Florida

‘Dirty’ Money Enforcement Blitz in FL

So-called dirty money is big business in Florida. And that means the state is a magnet for enforcement of federal laws banning banks from participating in money-laundering and similar schemes. ”On a proportional basis, [given] the number of institutions that Miami has, South Florida leads the country in Bank Secrecy…

Aug 8, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

Less Laughter as FL Lawyer Dies at 75

Sy Gaer, a beloved longtime Miami defense attorney known in courthouse circles for his cantankerous charm and unfailing sense of humor, has died following intestinal surgery. He was 75. Never at a loss for words, Gaer was quoted in the Miami Herald late last year in one classic courtroom exchange:…

Aug 7, 2007 7:09 PM CDT

Bloomberg: Insurers Aren’t Paying Claims

Despite having had to cover Hurricane Katrina, the worst U.S. disaster in the history of insurance, carriers are earning record profits. One reason why is that many don’t pay claims to the extent promised in insurance policies, a news agency says. “Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of…

Aug 3, 2007 8:47 PM CDT

2 Babies Die in Hot Cars, 1 Dad in Prison

Two grieving fathers in far-distant states still reproach themselves over the the deaths of their babies, whom they left alone in cars parked in the sun, years ago now. One does so in his faculty office at the University of California at Irvine. The other, a former horse groom, remembers…

Jul 31, 2007 10:52 PM CDT

Army Reservist Won’t Face 5th War Tour

A 26-year-old U.S. Army Reserve sergeant facing his fifth war-zone deployment has been given a reprieve after he filed suit in federal court in Florida. Erik Botta contended that the military’s denial of his request for an exemption constituted “unlawful custody,” and that it should be required to consider his…

Jul 31, 2007 7:37 PM CDT

Mortgage Foreclosures Rise 58 Percent

Mortgage foreclosures nationwide were up by 58 percent during the first half of 2007, compared to the first half of 2006. That translates to a total of 573,397 homes at some point in the foreclosure process between January and June 2007, from a notice of default to repossession, reports the…

Jul 31, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

HS Deportation Case: 1,500 Lobbyists

In less than a week, the government’s attempt to deport a star graduate of a Miami high school has provided an unexpected civics lesson that has turned some 1,500 friends and well-wishers into lobbyists. With the help of money from their college funds and Internet posts seeking support, friends of…

Jul 30, 2007 5:21 PM CDT

8 Targets in Prison Masturbation Cases

Updated: A Florida inmate convicted this week of masturbating while alone in his jail cell is reportedly only one of eight targets—along with state taxpayers—of what a Miami Herald columnist describes as “a spectacular case of selective prosecution.” Given the likely prevalence of such commonplace behavior in state prisons (not…

Jul 27, 2007 8:09 PM CDT

Top HS Grad, 18, Jailed for Deportation

When Juan Gomez graduated from high school in Miami this year, everyone he knew expected great things of him. The 18-year-old reportedly is one of the most stellar students ever to attend Killian High—a popular football player, he also graduated among the top 20 in his 780-student class and earned…

Jul 27, 2007 7:44 PM CDT

Judge’s Loafers Lucky Fit for FL Inmate

Wearing the trial judge’s loafers may have been the final sartorial touch that helped a Florida inmate win an acquittal on cocaine trafficking charges. Michael Fernandez, 22, was mistakenly brought from jail to his Fort Lauderdale trial Tuesday in his jail uniform. Although officials sent for—and received—his street clothes before…

Jul 26, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

Masturbating Inmate Convicted

Jurors deliberated only 45 minutes before finding a Florida inmate guilty of indecent exposure for masturbating alone in his jail cell. A Broward County sheriff’s deputy claimed inmate Terry Lee Alexander, 20, did not try to hide what he was doing, the Miami Herald reports. Deputy Coryus Veal testified she…

Jul 26, 2007 1:45 PM CDT

$6 Million Rollover Verdict

A Florida jury has awarded $6 million to a man injured in a rollover of a 1993 Ford Aerostar van. The jury found that the van’s roof was defectively designed, causing it to collapse in the accident five years ago, the Daily Business Review reports. Plaintiff Julian Felipe suffered a…

Jul 26, 2007 1:28 PM CDT

Major Jacksonville PI Firm is Splitting Up

Two longtime law partners in Jacksonville, Fla., have agreed to an amicable split, saying that their plaintiff personal injury firm had grown so large they were essentially officing together rather than practicing together. Woody Wilner and Robert Spohrer now plan to dissolve the firm they formed in 1991 and go…

Jul 26, 2007 12:40 AM CDT

Fla. Deals Cold-Case Cards to Inmates

In what a Miami newspaper describes as a macabre—and, so far, unique—game of cold-case poker in the nation’s prisons, authorities in Florida are spending $80,000 to print and deal out to inmates decks of special playing cards that provide information about unsolved crimes and photographs of victims. The poker decks,…

Jul 25, 2007 10:17 PM CDT

Jurors Questioned re Masturbation Habits

Jurors were questioned about their own personal masturbation habits today at the outset of a Florida trial in which they must determine if a 20-year-old inmate is guilty of masturbating while alone in his jail cell. In response to a defense lawyer’s questioning, all nine men among the prospective jurors…

Jul 25, 2007 9:54 PM CDT