the lawyer lays out his and Mr. Salamone’s numerous objections to the wording of our 2010 blog post and the conclusions readers might draw from it. Characterizing Salamone…

Schools on “Lockdown” in Broward. Why? (Updated)

At 11 a.m. today, all Broward County’s schools went on lockdown due to a “credible threat” received by Pembroke Pines police. An as-yet-unidentified informant reportedly said that “something big” was going to happen at Broward government buildings, which include schools. (And one “virtual” school!) Presumably, “something big” is also “something…

Broward Lockdown Update: Threat Included Ethnic, Religious Slurs

UPDATED: Schools are lifting the lockdown. Superintendent Jim Notter just emailed select school officials with new information on the threat that has led to a lockdown at Broward County schools. In it, Notter writes that the wife of a person believed to have written the threat in an email confirmed to authorities that it is…

Fort Lauderdale “Pill Alley” Gets a Visit From Knoxville TV Station

There’s a stretch of Andrews Avenue near Commercial Boulevard that Fort Lauderdale tourism officials probably would rather out-of-towners skip. It’s exactly where a Knoxville TV station visited recently for a report this week titled “Aboard the Oxycontin Express” — the latest in a line of reports on South Florida’s pill…

Drug Company Payouts to Physicians: Fact of Life or a Wrench in Patient Care?

​ProPublica, the “independent non-profit newsroom” that won a Pulitzer this year for investigative reporting, recently released an ongoing investigation (Dollars for Docs) into doctors’ compensation from pharmaceutical companies and the effect it has on patient care. The investigative team crunched and organized numbers into a database that makes this information easy…

UPDATE: Police Close Case Against Richard Lippner With No Arrest

Richard Lippner, the wealthy Fort Lauderdale socialite under investigation after two young women died in his apartment four months apart, will not be charged with a crime related to their deaths, according to police.This afternoon, Fort Lauderdale police spokesperson Sgt. Frank Sousa said the case against Lippner is closed. Though…

Ex-Priest and Alleged Pedophile Neil Doherty Back in Jail

Father Neil Doherty — whose long, sordid story was recounted in a 2008 New Times cover story — was arrested last night in Palm Beach County. Doherty is an alleged serial abuser of children who has been walking free while awaiting trial since his 2006 arrest. Police apprehended Doherty because…