It’s been a busy weekend in North Miami and North Miami Beach.
First, the non-news, courtesy of Leoaffairs:
And:
For the record, “Staf” didn’t blog it because I didn’t even know about it until I saw this comment on one of my columns when I got home last night:
I’m thinking that my sources have either decided that these “petty crimes” aren’t even worth “leaking” to me, or they’ve finally been scared silent by an administration that has put the fear of God in them.
In any event, no press releases have been published so I assume no crimes have been committed in North Miami Beach.
Over in North Miami, however, things are heating up with the absentee-ballot fraud investigation of Mayor Lucie Tondreau and her campaign manager/political operative, Nacivre “Good Time Charlie” Charles.
Ironically, at almost the exact same time that I was attending a very entertaining production of the French musical Paris, On T’Aime yesterday afternoon presented by the City of North Miami and the Lille-based troupe De Temps en Temps, the Miami Herald posted an article, New details emerge in North Miami absentee-ballot requests case. (In the interest of full disclosure, my tickets were upgraded to VIP seating personally by Mayor Lucie Tondreau, for which I extend my sincere appreciation.)
On November 1, 2013, the Herald reported that on the same day the Mayor’s office was raided by investigators, Charles was arrested for driving with a suspended license. At the time it was “unclear if that arrest was related to the search of Tondreau’s business.” It’s now being reported that “it was no routine traffic stop.”
It seems that Charlie was already under investigation for “attempted elections mischief” and that the investigators were using his suspended license just as an excuse to stop him. After his arrest they discovered “numerous Miami-Dade County absentee ballot request forms” in his SUV. Lucie “has denied any wrongdoing” and said that “she would cooperate with authorities.”
The investigation is still ongoing, but since both the Mayor and Charles have already hired Benedict “Big Ben” Kuehne to represent them, we already know the outcome.
There you have it, folks. Your Monday Morning NMB/North Miami News Flash.
In any event, you’re not getting paid to read this blog any more than I am for writing it.
So get off your ass and get to work!
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
It is quite sad for citizens to lose their faith in government and the political system. Why would a vulture like Ben Kuehne be given so much power by our State Attorney to determine the outcome of criminal cases? At the end of the day all the illicit proceeds fleeced by unscrupulous politicians end up in Kuehne’s pocket and help give him and his family a privilege life. Why not deny access to Kuehne at the State Attorney’s Office, prosecute his clients to the full extent of the law and if Kuehne has done anything wrong, go after him as well and give him a taste of Raiford? Wishful thinking! Kuehne has a full bag of skeletons on Rundle and she knows better. Meanwhile, let corruption soar, let crime soar out of control and let children continue to die on our streets. Hope that caviar tastes good Ben, you have certainly earned it.
I thought you’d finally got out from under that moniker. At any rate, I wanted to remind you that no NMB employees are wasting their work time reading this blog. It’s been blocked for at least two years. Not that I try, mind you…that’s just what I heard. 🙂
I’m okay with “Staf.” I much prefer “Staph,” but, hey, why quibble over consonants?
My absolute favorite, though, is “Lunatic Blogger.” I accidentally bought a ticket for the Crazy Train a long time ago (24 years to be exact). Still trying to get off it, but apparently it’s not as easy as I had hoped. So, “Lunatic Blogger” will have to do for now. 🙂
No worries Steph, Staph or Staf. We still love you. 😉
Thanks! Appreciate that.
Just remember, Steph…the police officers in NMB haven’t had a raise since 2007 and the city has gutted our pension and benefits…but we greedy cops were the cause of the layoffs, which led to the soaring crime.
It’s all our fault. WE are the ones who mismanaged the city’s finances. (Wink)
considering your union agreed to unsustainable fixed benefit retirement policy, yes, you are the ones who mismanaged your money.
You can blame the city all you want but the reality of pensions is that our economy is not the way your plans estimated it would be. Returns since 2008 have been substantially lower than the trend at that time, and will continue to be substantially lower than the 8% your contract probably lists.
Union pensions are not an issue because cities mismanaged their money, but specifically and ONLY because your retirement accounts did not return the profits they were expecting.
The city of Vallejo is California is on the verge of a second bankruptcy because they were foolish enough to protect union pensions and now they can’t afford services.
It’s not financial mismanagement to put services in front of pensions. That’s the responsibility of the city, not to its employees, but the people those employees serve.
Rather than propose or accept a realistic retirement contract the union in NMB like in Vallejo would rather see services cut than their retirement affected. Who pays for that retirement when everyone moves because the municipality provides no services, and serves only as a wealth transfer from citizens to former employees.
who is going to provide the 8% return, and the guaranteed 60%+ of highest average salary when the markets will continue bearing much less than 6%??
The streets of NMB are a catastrophe waiting to happen. How many shootings (or how big of a shooting incident) will it take before council opens their eyes?