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At President Trump's rally in Tampa last week, a familiar face made it back in the national news. Maurice Symonette, also known as Michael the Black Man, was front and center in a crowd hurling invective at CNN reporter Jim Acosta, waving a "Blacks for Trump" sign.

Symonette has been a regular at Trump rallies all over Florida and as far away as Arizona. Just last month, he popped up at the U.S. border to appear in a video with disgraced sheriff-turned-pardoned-Senate-candidate Joe Arpaio.

All that national exposure raises an obvious question: Who is paying the bills for Symonette, a former member of Miami's murderous Yahweh ben Yahweh cult, to represent "Blacks for Trump" at Trump rallies? 

Since Blacks for Trump isn't a registered political organization with the Florida Division of Elections or the Federal Election Commission, there are no public records of any donations funding the group's operations.

It seems unlikely Symonette is fronting the cash for his travel himself because he filed for bankruptcy this past May. In federal court records, he reports that he's unemployed, generates no income, and has $0 in the bank. He also says four banks have staked claims on $2.9 million worth of property around Dade County. 

So how is he getting to Arizona and Tampa to stand behind Trump on national TV?  Reached on his cell phone, Symonette declined to discuss his group's financing. "You guys are horrible racists," he said. "You are lawbreakers and you're mean... God is going to punish you horribly."

Throughout the '80s, Symonette — then known as Maurice Woodside — was a devoted follower of Yahweh ben Yahweh, a charismatic preacher who wore white robes and called himself the Messiah.

Federal prosecutors later accused Yahweh, whose real name was Hulon Mitchell Jr., of ordering his followers to murder at least 14 people, including random white vagrants who were massacred as an initiation rite.

Symonette was charged in federal court along with Mitchell and 15 other followers in 1990; while the cult's leader was later convicted of 14 charges of murder conspiracy and served nearly two decades in prison, Symonette and six other cult members were acquitted.

In the decades since, Symonette has been charged with crimes including grand theft auto, carrying a weapon onto an airplane, and threatening a police officer, but has never been convicted. (He does have a pending case on a municipal ordinance charge in Hollywood after police showed up to a really loud party he threw.)

Since Trump's election, Symonette has carved out an unlikely new niche as one of President Trump's most visible African-American supporters. He has a knack for getting prime placement directly behind Trump and has handed out hundreds of his "Blacks for Trump" signs.

They advertise his website, which is full of conspiracy theories about Cherokees running the U.S. banking system. (Really.)

Symonette was even featured at a Miami Trump rally that prosecutors later alleged had been funded by Russian nationals looking to disrupt the election.

Symonette filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 16, listing Washington Mutual, Homecomings Financial, HSBC Bank, and Indymac Bank as his creditors; each institution laid claim to one of four houses. Three are in North Miami-Dade County, and one is near Kendall.

In court docs, his only listed assets are clothing, watches, various household items, and a pool table. He does say that his live-in girlfriend, whom he doesn't identify by name, provides him with $2,000 per month.

Could that money from his significant other cover Blacks for Trump's various trips around the country to support the president on TV? Symonette wouldn't discuss that with a New Times reporter. 

Instead, he spoke at length about his belief that the banking system is corrupt. He added that "Trump being the president is the greatest blessing we have ever had."

In his bankruptcy case, he's repeated those allegations about the banking system being crooked to Judge Laurel M. Isicoff. He's also repeatedly sought to change hearings that overlapped with Trump events. Symonette suggested the scheduling conflicts are a sinister plot to keep him away from the spotlight at Trump rallies.

"Creditors know that I have a rally in Arizona on July 25 and deliberately set the hearing on that date to cause me and my musical band to miss the performance and the rally with the bus we rented," he wrote in a motion filed the same morning as the Phoenix rally. "The creditors overheard that at the house we are disputing... and set that hearing on the same date just to harm me."

That motion was denied, as was another he filed on July 30, just before Trump's Tampa rally. "As founder of Blacks for Trump, (I) have rented vans to go to Trump's rally. We need to make the country aware how the banks (FOREIGNERS FROM THE EAST) are illegally taking WHITE AND BLACK PEOPLE'S houses away."

