May
18
North Miami keeps it classy: Mayor apologizes for prostitution remark yelled at councilman
Shouts were exchanged between Councilman Michael Blynn and Mayor Andre Pierre Tuesday night as the North Miami city council prepared to vote on a controversial garbage pickup ordinance.
The ordinance, which came before the council on first reading, had already sparked controversy: The mayor’s nephew, Ricardo Brutus, was arrested in March for allegedly accepting a $4,000 from a local businessman to ensure the ordinance was successful .
When Blynn, who opposed the ordinance, brought up the mayor’s nephew, Pierre responded with a jab his own:
“What happens if I say your daughter is a prostitute?” Pierre shouted at Blynn.
The mayor’s comment drew a sharp rebuke from Blynn’s wife, who shouted at him from the podium.
May
16
You have people who start off as a good person, and then they get addicted, and you hear the stories of young women who get addicted (to pills) and then they turn to prostitution and live from hotel room to hotel room and sleeping with anyone just to get their next fix, Koder said. And unfortunately, you see that a lot more than you might think. The Hollywood version of prostitution, thats not what we see. We see people who are living in terrible conditions, theyre addicted to drugs, and they prostitute themselves to support their habit. And you look at the progression of their faces in their arrest records or their drivers licenses, and they age. A girl whos in her 20s will look like shes in her 50s in five years. Its really sad.
May
14
White-Collar Crime Imprisoned Ex-Attorney Says Cash Bribes, Call Girls at Law Firm Condo Aided $1.2B Ponzi Scheme
Cash bribes totaling at least $1 million and call girls helped him pull off a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme, a disbarred Florida lawyer said during a 10-day deposition in a federal courtroom in Miami last month.
Now serving a 50-year prison term, Scott Rothstein said he hoped to win a sentence reduction by telling the truth about what happened. He pointed the finger at bankers, law partners, law enforcement officers, politicians, unidentified judges and others, claiming that cash bribes and a chance to participate in a “rock-star lifestyle” featuring private jets, sports events, strip clubs and call girls helped grease the wheels for his scheme, according to the Associated Press and the Pulp blog of the Broward/Palm Beach New Times.
See the full article from “ABA Journal”
May
12
Oh, Occupy Tampa, where art thou?
Occupy Tampa has moved lock, stock, placards, frisbees and skateboards from downtown Tampa to West Tampa.
They’re standing fast, and have morphed from direct action to a holding action, camped on a parcel of land owned by strip club empresario, Joe Redner, over there, backstage, in the wings, while between engagements on the Occupy Tampa main stage, Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park area over on Ashley Drive.
And Occupy Tampa’s next engagement on that main stage will be in August when the Republican National Convention will convene in Tampa for four long days of delegating, voting, and fussin’ and fightin’ inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum, over who carries the GOP banner into the Presidential electiion.
And four long days and nights of fussin’ and fightin’ outside the Forum over who can get arrested faster for throwing things at the massive security force assembled to contain them.
See the full article from “Examiner.com”
May
10
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May
08
Scott Rothstein Says Firm was Hotbed of Pot, Ponzi, and Prostitutes
Posted by Brian Baxter
Just when The Am Law Daily thought the legal news out of South Floridaâwhere strippers allegedly pose as paralegals to entertain drug barons incarcerated in downtown Miami’s Federal Detention Centerâcouldn’t get seamier, leave it to Scott Rothstein to set us straight.
As reported by sibling publication the Daily Business Review, recently released deposition transcripts covering two weeks of testimony by Rothstein last month offer a glimpse of the disgraced Fort Lauderdale attorney’s now-defunct firm that manage to pierce even our cynical veneer.
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Rothstein’s most eye-popping disclosure: at one point, his firm was spending $60,000 a month on escorts and prostitutes for himself and RRA lawyers, as well as RRA clients, bankers, and other individuals, with the trysts taking place in a condo paid for by the firm and across the street from RRA’s Fort Lauderdale headquarters, according to the DBR.
May
06
Former University of Miami football players who were allegedly showered with free jewelry, lap dances, and prostitutes by Nevin Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi-scheme operator and Hurricane booster, will not have to talk about it in bankruptcy proceedings, thanks to an agreement between the university and a bankruptcy trustee, The Miami Herald reports. In return for an $83,000 payment from the university, the trustee seeking to recover funds for Mr. Shapiro’s investors agreed not to try to recoup any more money from the university or the 70 living players who allegedly received improper benefits in violation of NCAA rules.
