Miami-Dade mayor disappointed at Major League Baseball over All-Star Game

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez was swept into office in part because of his opposition to the public financing for the Marlins’ new baseball stadium.

But that doesn’t mean he was happy when Major League Baseball awarded the 2015 All-Star Game to Cincinnati. Marlins President David Samson said last year he hoped to host the game, continuing a streak of All-Star games at new ballparks. That was before the team decimated its roster and chopped its payroll after last season.

After MLB Commissioner Bud Selig made the Cincinnati announcement last month, Gimenez sent him a letter expressing his disappointment. And the mayor phoned Selig last week, according to Gimenez’s calendar.

“[N]ow that the facility is built and operating, it is my responsibility to ensure its greatest benefit to our residents,” Gimenez wrote.

“Public sentiment regarding the Stadium is at an all-time low, and now we are further disappointed by the recent announcement...[I]t is clear that Miami has been benched once again, this time by Major League Baseball.”

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Miami-Dade police officer convicted in lewdness case

A Miami-Dade police officer, who routinely stopped women drivers without cause and engaged in lewd conversations, was convicted in federal court Friday.

Prabhainjana Dwivedi, a seven-year veteran, was found guilty on six of seven counts of depriving people of their civil rights. He was found not guilty on the seventh count involving an undercover police officer.

Following the ruling, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez immediately remanded Dwivedi back into custody pending sentencing scheduled for sometime in April, according to prosecutor Karen Gilbert. The trial began Monday.

Dwivedi faces up to a year in prison for each count.

A grand jury indicted Dwivedi after he was arrested by FBI agents Sept. 5 at Miami-Dade police headquarters.

Dwivedi, 33, was charged after an investigation into complaints filed for stops made in May and June of 2011 in which he detained “numerous women” for “unreasonable” length of time “without probable cause, reasonable suspicion or other lawful authority to conduct a stop,” a criminal complaint said.

None of the questionable stops were ever listed on his daily reports or called into dispatch.

According to the complaint, Dwivedi who worked overnight patrolling an area from Key Biscayne to Jackson Memorial Hospital, stopped a 24-year-old bartender who was driving from South Beach to Broward County on her way home from work at about 5:30 a.m. on June 25, 2011, in the area of the Golden Glades interchange.

The bartender, identified as M.F., was accused by Dwivedi of driving under the influence. Pleading her innocence, she requested to have a sobriety test performed. Her request was refused.

Noticing a child’s safety seat in the back seat, Dwivedi threatened M.F. that she would lose custody of her son if she were to be arrested on DUI charges, the criminal complaint said. Then the conversation turned sexual.

According to the complaint, Dwivedi, began to inquire about her surgically enhanced breasts and asked “if she had any scars or incisions from the surgery.”

Dwivedi then asked to see the scars. M.F. obeyed, lifting her shirt and exposing her breasts.

According to the complaint written by FBI special agent Susan Funk, “M.F. stated that Dwivedi did not touch her breast.”

, Dwivedi then allowed her to drive home, but said he would follow her to make sure she got safely home. Once at M.F.’s residence, Dwivedi said he was thirsty and asked for a glass of water. Once inside her home, he lingered for an hour speaking of his personal life.

In the end, Dwivedi left without ever reporting anything to dispatch or making any notes of the stop in his daily reports, the criminal complaint said.

A month earlier, Dwivedi made another questionable stop.

According to the complaint, Dwivedi stopped a19-year-old woman at 2:20 a.m. on May 27, 2011, on her way home from a nightclub with two friends. The woman, identified, as A.R., was informed the traffic stop was a result of a failure to turn on her headlights.

Dwivedi also claimed she was driving under the influence, but A.R. disputed the accusation.

A.R. was instructed to sit in the back seat of his marked cruiser and then Dwivedi “instructed A.R. to lower the zipper on the front of her dress down past her breasts to her mid-stomach” according to the complaint.

An hour and 20 minutes later, A.R. was on her way home without any citation and Dwivedi again made no mention or note of the stop, the complaint said.

Miami Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this report.

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In immigration debate, evangelicals tie issue to Bible to push Republicans

WASHINGTON --
I was a stranger and you invited me in.

Evangelicals nationwide are turning their Bibles to Matthew 25:35 and praying that Congress is listening to those words — part of a highly-coordinated effort to spur progress on the long unresolved and contentious issue of immigration.

Faith leaders and their congregations have become an unlikely but powerful ally to reform advocates, framing the question over what to do with 11 million unauthorized residents as one of moral compassion, and tapping into influence among Republicans to soften opposition to a pathway to citizenship.

“Immigration is an issue that speaks to coming to the aid of the most vulnerable,” said the Rev. Joel Hunter, head of the megachurch Northland near Orlando. “We want to develop in our people a heart for those who are disadvantaged and give them a fair shake.”

Evangelicals have gotten involved in the issue in recent years but the current effort is unmatched, including grassroots mobilization, videos and direct appeals to policy makers.

To elevate their cause, the faith leaders, who have come together under the name Evangelical Immigration Table, have begun a campaign called, “I was a Stranger.”

It calls for church members to read the 40 verses of Scripture that relate to immigration — Exodus 23:12, for example, calls for resting on the seventh day and allowing the “stranger” or “foreigner” to refresh as well — and pray that legislators take the same Bible-led approach.

“We’re not telling people that you have to vote for this candidate, but we’re telling people that if you are evangelical Christian, the Bible should be your authority on the topic of immigration,” said Matthew Soerens, U.S. church training specialist for World Relief. He said many evangelicals were unaware of the links to immigration in the Bible.

The latest action came Thursday, when a group of religious leaders met with staff at the White House. Many also met privately with senators and representatives, focusing on Republicans who have generally opposed a path to citizenship.

“Evangelical America is the base of the Republican Party,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. “We’re seeing Republican members of Congress getting support as well as pressure from social conservatives. That’s the big difference in this debate, when a member who’s on the fence can look to his or her base and say, ’Oh, okay, my folks want me to do this.’ ”

During the last immigration debate, in 2006 and 2007, surveys showed white evangelicals were more likely than the general population to view immigrants as a threat to U.S. values. New studies and anecdotal evidence shows that has faded, helped by the swelling ranks of Hispanic evangelicals.