Maurice Symonette's story is baffling, to put it mildly. Symonette, who also goes by the name Michael the Black Man, somehow went from being part of the murderous Yahweh ben Yahweh cult to getting acquitted of murder charges himself to being a staple at Donald Trump's presidential rallies all over the country. Even among the rogue's gallery of rodeo clowns and Bond villains who make up Trump's core cadre of supporters, Symonette might legitimately be the weirdest person hovering around Trumpworld

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After Michael the Black Man turned up at a Tampa-area Trump rally last week and led anti-press chants, it's worth taking note of all the bizarre places he's materialized since becoming a prominent Trump supporter:

1. At the original October 2016 Trump rally where he first popped up on TV:

Conservative Twitter is abuzz this afternoon with a trending hashtag: #BlacksForTrump. The spark is clear: Thousands have retweeted photos from Trump's rally in Lakeland, Florida, this afternoon showing a small group standing directly behind the Donald while enthusiastically waving "Blacks for Trump" signs. "Blacks are for Trump and the left can't stand it," writes @LawlessPirate, with another pic of the sign-waving man wearing a shirt reading "Trump & Republicans Are Not Racist." So who is this new face of Trump's elusive black support? He's none other than Michael the Black Man, also known as Maurice Woodside or Michael Symonette, who has made waves in Miami in recent years with protests against the Democratic Party and rallies for the GOP. He's also a former member of the murderous Yahweh ben Yahweh cult, which was led by the charismatic preacher Hulon Mitchell Jr., who was charged by the feds in 1990 with conspiracy in killings that included a gruesome beheading in the Everglades. Michael, along with 15 other Yahweh followers, was charged for allegedly conspiring in two murders; his brother, who was also in the cult, told jurors that Michael had helped beat one man who was later killed and stuck a sharpened stick into another man's eyeball. But jurors found Michael (and six other Yahweh followers) innocent. They sent Mitchell away for 20 years in the federal pen. In the years that followed, Michael changed his last name to Symonette, made a career as a musician, started a radio station in Miami, and then reinvented himself as Michael the Black Man, an anti-gay, anti-liberal preacher with a golden instinct for getting on TV at GOP events. He's planned events with Rick Santorum and gotten cable news play for bashing Obama. Since 1997, he's been charged with grand theft auto, carrying a weapon onto an airplane and threatening a police officer, but never convicted in any of those cases. 

2. At a Trump rally in Bayfront Park in Miami just before the election: 3. At a rally allegedly organized with the help of Russian agents:

A federal grand jury filed charges against 13 Russian nationals [in February 2018] for allegedly stealing identities, wiring money overseas, and staging a small series of flash mobs to help tip the 2016 election in Donald Trump's favor. It's unclear whether the social media campaign had any actual impact on voting, but the FBI alleges Russian money indeed affected one small group of Miamians who unknowingly used Russian cash to pay for supplies for an unnamed rally the September before the presidential election. There still seem to be online traces of that Moscow-funded rally. Only one publicized, pro-Trump rally appears to have taken place in the Miami area — #LatinosConTrump in Doral at 1 p.m. September 11, 2016. The event was pitched as an "anti-media" protest outside the town's Univision offices. The national group Latinos With Trump created flyers for the rally and noted that virtually all of Miami's most prominent pro-Trump groups — Cubans 4 Trump, Hispanas for Trump, Latinas for Trump, and the official Miami Trump Volunteers — would attend.

4. At a 2017 Trump rally in Phoenix, per the Washington Post:

And so it was Tuesday night before a crowd of Trump supporters in Phoenix who had come to watch another show. There was the president, whipping up the wildly cheering crowd, and then there was Michael the Black Man, chanting just beyond Trump’s right shoulder in that trademark T-shirt. The presence of Michael — variously known as Michael Symonette, Maurice Woodside and Mikael Israel — has inspired not only trending Twitter hashtags but a great deal of curiosity and Google searches. Internet sleuths find the man’s bizarre URL, an easily accessible gateway to his strange and checkered past. The radical fringe activist from Miami once belonged to a violent black supremacist religious cult, and he runs a handful of amateur, unintelligible conspiracy websites. He has called Barack Obama “The Beast” and Hillary Clinton a Ku Klux Klan member. Oprah Winfrey, he says, is the devil. Most curiously, in the 1990s, he was charged, then acquitted, with conspiracy to commit two murders.

