Traffic tickets, fraud probes and deaths: what Rep. Daphne Campbell says about the citizen legislature and Miami-Dade

A Campbell family minivan has racked up five tickets for running right lights since 2010.

Most citizens would slow down. But Daphne Campbell isn’t like most citizens.

She’s a Democratic state representative who has another way to deal with future red-light tickets: file legislation to ban the traffic-surveillance cameras that shot video of her husband’s Honda Odyssey breaking traffic laws.

It could seem like a conflict of interest. But as long as a lawmaker’s bills don’t benefit him or her or a family member uniquely, it’s generally not a conflict of interest.

This is the state of ethics in the Florida Legislature. It’s a citizens’ legislature of 160 part-time lawmakers. They theoretically come from all walks of life and private professions.

This is representative democracy.

And Campbell, of Miami Shores, represents so much more in Miami-Dade.

Many citizens run red lights in Miami-Dade. Campbell is from Miami-Dade. And someone in her family ran red lights five times.

Miami-Dade is also a Medicaid fraud capital. Campbell and her husband own businesses that bill Medicaid. And the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating them two years ago. Their son, 30-year-old Gregory Campbell, faces Medicaid fraud charges in an alleged $300,000 scheme.

Many in Miami-Dade have tax problems. Campbell is from Miami-Dade. And she and her husband last spring were slapped with $145,000 worth of liens. The IRS also began examining the Campbells over financial transactions involving a web of family healthcare businesses. Two former business associates told The Herald and IRS that the Campbells scammed them.

Miami-Dade has questionable mortgages. The Campbells own numerous properties in Miami-Dade. Campbell’s husband pleaded guilty in 2007 to a federal charge of falsely using someone else’s Social Security number to obtain $829,103 involving six separate loans, one of which was from a Honda dealership.

Miami-Dade has lots of immigrants who get ripped off. Campbell’s legislative office is in Miami-Dade. Turns out, her top aide Janice Shackelford was arrested for grand theft last fall for allegedly charging constituents, mostly Haitian immigrants, phony fees for help that never materialized. Before Campbell hired her, Shackelford had pleaded guilty to a 2006 grand theft charge in Miami-Dade; a swindling charge was dropped.

North Miami has been plagued with “unscrupulous” absentee ballot irregularities at assisted living facilities, a county ethics group reported in 2008. Campbell campaigned in a North Miami ALF. And that very ALF was highlighted in the ethics group report that pointedly mentioned the Democrat by name.

Some group home residents have died or been raped in Miami-Dade. Campbell and her son ran Professional Group Home, based in Miami-Dade. And two developmentally disabled Miami-Dade residents died in its care in 2006, one after she was raped by a dangerous resident. The rapist wasn’t supervised closely despite Daphne Campbell’s assurance to a judge that he would get “’one-on-one” monitoring from staffers who will “’be with him everywhere he goes.”

Beyond Miami-Dade, in Lee County, two other disabled people died in Professional Group Home’s care in 2006. One disabled man, who had profound trouble eating, was allowed to have a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich that choked him to death.

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Walk held in honor of Trayvon Martin attracts hundreds including actor Jamie Foxx

Saturday was a day of remembrance for Trayvon Martin, as about a thousand people -- including actor Jamie Foxx -- united with the late teen’s family to march, pray, listen to music and hear inspirational messages, while pressing for justice in his killing.

The Trayvon Martin Foundation sponsored the “I am Trayvon Day of Remembrance Community Peace Walk,” to honor the unarmed, Miami Gardens teen fatally shot in Sanford on Feb. 26 of last year by a neighborhood watch volunteer.

“We’re here to let the community, and particularly teenagers, know that they have the right to walk in peace without being followed, without being harmed and without being killed,” Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, told The Miami Herald at the start of the event at Ives Estate Park at 20901 NE 16th Ave. in north Miami-Dade. She said the walk would be held annually.

Fulton, Trayvon’s father Tracy and brother Jahvaris held up a huge banner and marched through the park as the crowd trailed them, chanting “I am Trayvon Martin.” Many wore t-shirts emblazoned with Trayvon’s picture, as the line snaked toward a bandshell.

Last Tuesday would have been Trayvon Martin’s 18th birthday, and a series of activities have been planned all week in his honor, including a dinner Sunday night.