With 100 million evangelicals in the United States — that’s about a quarter of all voters — a sizable shift in thinking could be, in Noorani’s view, “a game changer.”

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, has shifted from an anti-“amnesty” candidate in 2010 to a centrist in the current debate, pushing an approach that toughens enforcement but also would allow a path to citizenship. Since stepping into the spotlight, Rubio has had private talks with prominent evangelicals such as Ralph Reed.

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Two children ejected from vehicle in Miami Gardens accident

Two children were ejected from a vehicle in an accident Wednesday afternoon on their way home from school.

They and two other children were headed home from Norland Middle School in a shuttle van they take every day. When the driver, who was northbound on Northwest 12th Avenue, reached 199th Street, an eastbound Nissan Altima hit the van, throwing two children from it.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue took them to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.

The parents of a girl in the van took her to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. Neither the fourth child nor the van’s driver was injured.

The driver of the eastbound vehicle claimed he was experiencing a heart attack just before the accident, but authorities determined he did not. He was treated at Jackson North Medical Center and reported to be in stable condition.

None of the children or drivers were immediately identified.

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Miami Heat has scholarships for graduation high school seniors

The Miami Heat is offering South Florida high school seniors college scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year.

Four scholarships of $2,500 each will go to seniors who excel in academics and community service.

One of the four scholarships is reserved for a student who plays sports.

Applicants must have at least a 3.2 grade point average by their final semester in high school, attend school in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach counties, be accepted to an accredited four-year college or university and demonstrate financial need.

Applications are available at nba.com/heat/community/community_education_scholarships.html and must be submitted by April 6.

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Woman gets 30-days in jail for giving the finger to a Miami-Dade judge

A woman facing a drug possession charge was sentenced to 30 days in jail on Monday for giving the finger to a Miami-Dade judge, NBC6 is reporting.

Penelope Soto, 18, had been arrested for possession of Xanax and was brought before Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat Monday, where she was asked about her assets during a video court hearing, the station said.

During an exchange the judge felt was disrespectful, Soto flipped Rodriguez-Chomat her middle finger and blurted out: "[expletive] you" as she walked away from the camera.

The judge demanded she return to the podium and sentenced her to 30-days in jail for contempt of court

It all began when Soto, sporting orange jail jumpsuit, appeared to make light of the proceedings, laughing when she was asked how much her jewelry was worth.

"It's not a joke, you know, we're not in a club now," Rodriguez-Chomat told her. "We are not in a club, be serious about it."

"I'm serious about it, you just made me laugh," Soto replied. "You just made me laugh, I apologize. It's worth a lot of money."

"Like what?" the judge asked.

"Like Rick Ross. It's worth money," she said.

The judge, not understanding the odd reference to the South Florida rapper who made news last week when his car was fired at on Las Olas Boulevard, asked Soto if she's taken any drugs in the past 24 hours.

"Actually, no," she replied.

Rodriguez-Chomat set her bond at $5,000 and said "bye, bye," and Soto laughed and replied " Adios."

Annoyed, Rodriguez-Chomat summoned her back and reset her bond at $10,000, shocking Soto.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"I am serious. Adios," he replied.

To watch the video of the exchange on the NBC6 website, click here.

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Ex-Broward deputy charged with trying to strangle wife

Former Broward sheriff’s Deputy Maury Hernandez, who made headlines more than five years ago when he was shot in the head during a traffic stop and made a near-miraculous recovery, was arrested Sunday night for allegedly trying to strangle his wife.

Miami-Dade police charged Hernandez with battery and domestic violence. His wife, Ivonne Linen, is a Miami-Dade police officer.

According to Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4, Hernandez was held at a pretrial detention center in downtown Miami then released on bail.

Attempts to contact Hernandez were unsuccessful.

The 33-year-old former BSO deputy was shot in the back of the head on Aug. 8, 2007, while on duty. David Maldonado, a motorcyclist, was stopped by Hernandez for speeding through several red lights on Pembroke Road. He shot Hernandez, who fell into a coma and gradually recovered.

Maldonado was convicted of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and sentenced to life in prison.

Hernandez sued the Florida Department of Corrections for negligence two years later, claiming the department did not follow up on Maldonado’s explanation for possessing a gun. Maldonado, an ex-con with a lengthy criminal record, had said the gun was for work-related purposes.

In January 2012, Hernandez shot a homeless man in Miami Lakes. The man allegedly tried to assault Hernandez’s family at a shopping center on 16403 NW 67th Ave. The retired officer fired his registered gun several times at the man, who was wandering the area asking for money, and approached Hernandez, his then-fiancée and their children.

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Plenty of opinions on fixing the nation’s broken immigration system

Most agree that the nation’s immigration system is broken, but there’s no agreement on fixing it.

This week, the debate over immigration reform emerged once again. President Barack Obama outlined his plan on a visit to Nevada on Tuesday. On Monday, a bipartisan group of eight senators, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, outlined their plan. Both similar, but one key difference is the time it takes for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants to become legal U.S. residents and, eventually, U.S. citizens.

Obama’s plan would allow undocumented immigrants to receive work permits and, presumably, quickly begin the process of applying for permanent legal U.S. residency — more commonly known as a green card. The Senate proposal would put undocumented immigrants in line with everyone else trying to get into country, a process that could take decades to complete.

There is no specific bill on the table, but Obama and top Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle say they want to a bill passed by summer’s end.

The Miami Herald sought the opinions of members of HeraldSource by asking whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to get on a path to citizenship and what requirements would have to be met to qualify.