See the full article from “Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) (blog)”
May
04
Rothstein said that, in hopes of a reduced sentence, he was telling prosecutors about everyone involved in his scheme and about police officers and others whom he bribed with cash or encounters with prostitutes.
Recommendation’s Message
A recommendation from Centurion, Platinum and Level 3 would have been a lie because he had stopped paying them, Rothstein said. He said Meir Nordlicht, Platinum’s chief investment officer, and Jack Simony, a portfolio manager, agreed to help.
“My only concern was that, at the end of the day, they would lie for us,” Rothstein said. “That was my concern. They didn’t want this to blow. I didn’t want it to blow up. I had been assured by Mr. Simony and Mr. Nordlicht that they would not let it blow up.” Ray Casas, a spokesman for the funds, said Rothstein gave inconsistent accounts and the executives didn’t lie about the fraud.
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Rothstein said he worried the drug dealing might get someone’s attention. He didn’t worry about the prostitutes in the office.
See the full article from “BusinessWeek”
May
02
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See the full article from “XBIZ”
Apr
30
The men tortured and beat the woman, police said, because she had stolen four pairs of children’s shoes the men intended to give as gifts for Christmas.
The two men who climbed down from the attic Wednesday were Letrell McKnight and Santonio Smith, both 21. Darryl Williams, 35, was arrested Thursday.
All three men were charged with second-degree murder in the death of Stacia Berman, 42. All three have extensive arrest records in Pinellas County.
Berman was a transient, according to police, who at the time of her death was staying with the three men in their apartment at 527 Eighth St. N.
Police described their home, Apt. 3, as a “drug trap.” Berman had a long criminal record that included arrests for drug possession and prostitution. The men were supplying her with drugs, police said.
See the full article from “Tampabay.com”
Apr
28
Berman, who was staying with the other men, was known to smoke crack cocaine and prostitute herself. Puetz said she received a supply of drugs from the men.
McKnight and Smith were arrested about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at 3210 39th St. S.
The men were found after hiding out in the home’s attic.
When officers and deputies from the U.S. Marshals Service went to the house, 21-year-old Nicole Johnson, McKnight’s girlfriend, adamantly denied that Smith and McKnight were there, police said. She said it was just her, two children and a roommate.
Officers searched the home and didn’t find them, but suspected they were hiding in the attic.
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The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide, saying she suffered blunt trauma to the upper body. State records show Berman has a 20-year history of arrests that include drug possession and prostitution.
See the full article from “Tampabay.com”
Apr
26
Occupy Tampa protestors establishing new home base
By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff WriterTampa Bay Times Posted: Dec 29, 2011 05:31 PM
TAMPA — Less than three months after they began their all-day stints in downtown’s Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Occupy Tampa protestors are picking up stakes and heading for West Tampa land owned by strip club king Joe Redner.
Though they will keep a presence near Curtis Hixon, the protestors are moving their tents and “general assembly” rallies to Voice of Freedom Park, a small parcel Redner owns at 2101 W. Main Street.
Their reason: They don’t want to keep dealing with Tampa Police.
Officers have made 66 arrests, mostly for trespassing in a public park after hours, against protestors since Oct. 21, according to the police department.
“It’s a losing battle,” said protestor Becky Rubright, as she helped set up the first tent at the West Tampa park on Thursday. “We can’t just keep getting people arrested for trespassing.”
See the full article from “Tampabay.com”
Apr
24
Sean Kingston – Sean Kingston Laughs Off ‘False’ Stripper-For-Christmas Tale
27 December 2011 19:05
Sean Kingston Laughs Off ‘False’ Stripper-For-Christmas Tale
Singer Sean Kingston has dismissed reports suggesting he spent a fortune flying a Texas stripper and her family to Miami, Florida to join him for Christmas (11).
Editors at gossip website MediaTakeOut.com stated the Beautiful Girls hitmaker had become enamoured with an exotic dancer named Maliah and had paid for plane tickets for her family to fly out to Miami for the holidays.
The blog post was accompanied by photos of the singer posing with Maliah and her mother and step-father, with the article suggesting the whole trip cost Kingston over $20,000 (£12,500).
But Kingston has laughed off the report and blasted website editors for not checking their facts – because he moved out of his Miami property months ago and has since relocated to Los Angeles.
Apr
22
In a series of cocky, sometimes profane emails to an alleged accomplice, convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein bragged about his financial prowess, calling himself a “pimp” and a “punk” who loved making money so much “I feel like I just took six Viagra.”
