-- John Holland this morning gives us a fairly in-depth look at Mutual Benefits' Colombian drug cartel connections. My favorite line: "The court records don't make clear whether Mutual Benefits was an active participant in the money laundering or a pawn."
Joel Steinger is nobody's pawn. He's a pawnmaker. He's a lifetime boiler room man with ties to Meyer Lansky and Al Malnik. Don't think for a minute he didn't know what was going on. Here's more on the Colombian connection and if you want to see a photo of Steinger with cartel member Jaime Rey Albornoz in Cali, click here.
Here's some truly sad news: Holland, who is one of the Sentinel's most aggressive and best-sourced reporters, has left the newspaper, according to sources. Word is he's taken a job in Bosnia -- yes, Bosnia -- with the help of the venerable Rosemary Armao. Don't kid yourself: That's a big loss.
-- The Miami Herald is has taken on a tenant in its downtown headquarters. Damn, if they hadn't cut the rental deal with Brown Macke, wonder how many more people they would have had to shitcan this week?
-- Another election last night that showed the newly found wisdom of the voters: Don Rosen prevailed over James DePelisi. Rosen is no honey, but DePelisi ... well, let's just say I think Sunrise dodged a bullet by rejecting this guy.
-- Been meaning to give a mention to NT colleague Michael J. Mooney, who has been on a (honor) roll. A story he wrote about the Kennedy assassination for D Magazine in Dallas was recently chosen to appear in The Best American Crime Reporting. Shortly after that, his poker story Royal Flushed, which ran in our fine publication last year, was picked for the Best American Sports Writing anthology. That's a year for the books, Moon man.