The group is part of the popular Public Insight Network and helps The Herald explore timely issues in the news. Here’s a sampling of the comments:

Kirsten Llama, of Miami:

“Yes. As long as they do not commit crimes and make an effort to learn English. They are here. We need them. They take jobs many natives will not take. They will pay their fair share of taxes as citizens. If they serve in the military or work in humanitarian jobs, such as medical and education, they should be given a faster path [to citizenship]. Insist they go home for half a year before they reapply to return. If they do not fulfill their jobs, they should be sent home.

Ed Wujciak, of Hollywood:

Yes. The presence of “second-class residents,” which is what undocumented immigrants are, creates great strains in our society. These people are vulnerable, afraid, and powerless to participate in the society they live in. They are here because the U.S. government has had a “see no evil” attitude toward them. They were allowed to come and stay because they work cheap and boost corporate profits, but they are powerless to improve their situation. In other words, they’re perfect employees. Plus, their presence in such great numbers puts great downward pressure on the wages and working conditions of everyone else. Our policy toward these people has been dishonest and exploitative. Our policies acted as an unspoken invitation and we owe them the dignity of legal status.

Fred San Millan, of Miami:

No. It will open a floodgate and more people will invade the United States, creating a real social calamity that will definitely affect this country forever on all fronts, social and economic. I would keep the same rules of a balanced quota for each country, and register the illegal in this country without persecuting them, however. [I suggest] a nationwide referendum for this immigration problem.

Ed Gugliotta, of Miami Beach:

No. Not before all the others that are legally in line waiting for their chance, such as family members, professional workers [H1B or O visas, investors E1, L1] visas, who have been in the country for many years, abiding by the law, paying taxes, investing and waiting patiently their so slow process to obtain at least a green card. Ease the process of obtaining the Green Card for family members and workers that have shown good faith and honest intention on becoming valuable and productive residents, Undocumented immigrants can then follow the legal path to citizenship. Secure the borders so no more illegals can access the American soil, and undocumented already here (although they are technically felons) must learn the language, have a local resident or citizen as sponsor, no criminal background, and some kind of skill useful for the nation. Then they could obtain some kind of parole permit that would allow them to stay, have a job, get a driver’s license, pay taxes and a two-year test period before accessing a special, say, blue card that would allow them to stay for 5 years, and subsequently, if accepted, request the green card.

Sergio R. Bustos is The Miami Herald’s politics and state government editor. He can be reached at sbustos@MiamiHerald.com. Public Insight Journalism Analyst Stefania Ferro can be reached at sferro@ MiamiHerald.com. Sign up for the Public Insight Network by going to MiamiHerald.com/Insight.

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At University of Miami, Justice Sonia Sotomayor gets real

From her days as a young girl in the Bronx being raised by her mother after the death of her father to becoming the first Hispanic on the highest judicial body in the country, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told the story of her journey before a captivated audience at the University of Miami on Friday night.

Sotomayor spoke with University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala at the BankUnited Center to University of Miami students, Coral Gables residents and perhaps a future Supreme Court justice about the inspiration behind her recently published memoir My Beloved World.

“Love and passion, that is the only way you do something well,” Sotomayor said. “Do a few things, but do them well.”

Sotomayor, 58, spoke of the many things that inspired her to share her story with the world, one of which was in responses to questions she hadn’t expected during her confirmation process, such as how children cope when a parent dies, especially if they don’t have a mother like hers.

“I began to understand that I couldn’t talk to every child in the country,” Sotomayor said. “I could give them the answers in a book.”

One child she did embrace and speak with on Friday evening was a young girl in the audience named Madeline. Madeline, who was introduced by Shalala, and Sotomayor turned out to have one thing in common: a love for Nancy Drew.

Sotomayor credits the lessons she learned from the fictional tales of a young girl detective as one of the motivations for her successful career.

“When she [Nancy Drew] was trying to solve people’s problems,” Sotomayor told Madeline, “she was trying to help people.”

“I think too many young lawyers forget that the law is the noblest profession you can enter,” Sotomayor said. “What you do is helping people.”

When asked what other profession she would have ever considered going into, Sotomayor said there was not one. “This fish found her pond, and she ain’t changing it,” Sotomayor said.

Shalala questioned Sotomayor about her life as a diabetic, which her memoir speaks of at great length.

“If you have diabetes and want to live a full life, you figure out how to have both things,” Sotomayor said.

She was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at 8 and she credits living with the chronic illness with teaching her discipline. “Every moment of every day I am self-monitoring inside,” Sotomayor said.

That constant discipline, she said, teaches you to do things like monitoring diet, something she feels everybody should do.

With many students in the audience, she was asked about her scariest experience in law school.

“Being there,” Sotomayor chuckled. “If you think you are smart in college, you realize how dumb you are.”

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Sen. Marco Rubio's role in immigration debate draws tea party criticism and support

WASHINGTON --
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio was lifted to national prominence with help from the tea party, but his leadership on immigration reform has elicited strong reaction from members of the conservative movement, from outrage to acceptance.

“A lot of members are saying it’s an amnesty bill. They’re not happy with him,” said Everett Wilkinson of South Florida, who heads the newly named Liberty Federation boasting more than 100,000 members.

Wilkinson said he’s been in contact with Rubio’s office and has asked for information to help explain Rubio’s thinking to tea party members.

“Most of them are upset. We feel there’s other issues he could be focused on,” Wilkinson said, citing the debt. “It could hurt him with the tea party but it’s too early to say. This whole thing could go off like an Acme rocket. You never know what direction it’s going to go. He may hop off it.”

But Henry Kelley of the Florida Tea Party Network said members he’s been in touch with are generally supportive of Rubio’s approach, which calls for tougher enforcement before a pathway to citizenship kicks in.

“I’ve always said ’round them up and throw them out’ is not a strategy,” Kelley said. “It’s time to deal with this. I don’t see this as amnesty.”

Since joining the debate last month, Rubio has aggressively sold his message to just about anyone who will listen. On Tuesday alone he appeared on Univision, Telemundo, CNN en Espanol, Fox News’ American Morning and did interviews with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mike Huckabee and Mark Levin, an ultra-conservative radio host.

Largely he has quieted dissent from conservative thought leaders, providing hope that he can deliver Republican votes.