“This is not an event, this is a movement,” Reverand Jamal-Harrison Bryant from the Empowerment Temple AME Church in Baltimore told supporters at the bandshell. The goal, he said, was “justice for all people.”

The shooting of black, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, an Hispanic, sparked widespread outrage, and led to protests and rallies nationwide, as well as ongoing controversy over Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

Prosecutors say Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder, profiled the teen, who was wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. Zimmerman said he fired in self defense. He is out on bond. Trial is scheduled to begin June 10.

“We did not come here today to grieve. We came to be energized and recharged,” Bryant told the crowd. “We came to make a commitment to Tracy [Martin] and Sybrina [Fulton] that we are not going to rest until we see justice for their son. Trayvon Martin has become all of our sons and our brother.”

Foxx, an Academy Award winning actor, wore a red t-shirt with Trayvon Martin’s picture at the center, and said he came in support, because he is a father.

“Every once in a while, something comes around that touches you like nothing else,” Foxx said, of Trayvon Martin’s slaying.

“I wasn’t going to miss this day, and I’m not going to miss a day in the future when we can step out and remember Trayvon,” he said.

Trayvon’s parents expressed gratitude for Foxx’s appearance, as well as for the crowd’s support.

“We’re not going to stop fighting. We are going to fight for our kid. We are going to fight for your kids,” Fulton said. “It’s not just about us; it’s about all our kids.”

Miami-Dade Commissioner Barbara Jordan also took the stage, saying Trayvon’s parents “give a new definition to Stand your Ground: to stand for your children and to be committed to your children and to be committed to your community.”

Gospel singers, mime dancers and others performed, as the day unfolded with celebration, tinged with sadness and reproach.

“It’s a great event to keep the awareness, to keep the fight alive for Trayvon Martin and his family,” said Martin Maultsby, 40, who lives in Miami Gardens and is the director of the Florida Youth Football League. “Any time you can come out to support your cause, it lets the family know they are not in this fight by themselves.”

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Poll: Floridians favor Medicaid expansion

TALLAHASSEE --
The vast majority of Floridians want lawmakers to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, according to a new survey sponsored by the Florida Hospital Association and conducted by a Republican-leaning pollster.

Of 600 voters polled, 62 percent said the state should take the money and use it to reduce the number of uninsured Floridians. Nearly half of respondents, 49 percent, said they felt strongly about accepting the money. The survey was conducted Jan. 15-17 by Public Opinion Strategies and has a 4 percentage point margin of error.

The Senate's Select Committee on the Affordable Care Act will discuss Medicaid expansion during a meeting Monday. Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said he isn't swayed by polls because the feedback he receives directly from constituents is a mixed bag.

"I'm out talking to voters and to the people that I represent to ask them what they think, and that does persuade me," Negron said.

Hospitals generally support the Medicaid expansion, as well as the wider health care law, because more people would have insurance and therefore be able to pay for the services they receive. However, Florida legislators and Gov. Rick Scott have said they are worried about the long term costs of adding 1 million people to the Medicaid rolls.

They are not alone.

So far, only six states led by Republican governors have indicated that they will participate in the Medicaid expansion. This week, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Michigan Gov. John Snyder said they would like to accept the federal funding.

In addition to releasing the poll Friday, the Florida Hospital Association announced the launch of "The Florida Remedy," a campaign it is leading to influence lawmakers to support the Medicaid expansion.

"Floridians believe that everyone should have access to high quality, affordable health care, and this is a remedy the vast majority of voters support," Florida Hospital Association President Bruce Rueben said in a news release.

Under the Florida Remedy campaign, the state is urged to support the expansion now but vow to pull back if the federal government ever withdraws financial support. The campaign also ties the expansion debate into Florida's proposal to privatize Medicaid, which is awaiting federal approval.

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Murder charge dropped in Miami Gardens self-defense case

Prosecutors on Thursday dropped a murder charge against a man who claimed self-defense in fatally shooting an armed teen during a June 2010 brawl in Miami Gardens.

Travis Cooper, 28, had been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Gregory Gant, 16.

The men were part of two groups of fighting men. Cooper claimed Gant pistol-whipped a friend of his, then “pointed the gun in his direction.”

Cooper, a security guard who had a concealed weapons permit, shot and killed Gant. He later called police.

