By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Testimony began Tuesday in the politically-charged, insider stock trading trial of Fort Lauderdale heart doctor and top Republican fundraiser Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah.
Zachariah, who has raised millions of dollars for the GOP, stands accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of using nonpublic information to make nearly $1 million in illegal profits [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Business category.
Republican fundraiser’s insider trading trial opens, big names expected to testify
Timeshare industry to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, refunds to settle federal allegations
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Campaign contributions typically go to politicians, but timeshare owners in Broward, the state and across the country will soon split $562,000 – an amount equal to the illegal contributions collected by the political fundraising arm of the U.S. vacation industry from 2003-2007.
The payout is part of a deal between the industry and [...]
Former Pompano Beach body armor tycoon under the gun in huge fraud trial
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
The embattled founder of financially-hobbled Pompano Beach body armor maker Point Bank Solutions refers to himself on his foundation’s website as a “Living Lifesaving Legend.”
But federal prosecutors say former Broward mogul David H. Brooks is a world-class crook responsible for an audacious $200 million corporate theft.
Brooks, forced out as CEO a year [...]
Democrat Butterworth, state appeals court judge testify for embattled GOP fundraiser Zachariah
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Fort Lauderdale heart doctor and major GOP fundraiser Zachariah P. Zachariah has picked up two influential allies in advance of his federal insider stock-trading trial this summer.
Former Florida Attorney General and top Democrat Bob Butterworth and Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Melanie May, both Broward residents, testified under oath two weeks [...]
Worried neighborhoods seek moratorium on controversial Fort Lauderdale development law
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Spurred by a pair of high-profile zoning battles, a dozen Fort Lauderdale neighborhood associations have called on the city to halt the use of an innovative ordinance meant to encourage “unique” development.
Upset residents insist the city slap a moratorium on its eight-year-old Planned Urban Development scheme – commonly known as a PUD.
Some [...]
Whistleblower triggers corruption probe at Broward County Transit; one official suspended
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
A whistleblower’s allegations about possible corruption and wasted public funds at Broward County Transit (BCT) have sparked a quiet internal county investigation that’s already led to the suspension of one ranking transit official.
The unidentified county employee’s accusations are in a 12-page whistleblower complaint filed with the county’s Office of Professional Standards in [...]
Conflicting interests and questions about a Florida Supreme Court justice’s vote
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Retiring Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Wells knew he faced a conflict of interest in his relationship with his future employer at Orlando’s GrayRobinson when he disqualified himself from cases involving the law firm on Dec. 30, 2008.
But that did not stop him 30 days later from participating in a ruling [...]
It’s Forrest Gump vs. BP as Fort Lauderdale law firm looks to clean up on giant gulf spill
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
As oil continues to gush from a severed pipeline on the Gulf of Mexico seabed, a consortium of law firms stretching from Fort Lauderdale to Texas is preparing for its own kind of cleanup.
The first wave of more than a half-dozen lawsuits landed in federal court in New Orleans last week – one [...]
Former Chief Justice Wells failed to file required financial disclosure forms
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
When former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Wells retired in March 2009 he did not file final financial disclosure forms required by state law and judicial canons.
He belatedly did so this week after Broward Bulldog inquired about that omission.
Supreme Court justices, like lower court judges and other officeholders, must annually [...]
Ex-Supreme Court chief justice approves ballot petition, gets hired by firm allied with its sponsor
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Weeks after casting the deciding vote to approve a controversial ballot petition in December 2008, former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Wells joined a law firm aligned with the petition’s sponsor.
The high court’s 4-3 ruling gave life to a push by developers and statewide business interests – led by the [...]