But in recent days another side has surfaced. The headline on a piece Wednesday by an editor from National Review was headlined “Marco Rubio’s bad deal.” Erick Erickson of the influential Red State blog wrote: “I don’t like Marco Rubio’s plan. There I said it.”

Twitter has lit up with criticism.

@SteveNewcomer wrote: “How quick the Tea Party candidates turn! RUBIO IS ANOTHER SELL-OUT!”

@BarryOCommunist wrote, “@marcorubio you’re dead to me. No this isn’t a threat but rather an observation. You’re a sell out just like the rest of #GOP.”

Twitter is hardly a scientific guide of public sentiment but the grief has been steady. Rubio is also receiving praise. “I appreciated your honesty and passion while on Limbaugh,” wrote Robert C. Howington, who describes himself on Twitter as a school teacher, home builder and conservative.

Rubio has a special relationship with the tea party. Though he was long an establishment Republican, serving nine years in the Florida House, the tea party gave him a boost in his 2010 U.S. Senate race against then-Republican Gov. Charlie Crist.

Rubio played down the political implications, saying feedback he’s gotten has been helpful. His office has been interacting with tea party members on immigration for the past year and a conference call is being considered as the debate begins to reach a boil.

“I wouldn’t call it backlash,” Rubio said in an interview Thursday. “Look, there are people that have very bad memories about some of the efforts in the past that have been made to reform immigration.”

He stressed that the plan he’s signed onto is only a set of principles that need to be formed into legislation.

Asked about the risk of being invovled, he said, “I haven’t done a political analysis of this. I just think this country has a problem and we have to address it once and for all.”

There’s little doubt Rubio, who campaigned in 2010 on a mostly hard-line approach to immigration, sees the shifting mood. How successful the GOP is in reversing its declining support among Hispanics could help determine Rubio’s fortunes as a future presidential candidate.

Rubio acknowledges that fixing immigration alone won’t turn Hispanics to the GOP but says it will clear the way for him and others to pitch the virtues of smaller government.

“I understand there are those who will not support any effort,” he wrote in response to Erickson’s critical blog. “Some raise valid points and I respect their views. But in the end, to leave things the way they are now is de facto amnesty and a barrier to accomplishing important government reforms in other areas. It is no way to run a nation of immigrants.”

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Weather alert: Cool-down to the 50s expected Thursday, Friday nights

A cool front is heading our way.

Temperatures in South Florida are forecast to dip into the 50s starting Thursday night.

Whoo-hoo!

But before that, highs will rise to the mid- to upper-70s before cooling down overnight to the mid-50s with a breeze.

Friday night will be cool again, with lows in the upper-50s.

A similar patter is predicted through the weekend.

Click here for the full weather forecast.

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FBI raids West Palm Beach office of doctor tied to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez

FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. — who has denied what he calls the “fallacious allegations.”

Agents gathered at the medical-office complex of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a contributor to Menendez and other prominent politicians, to start hauling away potential evidence in several vans.

The investigation is believed to be focusing on Melgen’s finances and the allegations about Menendez’s trips and contact with prostitutes. A spokesman for Menendez could not be reached for comment, nor could Melgen.

Melgen has an outstanding IRS lien of $11.1 million for taxes owed from 2006 to 2009, according to records filed with the Palm Beach County recorder’s office. A previous IRS lien for $6.2 million was released in 2011.

Despite those financial problems, Melgen and his family have contributed at least $357,000 to candidates and committees since 1998, according to Florida and federal campaign records. Of that, the Melgens have contributed about 9 percent to Menendez’s federal campaigns.

Melgen also owns a private CL-600 Challenger plane through one of his West Palm Beach-based companies, and frequently flies between South Florida and Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, where he is from.

Menendez has flown on the plane at least once, his office has said, when he was chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2009 to 2011, when the Melgens contributed about $60,400 to the group. A spokeswoman had previously said that Menendez and Melgen are longtime friends and said the senator did nothing improper.

Melgen was first linked to Menendez just before the November elections, when the conservative Daily Caller website interviewed two alleged prostitutes who said they had relations with the New Jersey Democrat at Melgen’s Dominican Republic mansion in Casa de Campo.

After the election, the news died down.

But then, days before Menendez was about to start leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as chairman, reporters started receiving a 58-page dossier of emails between a Miami FBI agent and a tipster who claimed that some of the prostitutes had been underage.

“I’m not going to respond to the fallacious allegations of your story,” Menendez told the Daily Caller on Monday when a reporter caught up with him on a train in Washington.

At the time, Menendez had just stepped into the national spotlight along with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and six other senators who are hammering out a highly watched immigration plan that is the talk of Washington.

Rubio is one of the few big-name Florida politicians who has not received campaign money from the Melgens, who have contributed to Sen. Bill Nelson and Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Joe Garcia, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, among others.

The FBI would not comment on the emails, and the agent, Regino Chavez, did not return calls or emails. But sources familiar with the investigation told The Miami Herald that the emails are real.

The emails from agent Chavez show that he tried to find out what happened. But the tipster, who went by the name “Peter Williams,” refused to talk to him by telephone or meet him face to face.

Chavez contacted the tipster Aug.1, 2012, after the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington referred the case to the FBI. The tipster would not meet or speak by phone to CREW or to an investigative reporter, either.

“As far as the information you have provided, we have been unable to confirm most of it,” Chavez wrote on Sept. 12. “We know that you are providing accurate information.”

But it is not clear what that specific information is because Chavez was unable to interview the alleged prostitutes. Over the months, Chavez tried to meet or speak with the tipster, but had no luck.

Then, on Nov. 1, the agent wrote the tipster again and drew attention to the Daily Caller interview with the alleged prostitutes.

“I think we are at the point where you and I need to communicate over the phone so that we can move faster,” he wrote.

No luck.

Amid the suspicious circumstances of the complaints, Democrats have tried to characterize the reports about Menendez and Melgen as a right-wing smear job.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid refused to comment on the possibility of an FBI investigation when he was asked Tuesday about the case.