5. With noted racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the U.S.-Mexico border just last week:

Via our sister paper Phoenix New Times:

Former sheriff Joe Arpaio filmed a video at the U.S.-Mexico border with a former Florida cult member who goes by the name Michael the Black Man. In the video posted on Thursday, Michael has his arm around Arpaio as the ousted former sheriff promotes his improbable race for Arizona's open Senate seat during a visit to the border fence in Naco, Arizona. Michael was a follower of the Yahweh ben Yahweh cult, a black-supremacist religious sect in Florida. In 1990, the feds charged Michael and over a dozen fellow cult members with conspiracy related to brutal murders in Florida. Alongside Arpaio and Michael in the video is an independent Senate candidate in Massachusetts, Shiva Ayyadurai, who shared the live video on Twitter. Born in India, Ayyadurai is a scientist and MIT graduate who claims that he invented email. He began his Senate campaign as a Republican before switching to run as an independent. Ayyadurai’s campaign uses the slogan, “Defeat #FakeIndian Elizabeth Warren,” as a derogatory jab at his Democratic opponent. “First of all, I’m from Massachusetts, so of course I’m supporting this great guy,” Arpaio says of Ayyadurai in the video. “He’s gonna win.” Michael says, “We’re at the border right here, between Arizona and Mexico.” He turns to Arpaio to ask if he has anything to say to the camera. The aging former sheriff brings up his law enforcement background. “It’s great to see the border again; I haven’t seen it in a while,” Arpaio says. 

If you've got any info on who's paying Symonette's travel bills to Trump rallies, email [email protected] or [email protected]

For a second, Donald Trump seemed to be backing off his vitriolic attacks on the free press. After five journalists were massacred at the Annapolis Capital Gazette, Trump briefly toned down his slurs. He even invited New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzburger to the White House to clear the air. But it didn't last.

Trump quickly returned to his Stalinist, enemies-of-the-people label for journalists and then lied about his meeting with Sulzburger to insist that truthful reporting is "fake news." Those insults have a real effect, and that fact was never frighteningly clearer than at Trump's rally last night in Tampa, where an unhinged-looking mob screamed insults and waved middle fingers at journalists, particularly CNN's chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

The scene left many political watchers deeply shaken, including Acosta:

Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy. pic.twitter.com/IhSRw5Ui3R— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 1, 2018

But most national press watchers didn't notice who was right at the center of that mob hurling invective at Acosta and his colleagues: Yep, it was Michael the Black Man, AKA Maurice Symonette, a former member of Miami's murderous Yahweh ben Yawheh cult who once faced charges of conspiring in the group's murders.

That's him with his instantly recognizable "Blacks for Trump" sign:

.@Acosta is trying to do a stand-up at #trumptampa and the crowd is booing and chanting “CNN sucks” behind him. pic.twitter.com/XiULajB1Li— Emily L. Mahoney (@mahoneysthename) July 31, 2018

Symonette has been a mainstay at Florida Trump rallies and over the past year has popped up at other Trump-linked events around the nation. Just last week, he flew to Arizona to film a video at the border with disgraced former sheriff Joe Arpaio. Trump's staff regularly gives Symonette front-and-center seats where he waves his black-and-white sign on national television.

Here's some background on Symonette from New Times' earlier reporting on him:

He's also a former member of the murderous Yahweh ben Yahweh cult, which was led by the charismatic preacher Hulon Mitchell Jr., who was charged by the feds in 1990 with conspiracy in killings that included a gruesome beheading in the Everglades. Michael, along with 15 other Yahweh followers, was charged for allegedly conspiring in two murders; his brother, who was also in the cult, told jurors that Michael had helped beat one man who was later killed and stuck a sharpened stick into another man's eyeball. But jurors found Michael (and six other Yahweh followers) innocent. They sent Mitchell away for 20 years in the federal pen. In the years that followed, he changed his last name to Symonette, made a career as a musician, started a radio station in Miami and then re-invented himself as Michael the Black Man, an anti-gay, anti-liberal preacher with a golden instinct for getting on TV at GOP events. He's planned events with Rick Santorum and gotten cable news play for bashing Obama. Since 1997, he's been charged with grand theft auto, carrying a weapon onto an airplane and threatening a police officer, but never convicted in any of those cases. 

In other words, he's exactly the kind of guy you might not want to drive into a blind rage at journalists who are just trying to do their jobs. Yet there he was in Tampa, right in the middle of the crowd screaming at Acosta — who, incidentally, took time to talk to the crowds who were so angry with him:

After each live shot, @Acosta would walk down and politely talk to the people who just heckled him. He talked to one group for at least 15 minutes. pic.twitter.com/J26nlxfD6k— Christopher Heath (@CHeathWFTV) August 1, 2018

There are two safe bets on this topic going forward: Trump won't stop throwing insults at the media, and wherever the president is whipping up that anger, Michael the Black Man will probably be there with his signs, happily taking the bait.

