By Dan Christensen
“Vigilante trappers” and pet activists have improperly stuck Broward taxpayers with the tab to sterilize feral and stray cats.
An internal county report says Broward’s Stop Pet Overpopulation Together (S.P.O.T.) program was misused by animal rescue groups to have wild cats spayed and neutered at local clinics in violation of program rules.
No allegations of [...]
Archive of posts filed under the County category.
Animal rescue groups misused Broward’s pet sterilization voucher program
Broward transit manager resigns in whistleblower case; probe continues
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
A ranking Broward County Transit official has resigned amid an internal corruption and waste investigation triggered by a whistleblower’s complaint.
Lorin S. Swirsky, transit manager for information technology, had been suspended without pay since June 3 after county investigators determined he lied about having a computer science degree from the University of Miami.
“He [...]
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 [...]
Broward’s $1.5 billion no-bid trash deal under fire by cities
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
The first shot was fired last week at Oakland Park City Hall in a brewing rebellion among Broward cities over the high cost of garbage disposal.
County officials have offered a proposal they say will save the cities nearly $49 million a year over what they now pay to get rid of their [...]
Lobbyists, landowners seek a yummy slice of courthouse pie
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
As Broward’s courthouse task force steamrolls ahead with its $328 million building plan for a new downtown government high-rise, it will have to do so without Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein.
Finkelstein has resigned, claiming the task force established to assess the need for a new courthouse has morphed into a body that’s [...]
Conflict of interest shuts down lobbyist Ron Book’s work for bail industry
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Flagged by Broward officials for a conflict of interest, county lobbyist Ron Book has agreed to stop pushing for a new state law that county officials say would seriously undermine Broward’s pretrial intervention program and cost local taxpayers millions.
The new law is being sought by another of Book’s clients, the Florida bail [...]
Contractors, campaign contributions and questions about Broward’s big money runway expansion project
By Dan Christensen
As Broward commissioners prepare to publicly debate the merits of a proposed new ethics code, a county contractor is accusing county officials of unfairly playing politics when handing out multimillion-dollar contracts.
CH2M Hill, the international engineering giant, says it ran into a buzz saw last year when it sought the lucrative job of lead [...]
Lori Parrish proposes, God disposes, pastor says
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
Tough-talking Broward Property Appraiser Lori Parrish called it a “tax dodge” four years ago when Pastor Frederick “Sonny” Irons asked her to grant his $1.9 million Fort Lauderdale waterfront estate tax-exemption as a church.
“Everyone knows what a real church is, and this isn’t it,” Parrish told the Sun-Sentinel after she rejected Irons’ request.
But Parrish [...]
Scandal plagued Broward airport contractor ousts chairman
By Dan Christensen
The slow motion fall of embattled PBS&J boss John Zumwalt moved rapidly toward closure over the weekend with the announcement that he had been replaced as company chairman and would soon resign.
Zumwalt’s ouster by PBS&J shareholders after five years as the company’s powerful chairman and chief executive officer was a surprise. His decision to leave [...]
CEO of engineering firm for Broward’s $810 million runway expansion to step down amid scandals
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
The boss of one of Florida’s biggest government contractors has announced he’s stepping down. The news comes weeks after embarrassing disclosures about his personal involvement in a corporate pay to play scandal, and disclosures about possible corrupt payoffs overseas by company officials.
“After a decade of my executive leadership through the best of times and [...]