Said Reid: “Always consider the source. All anyone here has to look at is the source where this comes from.”

Tuesday night’s raid, however, shows that there is at least an investigation tied to Menendez’s longtime friend and ally.

Miami Herald Staff Writer Luisa Yanez contributed to this report.

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Related developers find themselves in court over tactics

His company on trial over its tactics in a controversial condo project, Jorge Pérez, the celebrated developer, found himself on the witness stand Monday answering to an unexpected foe: Jorge Pérez, the author.

Pérez, the chairman of the Related Group, testified in the trial of a lawsuit brought against his company by The Vizcayans, a fundraising and support group for the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The Vizcayans have accused Pérez’s company of secretly manipulating the zoning process at Miami City Hall to win approval in 2007 for a three-tower condo project next to Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove — forcing the Vizcayans to spend more than $1 million in legal fees in its successful effort to kill the project.

The Vizcayans, who objected to the project because it would have intruded on the views from the historic property, have also accused the developers of quietly buying the approval of two local neighborhood associations by offering them $8 million in exchange for their support.

William Davis, a lawyer for the Vizcayans, questioned Pérez about the arrangement by citing passages from Pérez’s 2009 book, Powerhouse Principles: The Ultimate Blueprint for Real Estate Success in an Ever-Changing Market (foreword by Donald Trump). In the book, Pérez discussed his efforts to build the Mercy Hospital project, and said his team decided to keep the payments to the neighborhood groups secret because “we gave them a lot of money,” and he feared other groups would ask for more if they got wind of it.

Pérez sheepishly conceded that he didn’t exactly write his book — it was the work of a ghostwriter with whom he worked.

“They were my thoughts interpreted by a person that was writing,” he said.

Davis also tried to hoist Pérez on one of his powerhouse principles from the book: “neutralize the opposition.”

He suggested that Related sued the Vizcayans seeking public records in an effort to harass them. Pérez denied the allegation and said he had no recollection of that lawsuit.

Pérez insisted that there was nothing sinister about the deals with the neighborhood groups; he said the payments to the groups were simply a routine practice his firm follows when it seeks community support for its projects.

“I’m doing that on probably 10 projects right now,” Pérez said.

Yery Marrero, the president of the Natoma Manors homeowners’ association, told jurors that her group supported the condo project not because of the promise of money, but because they thought the condos would prevent Mercy Hospital from expanding and bringing even more traffic to their already congested neighborhood.

“Our issue in our neighborhood is traffic,” Marrero told jurors. “Per day we have so many cars going through there.”

The Vizcayans’ lawyers have portrayed the payments as part of a larger scheme to win over the Miami City Commission, which had to endorse zoning and land-use changes for the condo project. They have accused Related’s staffers, lawyers and lobbyists of working behind the scenes to essentially rig the commission vote.

In one January 2007 email, a Related vice president told Pérez that they had confirmed the votes of three commissioners in favor of the condo deal — days before the first public hearing on the project.

The City Commission ultimately approved the project in a 3-2 vote. But following a suit from The Vizcayans, an appeals court later overturned the decision, finding that the city ran afoul of state zoning laws and that then-Mayor Manny Diaz had improper contact with Pérez during the veto period after the vote.

Diaz is expected to testify Tuesday.

Related’s lawyers, John Shubin and Israel Reyes, have asked Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick to throw out the case, saying The Vizcayans have failed to prove that the developers set out to deliberately harm the nonprofit.

The developers’ lawyers also called Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado as a witness Monday. Regalado, who was on the commission at the time of the 2007 vote, said he never heard anything suggesting that the developers were trying to harm The Vizcayans.

Shubin said the Vizcayans are wrongly seeking to punish the developers for simply petitioning the government for a zoning change.

“This is all about petitioning activity,” Shubin said. “They can’t even cite to you a case that looks remotely like this one that has been brought.”

Pérez took his day on the witness stand with good humor. “I’m glad someone is reading my book,” he said when his testimony ended.

The trial, now in its fourth week, is expected to end this week.

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Rubio, Senate ‘Gang of Eight’ unveil bipartisan immigration deal

A group of eight Democratic and Republicans senators, including Florida’s Marco Rubio, will officially release a wide-ranging immigration plan Monday that could give a pathway to citizenship, tighten border security and increase guest-worker permits.

The five-page plan from the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” contains most of the key concepts Rubio has presented to conservative media figures over the past month. The senators, still working on the specifics, want to draft legislation by March.

Most controversially, the proposal would give a pathway to residency — and even citizenship — to many of the estimated 11 million immigrants unlawfully in the United States.

While some conservatives call it amnesty, Rubio says it’s not because the immigrants would have to pay fines, back taxes and undergo a criminal background check — a similar proposal made by President Barack Obama in May 2011.

“We can’t round up millions of people and deport them,” Rubio wrote Sunday in the Las Vegas Review Journal, the home paper of Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid.

“But we also can’t fix our broken immigration system if we provide incentives for people to come here illegally — precisely the signal a blanket amnesty would send,” Rubio wrote.

Those undocumented immigrants granted legal residency wouldn’t have access to welfare at first; nor would they be eligible for citizenship until 1) those who legally applied before them get their citizenship and 2) the borders are verified as secure.

Conservative commentator Mickey Kaus bashed the "Rubio bill" on Twitter as a "con."

"Con at heart of Rubio bill-Undocumented are legalized immediately! Not going to be kicked out if enforcement’s degraded," Kaus wrote.

The proposal also seeks to give special consideration to farm laborers, high-tech workers and young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children. The latter proposal stops short of the DREAM Act for college- and military-bound undocumented immigrants.

The Gang of Eight’s plan rests on four "pillars:"

1. Create a tough but fair path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States that is contingent upon securing our borders and tracking whether legal immigrants have left the country when required.

2. Reform our legal immigration system to better recognize the importance of characteristics that will help build the American economy and strengthen American families.

3. Create an effective employment verification system that will prevent identity theft and end the hiring of future unauthorized workers.

4. Establish an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our nation’s workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers.