“It’s a relief. They charged me with second-degree murder for no reason,” Cooper said Thursday, flanked by lawyers Andrew Rier and Jonathan Jordan.

Prosecutors decided they could not defend a request for immunity filed under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which gave judges greater leeway to throw out criminal cases.

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Judge orders state to release emails in suit over Gov. Scott's plan for Tallahassee park

TALLAHASSEE --
Some governors left bronze statues behind. Others contributed a library or a sun room to the Governors’ Mansion.

Gov. Rick Scott envisions a legacy that would create Governor’s Park, across a six block by three and a half block area in downtown Tallahassee.

The boundaries of the proposal are contained in a memo and maps that state officials attempted to withhold from disclosure in a lawsuit filed by Tallahassee lawyer Steve Andrews as part of a fight over land that once belonged to Gov. LeRoy Collins.

Citing Florida’s public records law, a judge ordered release of documents that outline the park plan after reviewing 120 records that the Department of Environmental Protection tried to shield from public view.

"After conducting an in camera inspection of 120 emails, the court finds that 105 emails were public records … and improperly withheld from the plaintiff after a public records request,’’ Circuit Judge John Cooper wrote in his Jan. 29 order.

Andrews sought the records after filing a lawsuit against Scott and 15 other officials involved in the state’s attempt to block him from buying land where his office is located. The land in question is owned by the Collins estate and fronts Monroe Street, the north-south thoroughfare through the heart of the capital city.

The proposed park would surround the Governor’s Mansion and an adjacent site known as The Grove, the ancestral home of territorial Gov. Richard Keith Call and the final home of the Collins family.

The state bought the Collins home in 1985 with plans to create a museum and visitors center. Maps included in the email released Wednesday indicate that the park would include both mansions and about 120 additional lots now in private ownership in an area between Monroe and Bronough streets.

Andrews signed a contract to buy his office building for $580,000 after then-Secretary of State Kurt Browning signed a letter rejecting the state’s right of first refusal to buy the property. Scott’s office objected at the last minute, and Scott and the Cabinet voted to buy it a year ago in spite of the contract between Andrews and the Collins estate.

The lawsuit grinds on, with more than a dozen lawyers representing various state agencies and a separate lawsuit filed by Scott and the Cabinet against John Aurell, Collins’ son-in-law and executor of the Collins estate. The judge has rejected state accusations of fraud and breach of contract against Aurell, calling them without merit.

Andrews said the state will spend some $10-million if it proceeds with the park plan as outlined.

"It’s a lot of money when you think that Governor Collins’ legacy is that he was the first southern governor to advocate publicly for the passage of civil rights legislation,’’ Andrews said. "Even Gov. Charlie Crist refused to do repairs and paint the Governor’s Mansion because so many people in the state were losing their homes to foreclosure.’’

A spokeswoman for Scott did not respond to questions about the cost of the plan or explain why the records were withheld from public view.

The tradition of governors enhancing the mansion is longstanding. Some redecorated; others added a pool, tennis courts, fencing and a garage, often at state expense.

Since Gov. Bob Graham’s wife Adele created a private foundation, additions have mostly been paid for with private donations. The Grahams built a large sun room on the north side of the mansion.

Former Gov. Bob Martinez raised money for a bronze manatee sculpture on mansion grounds, and former Gov. Lawton Chiles left a large bronze sculpture of children walking on a log. Former Gov. Jeb Bush used his fundraising ability to add a library.

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Jackson Health System, Kendall Regional battle over trauma

Kendall Regional Medical Center lost one battle in the trauma wars Tuesday at the Miami-Dade County Commission, but has launched a new attack in Tallahassee, asking state regulators to reject a Jackson Health System request that Kendall maintains would force it to close its trauma center.

With about 100 supporters packing commission chambers wearing red T-shirts saying “Kendall Trauma Saves Lives,” Commissioner Javier Souto asked his colleagues to reconsider a Jan. 23 resolution, passed 10-0, authorizing Jackson to take legal action to protect its trauma programs.

Jackson has been complaining that its Ryder Trauma Center has been losing about $28 million a year since the state allowed Kendall Regional to open a second Dade trauma unit in November 2011. State regulators meanwhile have delayed granting licenses for trauma centers at Jackson North and Jackson South hospitals.