The emails surfaced as part of a lawsuit against car dealership heir Ted Morse, who is being sued by more than two dozen Rothstein investors who claim he was a willing participant in Rothstein’s $1.2 billion fraud, the largest in South Florida history. The scheme collapsed in 2009 and Rothstein, 49, is now serving a 50-year federal sentence.
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Many of the emails are titled “Mo Money,” perhaps a reference to the song, “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” by rapper Biggie Smalls. Rothstein calls himself “Da Banker from the Bronx,” and calls Morse “dawg,” “bro” and “my pimp player bro.” He signs off on a March 25, 2008 message with “Me, The punk … with a bad reputation … like yours … hehehehehehe.”
See the full article from “ABC News”
Apr
20
Officers on land and water searched the city’s shoreline Tuesday for more body parts and will keep searching in the coming days. Meanwhile, police are asking the public to contact them with any information that could help them identify the person whose leg washed ashore. There’s no shortage of ways for a leg to be dumped into Tampa Bay, which is home to numerous marinas and boat slips, countless backyard docks and also commercial shipping lanes.
Police also said nothing links Tuesday’s discovery to a female body found just 4 miles away floating in Lake Maggiore on Christmas Day.
The woman was identified as Stacia Kay Berman, 42, whose last known address was 424 Second St. N. She was seen floating in the water about 3:30 p.m., on the north side of the lake by the 2800 block of 13th Street S.
The body found Sunday afternoon was not missing limbs. The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide Tuesday, saying she suffered blunt trauma to the upper body. Berman has a history of arrests going back 20 years, according to state records, that includes drug possession and prostitution.
See the full article from “Tampabay.com”
Apr
18
At trial, seven different victims, many them runaways at the time they met Mozie, testified that they worked or were recruited to work as prostitutes at Mozie’s residence, which he advertised as “The Boom Boom Room.” According to the trial evidence, The Boom Boom Room, also known as Lot 29, operated for more than a year as a house of prostitution.
Mozie advertised the business through the use of mass text messages to his contacts letting people know about the activities at the house each night. When customers arrived, they paid a cover charge to the security guard working the front door. The victims, many of them minors, worked in the house dancing for tips and engaging in sexual activity with male customers for money.
…
Several of the minor victims testified that before working as a prostitute for Mozie, he required them to have sex with him as part of their “orientation,” which he explained was his way of “testing the merchandise.” They also testified that Mozie would take sexually explicit images of them, which he attached to the text messages advertising the brothel.
See the full article from “7thSpace Interactive (press release)”
Apr
16
Kendall Jenner (aka Jailbait Kardashian) just turned 16, and yesterday a bunch of pics hit the web of her working a stripper pole with her friends. It must have been career day at her school. Hey, the Kardashians are going to need some sort of income in five years after they file for bankruptcy, and let’s face it, Kourtney will have had five kids by then, Kim will be in jail for fraud, and there’s no stage in the world that will support Khloe. So Kendall it is.
Apr
14
Kendall Jenner and her friends were photographed dancing around a stripper pole. So maybe she’s not “sweet 16″ after all.
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Whatever the case, Kendall doesn’t come off quite as innocent as she does in her sweet 16 special, but she’s not exactly showing off her stripper moves – instead she looks a little awkward posing with the pole. And as Crushable points out, it’s not like stripper poles are anything new to Kendall and Kylie Jenner – there’s one in their house, and they can be seen playing around on it in a 2007 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Considering that she and Kylie were just 11 and 9 at the time, that footage should be considered a lot more scandalous.
So why do you think Kendall Jenner and her friends were posing with a stripper pole? And does Kendall seem like she’s going to grow up to be the exact opposite of Kim Kardashian?
Apr
12
TAMPA, Fla. — The city’s strip club king is opening a private park he owns for Occupy Tampa protesters.
The Tampa Tribune ( http://bit.ly/vT3b1o) reports that Joe Redner is hosting a community luncheon for protesters and others at the park in west Tampa Saturday afternoon. The activist group Food Not Bombs will distribute clothes, blankets and food at the event.
Occupy Tampa protesters have maintained a presence in a waterfront park in downtown Tampa since Oct. 9. It grew out of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York protesting economic and social inequality.
Redner owns the city’s best-known strip club, Mons Venus. He’s also a community activist who has unsuccessfully run for public office a number of times through the years.