The plan is just a framework. So many of the hard details concerning how long people would wait for citizenship, how the border is declared secure and roughly how much it would all cost will have to be worked out in the coming months.

The Senate legislation, whenever it’s drafted, will also spell out how the visa process would be streamlined, what new types of work permits would be available and how the government plans to stop businesses from hiring illegal immigrants.

Obama plans to speak Tuesday in Nevada about immigration and told some members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus last week that the issue is a top priority.

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Woman’s Club member earns another well-deserved honor

Warm congratulations to my friend and Miami Woman’s Club sister Dolly MacIntyre, who will be honored as the club’s Historian of the Year for 2013 on Tuesday at the monthly luncheon meeting.

Dolly has been a resident of Miami for 56 years. She began her involvement with local history and historic preservation in 1966. She is a kind and unassuming woman who goes about doing good works without blowing her own horn and she is a highly acclaimed activist for historic preservation and the recipient of numerous awards for dedicated service.

In 2012, she received the Mary Call Darby Collins Award from the state of Florida for her preservation work. Early on, she became a charter member of the Villagers and founding president of the Dade Heritage Trust, and today she remains active in both organizations.

Dolly is a lonttime member and past officer of the MWC, the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove, the Dade County Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Women’s History Coalition. In addition, she is a board and committee member of many community organizations.

The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. with networking, with lunch and the program to follow at noon in the Ballroom of the Doubletree Grand Hotel, 1717 N. Bayshore Dr.

You can still make reservations and pre-order for vegetarian option by calling Nancy Smith at 305-891-3789. The cost is $25 for members and $35 for non members.

Retired FIU professor honored for book

There’s a lot to be happy about today. Howard B. Rock, Florida International University professor of history emeritus, recently was awarded the Everett Family Foundation Jewish Book of the Year at the 2012 National Jewish Book Awards. The award was announced Jan. 15 by the Jewish Book Council and was for the three-volume series City of Promises: A History of the Jews of New York of which Rock wrote the first volume, Haven of Liberty: New York Jews in the New world, 1654-1865.

Rock shared the top Jewish book award with Annie Polland and Daniel Soyer, who authored the second volume, "Emerging Metropolis: New York Jews in the Age of Immigration, 1840-1920", Jeffrey S. Gurock, who wrote the third volume, "Jews in Gotham: New York Jews in a Changing City, 1920-2010", and noted Jewish historian Deborah Dash Moore, who was the general editor of the project.

Rock, a Miami resident and member of Temple Israel of Greater Miami, also co-authored a history of New York Jewry. He taught American history for 36 years at FIU. His speciality is early American history to 1815, early American social history, the history of New York City, early American labor history and early American political history. In addition, he has published an/or edited five books, including Artisans of the New Republic, The New York Artisan, Keepers of the Revolution, The American Artisans, and A History of New York Images.

Guest composer at FIU

The Florida International School of Music will present a program, “East Meets West,” with guest composer Chinary Ung and the FIU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, 10910 SW 17th St.

Also featured on the program is the Amernet String Quartet and the NOBUS ensemble and the music of Ung, Garcia, Sudol, Jen and Colangelo.

The concert is free and open to the public.

MDC leader to speak in Homestead

You are invited to hear Jeanne Jacobs, president of the Miami Dade College Homestead campus at noon on Feb. 4, at the Homestead Community Center, 1601 N. Krome Ave. Jacobs is the Black History Month speaker at the Bea Peskoe Lunchtime Lecture series, presented free by the Homestead Center for the Arts.

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Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones running for reelection

Eight years have passed since Michelle Spence-Jones was elected to the Miami City Commission.

She isn’t willing to leave just yet.

Spence-Jones — who was charged with bribery and grand theft in 2009, suspended from office, acquitted and reinstated to her post — is seeking reelection, she announced Friday. She represents District 5, which includes Overtown, Little Haiti and Liberty City.

Whether Spence-Jones could run again has been the subject of much debate. The Miami city charter limits commissioners to two terms and Spence-Jones has twice won election. But City Attorney Julie O. Bru opined that Spence-Jones could run again because her second term was interrupted by the suspension.

“Our charter prohibits a commissioner or the mayor for running for reelection after that commissioner or mayor has served two consecutive terms,” Bru reaffirmed to Spence-Jones at a City Commission meeting Thursday. “You are eligible to seek reelection because you did not serve two full consecutive terms.”

Spence-Jones’s opponent isn’t buying it.

“The bottom line is, Michelle is term limited,” said the Rev. Richard P. Dunn II, who held the commission seat in Spence-Jones’s absence. “She received financial compensation for the time she was away and she was fully vested in the pension. Are the citizens of Miami going to pay her twice?”

Dunn plans to file a legal challenge “immediately,” he said.

Spence-Jones wants the additional term, she said, “to finish what I started.”

She pointed to the improvements she’s spearheaded along Northeast Second Avenue in Little Haiti. “We cleaned the place up, repainted many of the buildings and recreated a Caribbean feel by adding steeples,” she said.

The ultimate goal, Spence-Jones said, is to make Little Haiti a destination for tourists akin to Little Havana’s Calle Ocho. She has a similar vision for Overtown, which was once the cultural hub of Miami’s black community. To that end, Spence-Jones pushed for improvements to Northwest Third Avenue and provided grant money for local businesses.

“Now we’re going to move forward with a marketing campaign and build relationships with cruise lines and tour operators,” Spence-Jones said. “But these sorts of things take time.”

Other big projects are in the works.

Earlier this year, Spence-Jones pushed through a $50 million bond issue for improvements in Overtown — the largest investment the blighted community has seen in decades. The money will go toward affordable housing and some retail projects.

But Spence-Jones takes an equal amount of pride in some of her smaller initiatives, including a project that brought Hollywood director Robert Townsend to Overtown to film an independent movie. Students from the University of Miami and several local high schools had the opportunity to serve as interns. The film will debut this summer.