Souto said his office had been bombarded by 4,000 emails complaining that the commission had acted hastily in granting Jackson legal approval. “A big chunk of people are very offended.”

Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz said many of the “thousands” of emails he received quoted a Kendall executive as saying that the commission resolution was intended to “force Kendall to close its trauma center.”

“That’s a lie,” Diaz said. The commission simply gave Jackson an ability “to defend itself.”

The motion to reconsider died on a 6-6 vote.

Mark McKenney, medical director of the Kendall center, issued a statement calling the commission vote “a shame.” During his center’s first 15 months, “we have seen more than 2,550 trauma patients. ... Kendall Regional is dedicated to providing care to a community of 2.5 million people that, as the seventh most populated county in the U.S., has been greatly underserved. The facts are clear about the need for trauma services, and we will continue to fight to provide these vital medical services.”

Meanwhile, the fight at the state level continues. In early January, Jackson asked Department of Health officials for an administrative hearing because the department had not granted trauma licenses for its North and South community hospitals. That filing stated that state courts had ruled invalid the state regulations used to grant provisional licenses to Kendall and Ocala hospitals.

The Jackson petition maintained that “the ultimate facts that will be established at a hearing” would show that “all provisional licenses issued under the invalid trauma need rule should be revoked.”

On Monday, the Kendall and Ocala hospitals filed their own motions in the case, asking that Jackson’s petitions be dismissed because it “had no right” to request that the licenses of other centers be rejected. If those motions were rejected, the HCA facilities asked that they be allowed to intervene in the Jackson proceedings.

Also on Monday, Jackson Chief Executive Carlos Migoya sent an email to county and state political leaders saying that the trauma filings were “highly technical. It is vital to understand that Jackson has not initiated any legal action against any other hospital, hospital system or trauma center in this issue.” Its state petition was for an administrative hearing on the matter, not a lawsuit against rivals.

On Tuesday Jackson spokesman Edwin O’Dell said, “We are limited as to what we can say during these complex regulatory proceedings.” But he noted that Health suspended Jackson’s trauma applications while approving others. “We seek a level playing field on which our community’s taxpayer-owned hospital system is treated fairly and can compete fairly. We have all invested so much to build Ryder Trauma Center’s world-class program, and we must protect our legal opportunities to mirror that service at other Jackson facilities.”

State regulators are now working to come up with a trauma regulation that will pass muster in the courts as being fair to all parties. Health officials have been insisting that Miami-Dade, with 2.5 million people, needs several trauma centers.

On Tuesday, an advisory committee from the American College of Surgeons told Florida Health officials about steps they could take to come up with fair trauma regulations. The group’s final report will be finished in about eight weeks.

Jackson officials maintain that, with helicopter transport, its Level 1 trauma center is just minutes away from any place in the county and that it has a highly experienced trauma staff always on duty, while Kendall Regional, a Level 2 center, has to call in specialists to treat complex cases.

Herald staff writer Patricia Mazzei and Tampa Bay Times reporter Tia Mitchell contributed to this article.

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Driver killed when car hits home in Opa-locka

A man was killed Monday after he lost control of his car around a curve and smashed into an Opa-locka house.

According to police, the man, identified as Julian Lamar Mitchell, 37, was speeding west on Northwest 135th Street when he hit the curb, struck a utility pole and crashed into a home in the 1800 block of Northwest 135th Street.

Mitchell was ejected and the car caught fire. His passenger, who was not identified, was not injured.

Homeowner Alan Burrows told Miami Herald news partner CBS4 that he and his neighbors tried to help the men in the car.

“I had just gone to bed. I heard a loud crash, right against the house, opened up the door to see what was going on and I couldn’t open the door,” he said.

“The car crashed. There was guy on the ground and another guy on the ground. We tried to help to help them. Our neighbors came out and they had the guys who were in the car,” Burrows said. “The [power] line was down, jumping around and there was fire and smoke. Chaos.”

No one in the house was injured.

The Miami-Dade Police Department’s traffic homicide unit is investigating the crash.

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Sex, the FBI and shady characters: Menendez saga a Florida whodunit

Peter Williams could remain silent no longer.