Apr
10
Mayor Cindy Lerner, who sponsored the resolution, said Pinecrest is the first municipality in Miami-Dade County to pass a resolution against casinos. (Miami Beach voted Wednesday to oppose the bill.) Lerner says Vegas-style gambling would wreck Miami-Dade’s economy.
“This would cannibalize area hotels and small business. It is the biggest box of all big-box casinos,” said Lerner. “We are community of entrepreneurs. This will destroy the fabric of our community.”
Genting Americas, the casino developer behind the bill, has promised 100,000 jobs, non-stop flights between Florida and Asia and $1.7 billion in revenue to the state.
Pinecrest resident Al Kramer spoke against the resolution and in favor of casinos. He told the council that he was raised in Atlantic City, and saw “gambling come in” and bring the city “back to life”.
Former County Commissioner Katy Sorenson attended the meeting and told the council that the casinos would be “bigger than anything in Las Vegas” and would increase prostitution, theft and burglaries in areas surrounding them.
Apr
08
Authorities allege that prostitution of minors was occurring at this home on the 2100 block of NW 29 Street in Oakland Park.
Apr
06
By Brittany Wallman December 14, 2011 06:16 PM
By Tonya Alanez A lunch time visit to a Hallandale Beach strip club has earned Hollywood assistant police chief and sheriff’s candidate Louie Granteed a counseling from his chief about appropriate meeting locations.
Granteed, 47, told Chief Chad Wagner that he stopped in at Cheetah Hallandale Beach for about 10 minutes during his Dec. 8 lunch break and he limited his visit to owner and long-time friend Joe Rodriguez’s office, city spokeswoman Raelin Storey said.
Wagner questioned Granteed about his visit to the club the following day.
“Based on the information Granteed provided, Chief Wagner does not feel there was any violation of departmental or city policy,” Storey said. “A city employee can, over their lunch break, go and run a personal errand, and that is apparently what occurred. But Chief Wagner did suggest to the assistant chief that if you do need to meet somebody, a better location would be a good idea.”
Apr
04
The victim, Rony Bent of Hollywood, abducted after a visit to a Miami-Dade strip club, was rescued thanks to the sleuthing of his brothers, a doctor and a state trooper.
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When his wife left town for a religious convention in September 2007, engineer Rony Bent made an unfortunate detour to a strip club — where a young woman then lured him to a Miami motel.What followed was a three-day abduction saga that included brutal beatings, robbers on absurd shopping sprees and a frantic search by his brothers, one a Florida state trooper, the other a Jackson Memorial Hospital physician.It ended with a cinematic rescue by heavily armed police officers who stormed the West Little River house where Bent, of Hollywood, was handcuffed and sprawled out on a filthy backroom mattress. And the epilogue took place Tuesday, when Bent faced his chief kidnapper, Johnny Haugabook, to lobby for a life sentence.“This is a monster. He has no pity for anybody,” a tearful Bent said at Tuesday’s sentencing. “Mr. Ha …
Apr
02
… The American people want jobs,” Speaker John Boehner told reporters here Monday evening. “This is as close to a shovel-ready project as you’re ever going to see.”
While the bill will now move to the Democrat-controlled Senate for a vote later this week, given Obama’s veto warning, it’s unlikely a decision on Keystone is forthcoming.
Lawmakers are also trying to find a way to compromise on the payroll tax cut without the Keystone clause before the tax jumps up in the new year.
And time is running out, because Congress recesses for Christmas Friday.
The omnibus bill passed in the House Tuesday also includes measures to allow states to require drug tests from unemployment insurance applicants, prevent welfare recipients from using their electronic benefits cards at casinos and strip clubs, block a new Environmental Protection Agency law curbing industrial pollution, and prevent illegal immigrants from receiving the children’s tax credit, among other measures.
Mar
31
The idea came about after a group of children from the Thames Valley Under 11s team approached the club and asked if they could donate their football shirts to the Deserving Children Africa charity, which one of the team’s family supported.
Pinewood Studios, who sponsor the Thames Valley team, got behind the plan and this led to their eventual sponsorship of the Mashujaa team.
The team comprises youngsters with ages varying from seven to 16 years-old, and they have chosen to call themselves Mashujaa FC, because it means heroes.
Mark Hamilton, spokesman for Pinewood Studios, said: “These children face many challenges in life as they live in the slums.
“Football is keeping these children away from many things, such as drugs and prostitution and with the support of clubs like Thames Valley Youth it is giving them a sense of belonging and pride and encouraging them to continue doing something which they really enjoy.”