She plans to focus future efforts on Liberty City. She is already laying the groundwork for a program that will train residents to become laboratory technicians. A second program will help people with criminal records pursue careers in the automotive industry.

Spence-Jones’s tenure has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. After being elected to her second term, she was charged with bribery and grand theft in two separate cases and removed from office by then-Gov. Charlie Crist. Jurors later acquitted her of bribery, and prosecutors dropped the grand-theft charges.

A vindicated Spence-Jones returned to City Hall in August with newfound political heft.

Spence-Jones is now suing Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle and Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, accusing them of conspiring to destroy her political career via the prosecutions. She declined to talk about the suit, saying only: “I’m going to let my lawyers fight that battle.”

She may have another legal fight ahead.

Dunn believes the city attorney’s opinion giving Spence-Jones the go-ahead to run again won’t withstand a legal challenge. He says Spence-Jones has served two consecutive terms because she was paid for two consecutive terms.

Dunn also criticized the city attorney, saying she likely felt pressured to give that opinion because Spence-Jones is her boss.

“If it stands up in a court of law, I will respect that,” said Dunn, who attended Thursday’s commission meeting and took notes on a legal pad. “But I’m not going to be whitewashed by a city attorney’s opinion that’s biased by her boss’s posturing position.”

Dunn, who also sat on the commission in the mid-‘90s after Commissioner Miller Dawkins was removed from office, pointed to his own accomplishments as a commissioner. He said he helped secure funding for Gibson Park,and quelled racial tensions after Miami police officers shot and killed seven black men in 2010 and 2011.

“Michelle Spence-Jones does not own that seat,” he said. “It’s owned by the people of District 5.”

No other candidates have announced they are running for the post.

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Broward contractor accused of accepting bribe for Florida Keys roadwork

A Pompano Beach contractor has been charged by federal authorities with bribery for accepting money to steer a state Department of Transportation contract to a subcontractor working on traffic signals in the Florida Keys, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Ron Capobianco Jr., 40, is charged with committing bribery in connection with programs receiving federal funds. If convicted, he could get 10 years in prison. He had his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer Wednesday morning.

He is accused of accepting $4,000 for steering a $25,000 contract to a subcontractor. Prosecutors did not say who that subcontractor is or whether the subcontractor approached authorities or they approached the subcontractor.

Prosecutors say Capobianco worked as an engineering and inspection consultant at Miami's Metric Engineering Inc. DOT contracted with Metric to provide services including designing, inspecting and troubleshooting construction of roads, signs and traffic signals.

DOT considered Capobianco an expert on signalization and lighting construction, including the use of video cameras for traffic signalization and control. Prosecutors say that around 2009, DOT began its work in Marathon to improve traffic flow.

They say that around May 2009, an agent of the subcontractor offered to pay Capobianco $5,000 if the subcontractor could receive at least $25,000 to install video detection equipment. Capobianco reportedly agreed to the deal, enabling the subcontractor to make a significant profit.

The subcontractor's estimate was approved and subsequently paid by the state after the equipment was installed. Then around May 2009, Capobianco reportedly met with an agent of the subcontractor in Plantation in Broward County and was paid $4,000 in cash for his help getting the subcontractor the work.

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Nevin Shapiro’s lawyer said she did nothing wrong

Maria Elena Perez — the Miami criminal defense attorney for convicted Ponzi schemer and former University of Miami booster Nevin Shapiro — was thrust Wednesday into the harsh spotlight of the NCAA’s probe of UM’s athletic program.

“I haven’t broken any rules,” Perez, a 2000 UM law school graduate, told The Miami Herald. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

The NCAA acknowledged that its enforcement officers “improperly” obtained information by working too closely with Perez, whose client instigated the NCAA probe that has been going on for two years.

In saying so, the NCAA has, in effect, made her a part of the UM investigation.

Perez became Shapiro’s criminal defense lawyer soon after he was charged in April 2010 with orchestrating a $930 million investment scam. Shapiro, who used a portion of that money to make donations to UM and buy gifts for many of its star football players, would plead guilty to securities fraud and other charges. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

At the same time, Shapiro’s investment victims forced his Miami Beach-based company, Capitol Investments USA, Inc., into bankruptcy with a goal toward recovering millions of dollars in losses.

But Perez told The Herald she used the bankruptcy case for a different purpose: to gather evidence from major witnesses who might help her seek a lower prison sentence for Shapiro.

“I was exercising my due diligence as Nevin Shapiro’s criminal defense attorney,” she said.

Toward that end, she subpoenaed Sean Allen, a UM graduate and former assistant equipment manager for the Hurricanes’ football team, who worked briefly for Shapiro’s sports agency and later for the businessman himself. She also subpoenaed Jacksonville lawyer Michael Huyghue, who founded the sports agency and brought in Shapiro as a partner, who invested $1.5 million.

The NCAA investigators did not have the power to subpoena either man. But Perez did, as Shapiro’s lawyer.

After Perez grilled both men under oath, she shared the depositions with the NCAA, which says it paid her for those legal services.

That’s the crux of the problem: The NCAA now admits that its investigation is tainted by those two depositions — because the information was “improperly” obtained. So it has now ordered up an investigation of its investigation.

This was not her intention at all, Perez said.

“This was for Nevin Shapiro’s criminal case,” said Perez, who joined the Florida Bar in 2001 but has no disciplinary history. She pointed out that depositions are open to the public. Anybody, including the NCAA, could have gotten them as a public record.

While no NCAA enforcement officer attended her depositions, one official from the association did show up for other depositions taken by Miami lawyer Gary Freedman, the lead attorney for the trustee in Shapiro’s bankruptcy case.

NCAA official Michael Zonder sat in on the October 2012 deposition of civil attorney Marc Levinson, of the Miami firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Levinson had represented Shapiro in his investment in the sports agency known as Axcess, and in his other business affairs.

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‘Lies, deceit and coverup’ in Rilya Wilson murder case, prosecutors say

Friends puzzled by the disappearance of the little girl. State child welfare administrators stunned at the vanishing of the 4-year-old foster child. A slew of police investigators dispatched to work the case.