“My duty as a US citizen obligates me to report what I consider to be a grave violation of the most fundamental codes of conduct that a politician of my country must follow. I have first hand information regarding the reiterated participation of Senator Robert Menendez in inappropriate sexual activities with young prostitutes while on vacations in the Dominican Republic.”

That’s the opening line of his email, written 1:02 p.m. Monday April 09, 2012. A torrent followed with increasingly wild, tough-to-prove allegations.

They all started to come to light Tuesday and Wednesday when the FBI raided the South Florida offices of Menendez’s friend and donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, accused in the emails of flying the New Jersey Democrat to the Dominican Republic for the trysts.

Menendez called the claims “fallacious allegations.”

The story has all the makings of a Florida political whodunit: shady donors and operatives and politicians ducking for cover.

It all reads like a mix of true crime, pulp fiction, pornography and a textbook political dirty trick.

Peter Williams is likely a pseudonym. His email account seems dormant. He never delivered the promised testimony, witnesses, photos and videos.

His writing was descriptive, giving the first and last names of some hookers, their phone numbers and addresses. He described one’s “pointy nose” and “big and exciting mouth” who works for a pimp named “Chocolate.”

Another is called “The Honey.” A third: “Minerva.” Two, a Russian and Brazilian, live in Miami.

Miami Herald reporters this week hopped on the cold trail laid out months ago by Williams and determined that some of the women likely existed. An FBI agent said in an email last year that he could “confirm” some of Williams’ info.

But there’s no good evidence right now that the prostitutes were underage or consorted with Menendez. They can’t be found. Prostitution, incidentally, is legal in the Dominican Republic. Underage prostitution isn’t. And U.S. citizens who engage in child-prostitution overseas face long prison sentences here.

Whatever his name is, Williams was right about one thing: Menendez did initially fly for free on Melgen’s CL-600 Challenger jet.

Only after the FBI raid did Menendez publicly admit that he didn’t pay for two of the trips in 2010. So he reimbursed Melgen $58,500 thereby undercutting a looming Senate ethics investigation.

Menendez’s office said he paid Jan. 4. No copy of the cancelled check was provided. It accounts for anywhere from 86 percent to 34 percent of Menendez’s reported savings and checking accounts.

It’s probably one of the few times that money flowed from Menendez to Melgen.

Since 1992, Melgen, his family and his company Vitreo-Retinal Consultants have contributed $1.14 million to various political candidates and committees.

Menendez’s campaign efforts received 53 percent of that money directly or indirectly, with the lion’s share coming in the last election from Vitreo-Retinal Consultants which funneled the money through a Democratic political action committee, Majority PAC. Previously, The Herald reported a much lower figure for Melgen’s contributions that didn’t include the money from Vitreo-Retinal.

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Police investigating ‘suspicious’ death of elderly woman in Miami home

Police are investigating details surrounding the death of an elderly woman found inside her home near midtown Miami.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, Miami Police officers went to the home of Carmen Diaz, 78, whose adult son decided to visit her after not hearing from her in a few days, according to a news release. When he arrived, he found Diaz dead inside her home of 50 years at 120 NW 34 St.

Miami Police spokeswoman Kenia Reyes said although the death appeared “somewhat suspicious,” the department isn’t releasing details until the county medical examiner determines the cause of death.

WSVN-Channel 7 reported that the adult son found Diaz’s house ransacked and her body wrapped in a blanket in her bathroom.

Police confirmed the house was in disarray, but wouldn’t say if there had been a burglary.

The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner is currently investigating the scene.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Two men found shot to death, dog fatally wounded inside car on Miami street

An early morning shooting in Model City left two men dead and a puppy fatally wounded.

The shooting happened about 1:15 a.m. Friday at Northwest 41st Street and 13th Avenue, Miami police spokeswoman Kenia Reyes said.

After responding to a 911 call about shots heard in the area, officers found a Buick Lacrosse "completely riddled with bullet holes" and two men in their 20s shot to death inside, Reyes said.

Friday afternoon, police identified the men as Joshua Whack, 26, and Eric Fussell, 23.

Also inside the car: a 4-month-old pitbull puppy who was shot in the head.

The wounded dog was taken to Miami-Dade Animal Services for treatment, where it was euthanized due to the severity of the injury.

“Unfortunately, the trauma was severe,” said Animal Services spokeswoman Xiomara Mordcovich.