Nordelta, one of Buenos Aires’s most exclusive areas, is a conglomerate of gated communities with over 50,000 residents. It sits on the wetlands of the River Paraná, second only to the Amazon in South America. And it was built by emptying and refilling canals, which [...] reduced the wetlands’ capacity to absorb rainfall. Nordelta opened in 2001, right when the economy collapsed after a decade of extreme neoliberal adjustments. In 2001, Argentina had five presidents in the span of 11 days, police killed 39 citizens during protests, and personal bank accounts were frozen [...]. Nordelta’s main attraction for consumers was [...] a distinguished, United States lifestyle. [...] Master-planned communities (MPCs) are privately built and designed neighborhoods in the city outskirts constructed by large-scale developers, offering amenities, services, and rules through homeowner associations. [...]

While driving through the main road to the conglomerate, [...] to the right, malls, apartments, and private schools with English names that are only accessible by car. [...] Over 8,000 workers cross these gates daily to provide multiple services. [...] These workers cannot walk on the avenues because “Nordelta residents do not want to see them around,” [...]. This segregationist structure of Nordelta emerged alongside the expansion of the neoliberal state. While Nordelta today resembles Miami, it was initially thought of as the French ville nouvelles (“new towns”), which aimed to integrate rural migrants within European cities.

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In 1977, engineer Julián Astolfoni acquired the first plot of land from the descendants of [...] a general who had obtained the lands previously peopled by Guaraníes and Carupás after fighting in the “Desert Campaign against the Indians.” When Astolfoni got the plot, Nordelta was conceptualized to fix the problem of undesired urban sprawl at a time when the [...] state of the last civic-military dictatorship was trying to “eradicate” the villas miseria (shantytowns) for being “filthy” spaces threatening private property and national moralities.  

The project goals shifted once it was finally approved in 1992 when Astolfoni partnered with businessmen [EC] and other North American corporations, [...] including [...] a U.S. real estate specialized in MPCs. [...] Nordelta retained the enduring idea of the desert as a space to be filled. Like every pioneer narrative, it positioned Astolfoni and [EC], the engineer-corporate duo, as heroes saving “neglected” environments and conquering a wetland that would remain otherwise “vast, useless, dangerous, and vacant.” They would do this by emulating the U.S. MPCs of the 1960s, the ones that turned public malls into consumption centers [...].

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In the 1990s, president Carlos Menem’s government extended neoliberal measures and promoted Miami as a tourist destination for middle-class families [...]. Despite its diversity, Miami became a symbol of whiteness and economic success [...]. The neoliberal reconfiguration of white exceptionalism as a desire to emulate western geographies became Nordelta’s mark, offering global lifestyles to the elites who can now “live like in Miami, but a few miles away from the Buenos Aires Obelisk,” as an Argentinian newspaper with connections to Nordelta claimed. [...]

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In 2001, when the machines were opening the soil, a woman [...] found ceramic pieces and bones. The finding led to an organized movement [...]. A team of archaeologists who had been working in the area before visited the place, corroborated the existence of an ancestral site, and registered it as the Punta Canal archaeological site. [...] Despite protests [...], the company sent excavators and destroyed a significant portion of the site. [...]  [T]he organized group of neighbors and Indigenous peoples constituting the Movimiento en Defensa de la Pacha Mama set out to protect the archaeological remains and the Indigenous cemetery [...]. [T]heir organization pushed for the recognition of the land, now named Punta Querandí, as communitarian in 2020 [...]. Furthermore, [...] the movement achieved the return and reburial of 42 bodies from ancestors whom an archaeologist from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had exhumed in 1925. [...]

[T]his long, complex, and well-documented story of the emergence of Punta Querandí [is told] in the museum, el Museo Autónomo de Gestión Indígena, which also has a digital archive. Despite the developers’ representation of the area as wild and rural, Punta Querandí has “made visible that the reality of Indigenous Peoples also occurs in Buenos Aires,” [...]. [T]he desegregationist project of Punta Querandí, a land not attached to geneticized or archaeologized visions of Indigeneity, but rather a Territory where Guaraní, Qom, Colla, Moqoit, or Aymara Peoples, among many others, can reunite [...].