A pathetic shell of a woman, cowed by an older lover into keeping her silence. Three prison inmates — one an eccentric con with a long rap sheet — who said they learned the truth about the crime while behind bars.

For eight weeks, these were the witnesses who testified against Geralyn Graham, who is accused of murdering foster child Rilya Wilson more than a decade ago. And on Tuesday, their photos adorned an eight-foot-long timeline poster board, suspended from the ceiling by chains of paper clips as a Miami-Dade prosecutor weaved each of their stories into a chilling. if circumstantial. narrative.

Graham, driven by festering hatred for little rambunctious Rilya, smothered the girl with a pillowcase, disposed of her body and for years concocted a web of “fanciful” tales to hide the crime, the state said.

“Lies, deceit and coverup,” Miami-Dade prosecutor Joshua Weintraub told jurors during closing arguments.

The arguments come more than a decade after Rilya disappeared, a case that rocked the Florida Department of Children & Families, which for 18 months did not realize the girl was missing. Authorities never found Rilya’s body.

Graham, 67, is charged with aggravated child abuse, kidnapping and first-degree murder. Testimony in her trial began Nov. 26. She faces life in prison if convicted.

Jurors are expected to deliberate Wednesday after defense lawyers and prosecutors complete their final arguments.

A grand jury indicted Graham in 2005 after a jailhouse witness, Robin Lunceford, told police that the woman tearfully confessed to smothering the child with a pillow and burying the body near water in South Miami-Dade.

Weintraub recounted how DCF placed Rilya at the Graham house, how the agency discovered the disappearance and heard the varying accounts Graham gave about the girl’s absence.

To some, Graham claimed a “Spanish lady” she met at a park had taken Rilya on a trip to New York. To investigators, she claimed in April 2002 that an unnamed DCF worker had whisked the girl away — never to return — for some sort of mental health treatment.

“It’s incomprehensible that a child would disappear into thin air,” Weintraub said.

The key witness: Pamela Graham, Geralyn Graham’s younger lover, who was also the girl’s legal custodian. Weintraub said Pamela — who admitted she went along with her lover’s lies out of fear — was flawed.

“Pamela Graham, one of the most gutless, mousy women you will ever meet,” Weintraub said. “But for Pam Graham’s cowardice and unwillingness to stand up to her 18-years-senior lover, we might have known what happened to Rilya a lot earlier.”

Pamela testified that Graham kept the child confined in the laundry room, used “flex cuffs” to restrain her to a bed and secured a dog cage to keep Rilya from climbing on the furniture. Graham refused to tell Pamela what happened to Rilya, and even threatened her with a hammer if she called police, Pamela testified.

Defense attorney Michael Matters suggested Pamela was just a jilted lover who admitted she never actually saw the girl confined in the cage. He showed jurors photos of a happy, healthy-looking Rilya

“Sure doesn’t look like Rilya is afraid to go in that laundry room or that dog cage,” Matters said.

Defense attorneys tried to shift the blame to DCF, and specifically case worker Deborah Muskelly, who admitted she lied in claiming she was making regular visits to the Graham home to check on Rilya. Muskelly later pleaded guilty to falsifying time sheets to show she was working with DCF when she was actually working as a substitute teacher.

“Deborah Muskelly did whatever she could to make a buck,” said Matters, who suggested detectives did not investigate any role Muskelly herself might have played in the girl’s disappearance.

The latter weeks of the trial featured Lunceford, plus two other inmates who claimed Graham suggested to them that she had killed the child. A stream of current and former corrections employees testified about the jail and prison world in which the women live.

Graham’s defense focused on destroying the credibility of Lunceford, a colorful con with a long rap sheet who got a reduced prison sentence in return for her testimony. She spent four days on the witness stand.

A former inmate, Cindy McCloud, told jurors that Lunceford concocted the whole story to reduce her sentence. Prosecutors countered that McCloud is a “scorned lover” looking to exact revenge on Lunceford.

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Appeals court throws out Miami judge’s controversial fingerprint ruling

An appeals court has thrown out a Miami-Dade criminal court judge’s controversial ruling restricting long-accepted fingerprint evidence.

The Third District Court of Appeals this week ruled that Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch should have removed himself from the case before issuing his ruling.

The reason: Hirsch had earlier told two prosecutors that he would remove himself from similar cases because he harbored “preconceived opinions on the subject of fingerprints.”

In October, Hirsch ruled that a police fingerprint examiner could not testify that he identified a conclusive fingerprint “match” for Miami’s Radames Borrego, who is accused of two burglaries.

The judge’s ruling raised eyebrows among legal observers because U.S. courts have long allowed experts to testify to jurors that the accused person’s fingerprint is unique to him or her.

The appeals court did not rule specifically on Hirsch’s fingerprint order, but nevertheless threw it out, saying the judge should not have presided over the case. It is unclear whether Hirsch will be able to preside over future criminal court cases involving fingerprint evidence.

Hirsch, a former president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a law school professor who wrote a book on state criminal trial procedure, is well-known in South Florida’s legal community. He was elected in May 2010.

The judge — who often quotes Shakespeare in lengthy orders — often delves into polemic legal waters.

In 2010, when a Tampa federal judge ruled that Florida’s drug law was unconstitutional, Hirsch was the only local state judge to follow suit. He threw out more than two dozen cases, but the same Miami’s appeals court later reversed Hirsch.

Late last year, Hirsch from the bench criticized relatives of a murder victim after they criticized him in a Spanish-language television interview. After he declined to recuse himself from the case, the Third DCA booted him from the case.

Also last year, the same appeals court said Hirsch “did not have jurisdiction” when he filled in for a fellow judge, then reversed that judge’s decision to keep behind bars a man accused of violating a restraining order.

Hirsch will be ruling on a high-profile case next week.

Lawyers for Sergio Robaina, accused of voter fraud, have asked Hirsch to throw out two misdemeanors charged under a county ordinance prohibiting possession of more than two absentee ballots. The ordinance is unconstitutional, they claim.

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