Police are still investigating the shooting. Reyes said it’s too early to tell if the incident was gang-related.

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Firefighters rescue victim from burning house in SW Miami-Dade, searching for more

Firefighters have rescued one person from a burning house in Southwest Miami-Dade and are searching for more.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to a house fire at 15381 SW 153rd St. at about 4:20 p.m. Thursday.

Firefighters are searching the house for people trapped inside while working to put out the fire.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Miami police officer charged with sexual battery and kidnapping

On the same day Miami police announced the firing of an officer for shooting an unarmed motorist, the department said on Wednesday a second officer has been arrested and charged with armed kidnapping and sexual battery.

Police said detectives from the Internal Affairs Section culminated an investigation by arresting Officer Luis Hernandez, 27, a seven-year member of the department, on a warrant issued by a Miami-Dade judge.

According to the warrant, Hernandez is being charged with one count of armed kidnapping and one count of armed sexual battery by a law enforcement officer.

No details were released on the attack.

Hernandez is being held without bond.

Earlier Wednesday, the department fired Officer Reynaldo Goyos for the shooting to death of unarmed motorist Travis McNeil two years ago.

This article will be updated as more details become available.

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Spokesman leaves state GOP after dodging questions about Gov. Rick Scott’s dog

TALLAHASSEE --
Brian Burgess, the combative communications director for the Republican Party of Florida, is returning to the private sector less than five months after taking over as the party’s top communicator.

Burgess would not return emails or telephone calls, but was shown the door at the party after he did not answer questions from the Tampa Bay Times about a rescued Labrador retriever adopted by Gov. Rick Scott.

Scott publicly adopted the dog during the 2010 campaign and held a contest to name it — people chose Reagan — but Scott returned the dog shortly after taking office in 2011.

The resulting publicity outraged animal lovers across the state who accused Scott of adopting the dog as a campaign gimmick.

Burgess, 42, will be joining Brian Hughes, former spokesman for the party, at Meteoric Media Strategies, a private public relations business. Hughes and Burgess worked together in Scott’s office shortly after Scott was elected governor and during the 2010 campaign. Hughes announced the new partnership in a statement to the Florida Times-Union Tuesday shortly after the Times asked Burgess for comment on his dismissal from the party.

Hughes’ firm has consulting contracts with the Republican Party of Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and other conservative groups. He has been paid more than $195,000 for campaign work since 2010, including $92,000 from the state party.

Burgess began working for the state party in September after 18 months working in the governor’s office. Burgess previously worked for a Washington public relations firm that handled communications for Scott’s gubernatorial campaign.

He has a history of clashing with reporters — in public and in private — and was once called “an aggressive knife-fighter” by a prominent Florida communications consultant.

“I really don’t miss some of you dips---s at all,” Burgess emailed a Kansas reporter in 2008, after he left to work with a conservative public relations firm in Virginia. “Have fun in your world of make-believe.”

As the governor’s top spokesman, Burgess publicly lambasted reporters for the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald when they asked Scott why he included $370 million in federal stimulus money in the state budget in 2011 after repeatedly attacking the stimulus package as wasteful government spending.

Burgess objected to the reporters asking the governor about it rather than talking to him first.

“You’re unprofessional and engage in ’gotcha’ journalism w/o fact-checking,” Burgess tweeted to Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo.

“You ducked the question for a 2nd time: Name 1 fact that was wrong,” Caputo replied.

In the case of Reagan, Burgess said he was working on answer to a reporter’s questions but never provided one.

Five days after Burgess and other Scott staffers refused to respond to questions about the dog, Scott answered questions about the puppy himself, saying he had returned the dog to a Naples dog groomer after it frightened mansion staff. Later his staff produced an incident report with details of a dog bite suffered by a mansion grounds keeper.

Although the Naples groomer will not respond to questions about Reagan’s fate, she reportedly told a Tampa television reporter that the dog has been renamed Pluto and is living on a horse ranch in South Florida.

Sometime after flying Reagan back to Naples Scott adopted a seven-year-old dog from a couple in New Jersey suffering from cancer.

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Driver in tow-truck fatality sued

The widow of the college dean killed when his car, being towed form his Lauderhill driveway, ran him over, has amended the wrongful death lawsuit she filed on Thursday against the towing company and a “John Doe’’ driver, to name the driver.

