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 Government category.
Animal rescue groups misused Broward’s pet sterilization voucher program
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 [...]
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 [...]
Nine-year-old Boulis murder coming to big screen in Abramoff saga before trio of alleged killers stand trial
Anthony Moscatiello, top, Anthony Ferrari, left, and James Fiorillo
By Dan Christensen, BrowardBulldog.org
It was Fort Lauderdale’s murder of the decade: the 2001 gangland-style slaying of day-cruise casino cruise ship kingpin Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis.
On Oct. 1, it’s coming to a movie theater near you.
The three men charged in 2005 with conspiring to kill Boulis have yet to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