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Punta Querandí and its desegregationist project shows the power of edges. [...]

Exemplified by Nordelta, MPCs generate profit by transforming rural into elite lands while rearticulating racial and spatial borders that make distinctions sharper, more guarded, and less porous -- between centers and peripheries, grounded and flooded land [...]. MPCs originated in the U.S. and continue to circulate American imaginaries of race, segregation, and neoliberal commons worldwide. [...]  By selling reductionist archetypes, such as the fantasy of white Miami, in order to profit from them, real estate developments obscure how environments continue to be complex, multiple, and diverse despite the violence enacted upon them.

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Text by: Mara Dicenta. “The Violence of Gated Communities in Buenos Aires’s Wetlands.” Edge Effects. 20 April 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

The bad example state.

April 25, 2024

In his State of the State Address in January 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis declared that Florida was "the freest state in these United States." He also claimed "the state is well-prepared to withstand future economic turmoil." Turns out this description does not apply at all to his state's insurance industry. That particular segment of Florida's economy is currently verging on catastrophe.

Because of ocean warming, Florida is especially subject to heavy rainfalls, storm surge, and major category hurricanes that can devastate entire cities. For example, 55% of all the properties in Miami are at risk for severe flooding. And Florida's sea level, as much as eight inches higher now than in 1950, is rising by one inch every three years.

Bloomberg Intelligence reports that a 360% rise in Florida's insured losses in the past three decades due to the increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters is causing insurers to “hike premiums and exit high-risk areas.” And with reinsurance — essentially insurance for insurers — becoming unaffordable, major insurance companies are fleeing Florida in droves. AIG ceased insuring new properties along Florida's shoreline, while Farmers Group has stopped writing new policies statewide entirely.

So, since Republicans believe a "free" state means having little to no business regulation, homeowners are left having to depend on companies that are smaller, less diversified, less capitalized and more prone to becoming insolvent. A recent study by researchers at Harvard University, Columbia University and the Federal Reserve found that a majority of homes in Florida are insured by companies whose ratings would not receive an A from Demotech Inc., the industry’s primary ratings agency, and thus not be good enough to secure full backing by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Naturally, costs for home insurance have skyrocketed, too. Floridians paid an average annual premium of $10,996 in 2023 — more than anywhere else in the country. And online insurance agent Insurify predicts that number to go up to $11,759 in 2024.

DeSantis likes to hype "free" Florida as a model for the nation. Here's how Latisha Nixon-Jones, law professor at Jackson State University responds to that notion:

Will the state serve as a blueprint for disaster-prone regions, or act as a cautionary tale? After all, states such as California and Louisiana have also seen insurance companies withdrawing from their markets.

Plus, Newsweek reports that Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partnership is pulling out of nine states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Washington. If Florida is an example for America, that's not very reassuring.

BARCELONA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Shakira is to stand trial in Barcelona on Monday to face charges that she failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($15.74 million) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014.

The 'Hips Don't Lie' Colombian megastar, who also has a second tax fraud investigation pending with Spanish authorities, has vowed to fight what she called false accusations.

Shakira says she had paid what the tax office said was owed before it filed a lawsuit, and insists she was not living in Spain during the period as her work led to a "nomadic life".

She rejected a settlement offer from the prosecutor's office to close the case and is expected to testify on Monday in the first of 12 hearings scheduled until Dec. 14.

The prosecutor's office is seeking an up to eight-year prison term and to claim back the taxes it says she owes.

It alleges that Shakira spent more than half of each of the years in question in Spain and was therefore ordinarily resident in the country. It also says that a Barcelona property she bought in May 2012 served as a family home.

Shakira, 46, lived with former Barcelona and Spain soccer star Gerard Pique for 11 years and the couple have two children. The singer, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, moved to Miami after their separation.

Judge Jose Manuel del Amo Sanchez, who has handled other high-profile cases, will chair a panel of three judges who are set to hear more than 100 testimonies during the course of the trial, which is due to start at 10 a.m (0900 GMT).

Spanish authorities have pursued other major celebrities over tax evasion including soccer players such as Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazilian-Spanish player Diego Costa. All settled and paid large fines.