He is Kenneth Jay Schraff, according to papers filed Monday in Broward Circuit Court. Public records identify him as a 48-year-old Lauderdale Lakes resident.

Schraff was at the wheel of a wrecker Jan. 16 when Elias Konwufine of Lauderhill, an associate dean at Keiser University, fell under his own Mercedes-Benz. The 38-year-old father of three, a native of Cameroon, died later at a hospital.

The suit, on behalf of Francisca Konwufine and her children, also names Superior Lock & Roadside Assistance, Sure Fire Auto, and Capitol Towing, interrelated companies, as co-defendants.

It alleges that Schraff was negligent when he drove away from Konwufine, as Konwufine tried to negotiate the return of his car, which had been parked partly on a swale in violation of a homeowners association rule.

State law requires a wrecker driver to allow a vehicle’s owner to make a reasonable offer to settle the matter before towing. The lawsuit said that Schraff never gave Konwufine the chance, and drove away so recklessly that he endangered Konwufine.

Public records show that Schraff has an extensive felony arrest record in Florida. He plead no contest to third-degree felonies in 2003 including burglary, larceny and grand theft. A woman identifying herself as his mother answered his home phone, said he wasn’t there but had been told by his attorney “not to talk to anyone.’’

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Brush fire threatens homes in Southwest Miami-Dade

High winds are fueling a rapidly growing brush fire in Southwest Miami-Dade as firefighters work to keep the flames from spreading to nearby homes.

The fire broke out just before 2 p.m. Sunday in the area of 115th Avenue and 224 Street. Streets in the area have been blocked off.

Blustery conditions are hindering the efforts of fire crews, who are preparing to possibly evacuate homes and businesses in the heavily populated area.

The Miami-Dade Fire said Florida Power & Light officials are on the scene and are prepared to cut power to the area if needed.

This story will be updated as more details become available

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Chocolate lovers take part in the annual festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

If you haven’t had your fill of chocolate yet, might be time to head out to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

Large crowds gathered Saturday for samples of the sweet treats, chef demonstrations and even a Chocowalk at the seventh annual International Chocolate Festival.

Besides edible treats, the event – which lasts until Sunday at 4:30 p.m. – offered lectures about cacao crops and methods of making chocolate around the world.

The Festival featured Santiago Peralta, the founder of Pacari Chocolate, who was named Outstanding Chocolate Maker for 2013 by The Fine Chocolate Industry Association. Peralta, who is from Ecuador, is the first Latin American to win that honor. The chocolatier spoke Saturday about preserving a native form of cacao and sustainable production practices in the chocolate industry. He will give another lecture Sunday at 2 p.m.

Events Sunday include chocolate yoga and an interactive workshop for kids.

For more information, visit http://www.fairchildgarden.org/Events/?date=01-2013&eventID=657.

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Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz considering bid for governor.

Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz looks ready to run for governor and has spent the past three weeks lining up support from strategists, financiers and elected officials.

Diaz, who hasn’t returned calls from The Miami Herald for three weeks about his plans, finally returned a text message on Friday and said he wasn’t ready to speak about the matter, in part because he was attending a charity golf tournament.

Diaz met Friday morning with top Democratic strategist Jeff Garcia, who said he’d like the former mayor to run.

"His potential candidacy presents a unique opportunity for Democrats and Floridians to take the state in a completely new and positive direction," said Garcia, U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia’s chief of staff who met Friday morning with Diaz. "I’m excited he’s considering running. It adds something new and fresh to the field."

Diaz, mayor from 2001-2009, would be the only Democratic Hispanic candidate among those who have announced or are considering a bid to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Scott. Hispanics, the fastest-growing segment of the electorate, helped President Obama win his reelection campaign in Florida.

If elected, Diaz would be the first Democratic Hispanic governor. The state’s first Hispanic governor was a Republican, Bob Martinez.

Diaz has made no formal announcement for the election, which is still nearly two years away.

Former Democratic state Senate leader Nan Rich, of Weston, has announced her intention to run. Former state CFO and the last Democratic governor’s candidate, Alex Sink, is mulling a run as is former Gov. Charlie Crist, a former Republican, who helped President Obama’s campaign in Florida this year.

