Note to “Distressed” Dinnen: No More Tears

From this morning’s Sun-Sentinel: Meanwhile, board member Maureen Dinnen lost her composure Tuesday when talking about the grand jury report. She called it serious but said some of the report “bordered on gossip and hearsay.”Dinnen began to cry after she said she had had no part in any of the misdeeds…

Adam Hasner Joins West in Mindless Bashing

With the rhetoric coming from Allen West and Adam Hasner, it seems only a matter of time before they start talking about protecting our precious bodily fluids against the Muslim “infiltration.” Hasner, likely U.S. Senate candidate and former Florida House majority leader who represented parts of Palm Beach and Broward…

Plantation Unconfidential

Plantation Chamber of Commerce President Siobhan Edwards focuses on the positive these days. She focuses on her four grandchildren, not the terrible situation that ended her marriage in what was then a hush-hush scandal that rocked Plantation City Hall six years ago. It all happened so fast. Siobhan’s husband, then-Councilman Bruce Edwards, filed for divorce against her in April 2005. Edwards’ colleague…

Whistleblower’s Open Letter to Education Commissioner

Schools inspector Michael Marchetti has been exposing corruption at the Broward County School Board for more than a decade, risking his job in the construction department at every turn. Most recently, he filed a lawsuit against the board, numerous individuals, and six school-building firms looking to recover millions in taxpayers’ money they…

Notorious Everglades Hotel Plan May Be Shot Down by Gun Range

The Everglades Corporate Park project on the edge of the Everglades in Sunrise might soon be killed as the literal victim of nearby gunplay.  After great controversy over the massive hotel and office space development, which would consist of a hotel and office space and is planned to be built in…

FDLE Investigating Sheriff Over Super Bowl? Good.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating Sheriff Al Lamberti’s Super Bowl adventure with his then-15-year-old son, Nick. Though I think there are far more important matters to investigate, this is a good thing. Remember that the Lamberti Super Bowl story was broken here on January 3 with a document showing that Nick…

The Many Faces of “Pill Mill Vinny”

The many faces of Vincent Colangelo, the convicted heroin and cocaine trafficker who decided he could make more money in the pill mill business, where authorities say he unloaded some 770,000 high-powered pain pills in a single year. Fort Lauderdale activist Cal Deal put together the montage. Deal saw his neighborhood sullied by…

Top Chef Recap: Paula Deen’s Down Home Fry Fest

In the last Top Chef, Angelo packed his knives because of a salty dish. Mike is totally freaking out about Angelo leaving. Even Tiffany thought it would be her turn to leave. Quickfire Challenge Paula Deen is there. Paula-freaking-Deen! Antonia says the challenge is going to be a “fry me…

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 evaluation of Supt. Jim Notter. Well,…

Medical Examiner Joshua Perper’s Son Arrested in Pill Mill Raid

The son of Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper was arrested this morning in a law enforcement raid of pain pill mills in South Florida. Zvi “Harry” Perper was arrested at 10 a.m. of Delray Pain Management, which he owns with another man, Kenneth Murry. I questioned the medical examiner about his…

The School Board Fiddled While Money Burned

Before you start comparing me to Model Citizen for this obviously photoshopped image of Broward Supt. Jim Notter, I have to confess that I didn’t create it. It comes courtesy of a video produced by BECON, the School Board TV station and propaganda center that is subsidized by taxpayers for millions of…

Notter: “I Have No Plans to Resign”

Passing the buck again — Gottlieb was told by staff that the school didn’t need to be built and could have stopped it instead of pushing it through. — I find it somehow comforting that John McEnroe is still out there cursing out line judges and breaking tennis racquets in big tennis…

Dylan Lauren: Interview With the Queen of Candy

Over the weekend, Dylan Lauren stopped by the newly opened Books & Books in the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale to promote her first book, Dylan’s Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life, and spread her joyful motto: “Candy is a lifestyle.”  Dylan’s Candy Bar, which opened in NYC in…

Ann Murray Appointed U.S. Fraud Felon to School Board Advisory Council

Ann Murray was elected to the Broward County School Board as a working-class reformer. In record time, she became part of the problem. Murray quickly cozied up to special-interest campaign contributors she claimed she would fight, has proven to be a go-along advocate of the corrupt status quo, and hasn’t reformed a thing. Worst of…

Time to Unmask the Political Operative Behind Online Extortion Attempt

For those pining for arrests coming from the statewide grand jury investigation, all hope isn’t lost. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which served as the investigative arm of the grand jury, has compiled all kinds of intelligence during the investigation and could produce charges in the case yet. The…

Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi Gets Harrassed by Muppets

Top Chef hostess and hottie, Padma Lakshmi, has shared the Top Chef kitchen with many guest judges including Anthony Bourdain, Ted Allen, Rocco DiSpirito and Michelle Bernstein. Occasionally, the guest judge will be a celebrity or something annoying, like a group of school children. This past week, however, Muppets Elmo,…

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 getting things done right.” Sure. Except when he was willfully violating…

Mendelsohn Talking To State; Klenet And Ritter Remain Under Criminal Investigation

When convicted political operative Alan Mendelsohn was recently debriefed regarding his knowledge of corruption in Florida, it wasn’t just federal officials at the table, according to multiple sources. State prosecutors working under Michael Satz were also there taking notes. The state and feds, informed sources say, are working together on the case, each taking up where the…

DCF Investigator: I’m Not Allowed To Work On Weekends

One 10-year-old girl, Nubia Doctor, was killed in horrific fashion. Her twin brother Victor is fighting for his life in the hospital, suffering from chemical burns and broken bones. The suspect is their adoptive father, foster parent Jorge Barahona, who was found unconscious beside his pest control truck on I-95 in Palm Beach…

Numerous KFC Stores Shutting Down Across Broward

Finger lickin’ gone? Information is sketchy right now, but reports are coming in that Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants at more than 20 locations in Broward County are being shut down as I type this. The only confirmed shutdown so far is at the KFC at 815 Hallandale Beach Boulevard. I…