However, Spain's Supreme Court last month upheld the acquittal of Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso in another tax case. Alonso had refused to settle and eventually won at trial.

re: michigone

for people not in the states: the lakes states all hate each other because we all fucked each other over for land, lol. ohio v michigan (toledo strip) is the most well known one, but even with the upper pennisula being taken from wisconsin to give to michigan as a consolation prize during that conflict (which still wouldn't have resulted in michigan having a straight south border, because...) indiana took another strip from the south when they were made a state so they'd have lake access (10 miles north, border not "officially" marked out properly until 2022, which has led to some having michigan addresses but a po box or other services in indiana). meanwhile illinois went the other way on the whole northwest territory borders being based off a faulty map thing and wanted chicago. then tried to claim beloit wi and wisconsin went "if we wanted to make a problem we could claim to the south point of lake michigan which includes chicago. they'll give it to us too, after we lost so much land to michigan" and illinois went "uhhh nevermind".

you can see proto-chicago and miami (now toledo) here in the 1804 uspost map, which we now know those points don't converge so cleanly

those two lines converging there, incorrectly, have caused a lot of long-remembered conflict. there's also been fights between wisconsin and michigan over islands since some borders are determined by something as vague as "usual" shipping routes.

tl;dr bottom border of michigan isn't straight since indiana and ohio were added as states first and michigan gained the upper penninsula as a consolation prize through many yoopers still perceive themselves as more like/akin to wisconsin folk due to northwoods solidarity (this is supported by upper penninsula english dialect).

fun fact that mi-oh border isn't even a straight line since when they finally put in the granite markers in 1916, both sides agreed to accept where property owners had determined they are. so while it appears straight on nation-level maps, it's actually like this

Honda to return to F1 in 2026 as engine manufacturer for Aston Martin

Honda are to return to Formula One as the works engine manufacturer for the Aston Martin team in 2026. The partnership represents a hugely significant step in the team’s aim, made in 2021, of competing for championships within five years. The move is also a major U-turn for Honda who only pulled out of F1 at the end of 2021 just as the company delivered what was considered to be the best engine on the grid. The partnership, which was announced on Wednesday, will be exclusive to Aston Martin who are currently supplied with customer engines by Mercedes, from whom they also source their gearbox and suspension. Aston Martin’s group CEO, Martin Whitmarsh, who was McLaren team principal between 2008 and 2014, emphasised why they needed the manufacturer deal with Honda. “It is very, very difficult to consistently win championships without a full works relationship which is why we have made this decision,” he said. Whitmarsh believed that the ability to compete at the front required a works engine manufacturer, and with that the team bringing all parts for manufacture in-house at their brand new factory and wind tunnel facility in Silverstone, which will become fully operational this year. “Its a big challenge,” he said. “This is about the growing up of this team. You set out to win in F1, that means beating existing partners and in order to do that we have got to be independent. “The nature of F1 is if you want to win it means beating Mercedes and it is extremely difficult to beat an organisation as good as Mercedes if you are reliant on them for intellectual property, facilities and components. We are here to win and therefore you have to have the complete integration of facilities, process and approach.” Aston Martin are enjoying an extremely competitive opening to the 2023 season: they are second in the constructors’ championship behind Red Bull, with Fernando Alonso having taken four third places in five races. Alonso is in with a real chance of claiming his first F1 victory for a decade this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix which should suit the strengths of his car. Fernando Alonso racing for Aston Martin at the Miami Grand Prix. Photograph: ZHANG Haopeng/ATP/SPP/Shutterstock Honda had rejoined F1 in 2015 with McLaren and endured three difficult years during which their engine was well off the pace and publicly criticised by Alonso at the time. When McLaren dropped them they supplied Toro Rosso for one year in 2018 and Red Bull took them on as a works partner in 2019. By 2021 their engine was at the front of the grid taking Max Verstappen to the title but by then the company had already decided to withdraw from the sport. Verstappen won again in 2022 with, effectively, the Honda engine, which Red Bull had taken on to build itself with Honda assistance at their newly built Red Bull Powertrains department. When withdrawing, Honda noted their interests as a car manufacturer were no longer best represented by F1, stating that the industry was undergoing a “once-in-100-years period of great transformation” and citing the conversion to electric power and carbon-free technology. However the new 2026 engine F1 regulations, which will include an increase to a use of 50% of electrical power and the employment of a 100% sustainable fuel, were considered to be in line with the company’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. The six manufacturers that have registered as power-unit suppliers for the 2026-2030 timeframe are Honda, Mercedes, Red Bull Ford, Ferrari, Alpine and Audi. Red Bull are to join with Ford in 2026 as their partner in engine manufacture at their powertrain plant in Milton Keynes. At this point Haas (Ferrari-engined), McLaren (Mercedes) and Williams (Mercedes) have yet to confirm engine manufacturers for 2026 but Honda said they have no plans to supply another team. via Formula One | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/formulaone

An off-duty federal law enforcement officer was shot and killed by Florida Keys deputies because he allegedly aimed a semiautomatic gun at them.