Diaz was a big help to Obama’s Florida campaign as well. In the waning days of the election when he cut a Spanish-language ad rebutting a spot from Republican Mitt Romney’s campaign, which suggested the president was a socialist.

As a past leader of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Diaz has some close allies in top spots. He has approached Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown for support and wants to hire some of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign team.

New York Mayor and media tycoon Michael Bloomberg wrote the forward to Diaz’s book, Miami Transformed, which Diaz is promoting.

Diaz is also on good terms with former Baltimore Mayor and current Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who recently stepped down as head of the Democratic Governor’s Association.

One Democratic source said the DGA is nervous about a potential Crist candidacy because of the former Republican governor’s "baggage."

But Diaz has some, too, according to his critics in Miami-Dade, home of the largest block of voters in the state.

His successor, Republican Tomas Regalado, faulted Diaz for leaving the city’s budget in bad condition.

Regalado noted that as mayor, Diaz spent more money than Miami took in, draining the reserves from $120 million at the beginning of his tenure to just $20 million by the end.

"He’s going to have a hard time explaining the way he left Miami," Regalado said.

Regalado also faulted Diaz for pushing for a new stadium for the Miami Marlins baseball team.

Diaz won’t, however, need to explain anything after recently changing his party affiliation from independent to Democrat, Regalado said.

"Thankfully, Charlie Crist has already done that," he said.

Other Miami movers and shakers, though, say Diaz did an excellent job in trying times.

"Manny is a visionary leader who has never lost his footing or his roots," Eduardo J. Padrón, Miami Dade College president, said in blurb about Diaz’s book. "He epitomizes the immigrant success story and the fruition of the American Dream."

At a recent Miami fundraiser for a Los Angeles candidate for mayor, Eric Garcetti, Diaz was introduced as "Gov. Manny Diaz." Diaz did nothing to quiet the talk, according to people in the room.

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Kansas to retire jersey of Miami Heat starter Mario Chalmers

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Miami Heat starter and former Kansas star Mario Chalmers, whose buzzer-beating 3-pointer helped the Jayhawks win the 2008 national title, will have his jersey retired next month.

Chalmers was the MVP of the Final Four when the Jayhawks beat Memphis for the national championship. But it was his 3-pointer from the top of the key to force overtime that became the defining moment of Kansas' march through the tournament.

The shot is replayed during the video montage showed before every Kansas home game, and always generates the biggest roar from the crowd in Allen Fieldhouse.

Chalmers joins 27 other men and three women to have their names hoisted to the rafters. Among them are Wilt Chamberlain, Danny Manning and Paul Pierce.

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Wild West event to raise money for Boys & Girls Clubs

The Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County will host a Wild West-themed fundraising event featuring country artist Amber Leigh and Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys” at 6 p.m. March 23.

This will be the 17th year for the fundraiser, called Ranch Roam, which is sponsored by DEX Imaging and benefits The Boys & Girls club of Broward County.

Guests will spend time on “Alligator” Ron Bergeron’s Green Glades Ranch in Weston. The event will feature gourmet food, hayrides, western photos, live and silent auctions, line dancing and clogging demonstrations, Old West fortune tellers, an Old West casino and an “Otter” John Wildlife Experience.

Guests can also see gator wrestling by the Animal Planet’s “Gator Boys.”

For information on tickets, call 954-537-1010 or go to www.bgcbc.org.

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Dania Beach man dies after acting ‘bizarrely’

Shortly after stabbing a window with a knife and subsequently being arrested at a Pompano Beach gas station early Monday, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at Broward Health North.

Officers responded to a 911 call around 3:30 a.m. that a man was acting “bizarrely” at the BP Gas Station on East Sample Road. The man, the caller said, was stabbing the front window, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

They arrived and saw Kenneth Lent, of Dania Beach, walking to, then entering his truck. The deputies ordered him to get out, but before he did, they say he smoked “something out of a glass pipe” and appeared to put something in his mouth, then drink from a Gatorade bottle.

When Lent got out of the truck and lay on the ground, deputies handcuffed him. Lent had trouble walking to the patrol car, so the deputies put him back on the ground, called Pompano Beach Fire Rescue and began to give him CPR. Lent was transported to Broward Health North, where he was pronounced dead. The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine cause of death, according to the news release.

Detectives found “several knives and a small amount of cocaine,” according to the news release.

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