Florida

Trained Dogs Show Law Enforcement the Money, Will Work for Treats

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has long used trained dogs to sniff out currency in vehicles en route to or from other countries. But now law enforcement agencies are increasingly doing so within the U.S., seizing substantial amounts of cash and and gaining evidence for drug and money-laundering cases,…

Feb 7, 2012 4:58 PM CST

Polo Mogul Adopts Girlfriend, 42, as His Daughter in Claimed Ploy to Shield Assets from Pending Suit

In a move that has elicited outrage from plaintiffs’ counsel in a wrongful death case, a Florida polo mogul has adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend. Since she is over 35, Heather Laruso Hutchins is entitled to an immediate one-third share in a trust set up for John Goodman’s two minor children,…

Feb 1, 2012 8:15 PM CST

Onetime Foreclosure King Facing Multiple Suits Now Turns to New Venture: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

At the top of his game as Florida’s unchallenged foreclosure king, David J. Stern had perhaps 100,000 cases and a back-office legal processing support operation that he sold for $60 million in 2010. Then came allegations of slipshod work and the firm’s sudden collapse last year, after Fannie Mae pulled…

Jan 27, 2012 9:45 PM CST

Jury Doesn’t Buy Husband’s Testimony, Convicts Him of Murder-Attempt for Setting His Wife on Fire

A domestic violence victim who has made the best of her life after being burned over 80 percent of her body burst into tears yesterday as a Florida jury’s verdict against her estranged husband was announced. Christopher Hanney, 46, was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with great…

Jan 27, 2012 6:08 PM CST

Ex-Student Claims School Newspaper Used His Photo In Story About STDs

A 2011 graduate of a Miami-area high school is suing district officials over a photograph of him that was allegedly used to illustrate a story about sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers in the school newspaper. Kenneth “Kenny” Clements, 18, says the story damaged his reputation and earned the nickname “STD…

Jan 27, 2012 6:00 PM CST

Jury Mulls Murder-Attempt Case Against Man Who Testified Badly Burned Victim Attacked Him

Updated: A Florida jury is now reportedly deliberating attempted murder and arson charges against a man accused of dousing his wife with gasoline and setting her on fire. The badly burned victim survived the 2007 blaze and testified against him earlier this week. However, in testimony that packed a Hillsborough…

Jan 26, 2012 11:11 PM CST

Epileptic Driver in Fatal Crash Gets Nine-Year Sentence for Violating Probation by Driving

An epileptic Florida man who admitted driving after his driver’s license was revoked for causing a crash that killed a woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison. Emilio Santacruz was sentenced Wednesday in Tampa for violating the terms of his probation by getting a new driver’s license after…

Jan 26, 2012 8:26 PM CST

Bilked of $285K in Web Scam, Law Firm Faces Fla. Bar Probe re Its Related Financial Practices

Losing $285,000 in a scam by a virtual client has proven to be doubly painful for a Florida law firm. In addition to losing the money, which federal prosecutors are trying to regain through a bank forfeiture action, the KEL Law Firm is also facing a Florida Bar inquiry about…

Jan 25, 2012 2:57 PM CST

Burn Victim Who Chose to Be Happy Testifies in Attempted Murder and Arson Case

Burned over 80 percent of her body after her then-husband, she says, beat her with a hammer, doused her with gasoline and threw a candle at her at their Florida home in 2009, Audrey Mabrey could easily feel sorry for herself. Instead, she has reportedly chosen to be happy, looked…

Jan 24, 2012 6:29 PM CST

Ex-Prosecutor Who Took 200 Oxycodone Pills as Legal Fee Agrees to 3-Year Plea Deal

A former Florida prosecutor has agreed to a plea deal concerning more than 200 oxycodone pills he admittedly took as a legal fee while working as a private practitioner in Largo. The supposed client who gave him the prescription narcotic turned out to be a police informer. Aaron Slavin, 34,…

Jan 23, 2012 6:34 PM CST

Acquitted in Child-Fondling Cases, Man Gets 15 Years, on Same Evidence, for Violating Probation

Acquitted last year in two separate trials concerning his alleged fondling of two pre-teen girls while working on a boat ride at a Florida theme park, a 40-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years yesterday by a judge who determined the evidence in the Broward County cases was sufficient to…

Jan 20, 2012 8:38 PM CST

Prosecutors Seek Forfeiture of $285K Lost When Orlando Law Firm Fell Victim to Scam

Federal prosecutors are trying to recover $285,000 lost by an Orlando law firm that fell victim to a scam by forwarding funds to a “client” before the settlement check cleared. The KEL law firm, formerly known as Kaufman, Englett and Lynd, sent the check to a bank account in Japan,…

Jan 20, 2012 1:38 PM CST

Federal Jury Says TD Bank Must Pay $67M to Investors Swindled by Ex-Attorney Scott Rothstein

After four hours of deliberation, a federal jury in Miami yesterday decided that a South Florida bank must pay $67 million to a group of 27 investors swindled by then-attorney Scott Rothstein. The award, which includes $35 million in punitive damages, is based on a determination that officials of TD…

Jan 19, 2012 6:05 PM CST

Attorney Sibling Helps Driver Jailed for DUI Manslaughter Sue Estate of Victim in Fatal Crash

David Belniak is serving a 12-year sentence in a Florida prison after taking a plea in a criminal case over a fatal accident. Three people were killed in a Dec. 25, 2007 crash in which his pickup rear-ended a sports utility vehicle stopped at a red light on U.S. 19…

Jan 18, 2012 6:01 PM CST

Ave Maria Law Student Is Charged with Attempted Murder; Alleged Victims Were Also Students

An Ave Maria law student has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault based on allegations he fired a gun at his roommate during a drunken incident in which he also threatened his ex-girlfriend. Robert Ringley, 25, is being held on $1 million bond, report Wink News, the News-Press,…

Jan 17, 2012 2:36 PM CST