Around 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, Lane Morgan Caviness, 48, was shot at a home close to mile marker 95 in Key Largo, Miami Herald reported.

Deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a drunk and armed "suicidal man" at the property, according to CBS News.

Caviness was a sworn law enforcement officer and a commercial airline pilot. He was an officer with the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, a division of the Department of Homeland Security's Air Marshal Service, Keys Sheriff Rick Ramsay told Miami Herald.

An inquiry for comments regarding Caviness' death was not immediately answered by Homeland Security officials. A man was present when deputies arrived at the property in the Key Largo Ocean Resort area, and they were able to confirm that he was armed, authorities said.

The individual informed the deputies that he was inebriated and ready to fight them, Miami Herald reported. Ramsay claimed that he suddenly reappeared, this time aiming the weapon at the deputies.

According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokesman Adam Linhardt, the deputies "responded by firing at him." He claimed that although first aid was started, Caviness had been declared dead.

"Although this appears to be a suicide by cop situation, as I always do in such cases, I have asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an independent investigation into this matter," Ramsay said in a statement.

All investigations on the shooting were directed to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) by Linhardt.

International Business Times was not able to independently verify the number of deputies who fired their weapons, their identities, and whether or not they were placed on paid leave throughout the inquiry.

The investigation is ongoing.

Little Gables Homes For Sale: Community Guide

Credit: Image by Beautriz Goudie | Source

How Little Gables Homes For Sale Started

Disputes can sometimes bring about beautiful things. That’s the story of Little Gables homes for sale and how the community started. The area is considered an unincorporated Miami-Dade County community. It sprung from a dispute over orange groves around the 1920s. Despite founder George Merrick's vision for incorporation into Coral Gables, John Stadler's groves have remained untouched.

Moving forward to today, Little Gables lays claim to over 700 homes. These modest New England-style homes distinctly feature wooden frames and lush greenery. All of these are along the bustling LeJeune Road. But what makes the neighborhood a prime candidate for homebuyers? Let’s explore a few of the reasons.

Greenery

We are in an age when it is abundantly clear the amount of harm we have already caused to nature, including the oxygen that we inhale and the water we swallow. This is especially true in tourist-friendly destinations such as Florida. Thankfully, more individuals are becoming mindful of the pressing need for safeguarding and improving the environment. They begin seeking green places to live, work, and raise their family.

Luckily, Little Gables has taken steps to keep the community green. The neighborhood received a County grant in 2001 and 2002 for a street tree planting initiative. The first grant contributed to the planting of 50 shade trees. The support came through a non-profit organization named TREEmendous Miami. The second grant brought about 50 more shade trees through the Shade For Dade program. As a cherry on top, these projects united the residents to give them a sense of representation and responsibility to show up for their place of residence

HOA

Beautiful neighborhoods usually come at a premium. But that’s not the case in Little Gables. Residents in the area have access to several amenities without breaking the bank. Little Gables Neighborhood Association charges a $25 yearly membership charge per home to assist in covering its costs for all its responsibilities. These duties include the following:

Costs for mailing and production of newsletters and other correspondence.

Legal fees for fighting commercial takeover.

Neighborhood improvement projects (beautification and construction).

Hosting the Little Gables Neighborhood Association website.

Planning and organizing social events.

Community management at that price is surely a perk in any economy. Funding you save from inexpensive HOA fees can be directed to house renovations or toward home security.

Neighborhood Safety

Miami-Dade County provides Little Gables with police and fire services to complement any technology installed to protect your property. On weekdays, Little Gables is patrolled by one community-oriented police officer (COP). Following that, the community shares a single COP with Schenley Park. The police and fire stations that serve the neighborhood can be found in Doral.

Residents can also participate in a citizen crime watch program in their blocs. Volunteers get training and meet up with the Miami-Dade Police Department's Midwest District and Neighborhood Resources Officers. If you’re interested, the local initiative also does occasional outreach programs to educate homeowners about how to keep their property free from crime.

