Well, we now have photographic proof that Stephanie and Mitch Kraft, fresh out of jail after being booked on corruption charges, went to the candidates' forum the next night. It's slightly more grainy than the Zapruder film, but it's them all right.
The photo comes courtesy of Broward Cleansweep, the anonymous muckraker who was kicked off of Facebook without warning last week. I contacted Facebook about it, asking why the Facebook page had been terminated.
Mr Norman -
Thank you for reaching out to us. While we don't comment publicly on specific user accounts or pages, we want to reiterate profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook.
Thank you so much for your inquiry and let me know if you have further questions.
Fred Wolens
Facebook Public Policy
No, my only other question would be who filed the complaint with Facebook, and I know they won't answer that. But he's already back in another form.
In other news, have you heard about the recall efforts? There are three in South Florida right now. You have Norman Braman's attempt to knock Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez. A PAC called Miami Voice was then created to recall five more Miami-Dade county commissioners. And up north, you have the effort to recall the entire Riviera Beach City Council in Palm Beach County, an effort led by the incorrigible (and I mean that as a compliment) Fane Lozman and newspaper publisher John Beatty, who puts out the Palm Beach Sun newspaper.
Why no recall love in Broward, home of the worst politicians money can buy? Well, during the past year, the feds and the state have done a pretty good job of recalling a lot of bad politicians, the latest being Kraft. But perhaps the ones that fall through the cracks can be knocked out of office by the people.
Finally, a reader tried to set me straight about attorney David Bogenschutz. I wrote last week that Bogenschutz refrains from outrageous rhetoric -- unlike Kraft attorney Kevin Kulik -- when he defends politicians charged with corruption. From the reader:
Bob, I have to take issue with your characterization of Bogenschutz as more credible than other criminal defense lawyers. When Bogie was representing Ken Jenne, he let out some whoppers.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ken Jenne's attorney David Bogenschutz issued a statement on Jenne's behalf saying: Jenne is an "honest public servant," and, "At no time during [Jenne's] long and distinguished career has he ever violated the trust placed in him by the public that he continues to serve."
Touche. But I will add this: That's a stock defense quote, and the case against Jenne was more about personal corruption than political corruption (some will say it was like getting Al Capone on tax evasion). The case against Kraft is much more egregious.
Click inside for the Krafts' photo, plus a bonus photo of an apparent Pembroke Pines cop's ass (seriously).
The photo:
Yes, that's Stephanie Kraft in the second row with gray-haired Mitch next to her (apparently there's no hair dye left over for the hubby). Again this shot was taken at a candidate's forum at the Coral Springs Charter School less than 48 hours after they were released from jail on charges of bribery, unlawful compensation, etc. Kraft has been barnstorming for School Board candidate Dave Thomas to fill the seat she was removed from by the governor. Don't know what that says about Thomas, who is running against Jaemi Levine.
ADDED: Over on the Juice, we have a post on an animal rights' protest in Pembroke Pines. People were out to bring attention to a company called Primate Products that does testing on monkeys.
In addition to the 30 or so protesters, there were several members of the Pembroke Pines Police Department present, "presumably to keep the demonstration peaceful," writes Michael J. Mooney. "While one man -- protesters described him as a plainclothes cop -- leaned in the window of a squad car, having a conversation with two uniformed officers, he decided to bare his backside to the activists."UPDATED: The Pembroke Pines PD says the guy is not one of theirs. Question: Who is he?
Here's the photo.
Speaking of the Juice, I've been meaning to say something about the departure of Thomas Francis, founding editor of the blog, who left New Times recently. I'm gonna miss working with him and his digging in South Florida politics. There was something comforting about his muckraking on the North Broward Hospital District, about his hammering Allen West on a daily basis, about his keeping an eye on all things Broward. It was nice to have somebody of Francis' character on watch. The blog goes on, but Francis is definitely missed.