Convenient Location

Moving around is another benefit of buying Little Gables homes for sale. Traveling for work or pleasure will be a breeze because of the proximity to town, which allows for quick and efficient entry and exit. The Miami International Airport is about 2.6 miles away for some international and domestic flights. But if you want to enjoy the local scene, the community is surrounded by vibrant activities and venues.

The neighborhood is just three minutes from Miracle Mile. It’s a strip of restaurants offering mouth-watering international dishes. This foodie hotspot is home to unique culinary treasures that even tourists come back for more when they’re in the area.

If you like geeking about culture though, the downtown area is littered with theaters, art spaces, and performance venues.

The most important factor in the location of Little Gables is its proximity to top-notch medical care facilities and educational institutions. Schools around the area include Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, Ponce De Leon Middle School, and Coral Gables Senior High School.

Annexation

Establishments and sites have given Little Gables its unique character, compared to nearby neighborhoods. However, annexation has been a long-running discussion within the community with officials who wish to bring further progress to the community. It isn’t smooth sailing, with talks coming to a halt several times for various reasons, but each year brings everyone much closer to a resolution.

What is Annexation?

Annexation is a way of incorporating land into the city borders. It is just one of the key ways in which cities flourish. Cities acquire territories to offer local facilities to developing regions and to exercise the governing power required to preserve the safety and health of the public.

State of Annexation

The decision to bring Little Gables into Coral Gables has caused a lot of disagreement. Recently, the city leaders said they might let the people decide by voting. This comes after talks about joining the two places that have been going on since 2017 but haven't gone anywhere. Only a few people in Little Gables agreed with the idea. So, everyone’s waiting to see if it will be officially approved.

Mayor Vince Lago and Vice Mayor Anderson, who serve the community at the time of writing, say it could bring money and make homes more valuable. However, others worry about how much it will cost to make changes. The city leaders are talking about letting everyone vote on it. The mayor thinks they should decide, but some people think he just doesn't want the public to say no.

If we go back to the rocky beginnings of the area, we can conclude that the locals’ love for this charming community will always override any decision. The support to make the neighborhood better has always been present for Little Gables. This is merely a speedbump before the community throttles and moves toward improvement.

Conclusion

The history of Little Gables reflects a journey marked by resilience and community spirit. From its origins in a dispute over orange groves to its emergence as a vibrant enclave, it embodies a unique blend of history and modernity. Its convenient location near amenities, entertainment venues, and top-notch educational institutions further enhances its appeal. Whether seeking a green oasis or a bustling urban hub, Little Gables stands as a prime destination for homebuyers seeking the perfect blend of tranquility and convenience.

Ready to see listings for the Little Gables community? Find your future home by following this link now: https://makecoralgableshome.com/coral-gables/little-gables/

Ex-Cult Member Behind "Blacks for Trump" Is Bankrupt, So Who's Paying for His Trump Rally Trips?

At President Trump's rally in Tampa last week, a familiar face made it back in the national news. Maurice Symonette, also known as Michael the Black Man, was front and center in a crowd hurling invective at CNN reporter Jim Acosta, waving a "Blacks for Trump" sign. Symonette has been a regular at Trump rallies all over Florida and as far away as Arizona. Just last month, he popped up at the U.S. border to appear in a video with disgraced sheriff-turned-pardoned-Senate-candidate Joe Arpaio.

All that national exposure raises an obvious question: Who is paying the bills for Symonette, a former member of Miami's murderous Yahweh ben Yahweh cult, to represent "Blacks for Trump" at Trump rallies?  Since Blacks for Trump isn't a registered political organization with the Florida Division of Elections or the Federal Election Commission, there are no public records of any donations funding the group's operations.

It seems unlikely Symonette is fronting the cash for his travel himself because he filed for bankruptcy this past May. In federal court records, he reports that he's unemployed, generates no income, and has $0 in the bank. He also says four banks have staked claims on $2.9 million worth of property around Dade County. 

So how is he getting to Arizona and Tampa to stand behind Trump on national TV?  Reached on his cell phone, Symonette declined to discuss his group's financing. "You guys are horrible racists," he said. "You are lawbreakers and you're mean... God is going to punish you horribly."

Throughout the '80s, Symonette — then known as Maurice Woodside — was a devoted follower of Yahweh ben Yahweh, a charismatic preacher who wore white robes and called himself the Messiah. Federal prosecutors later accused Yahweh, whose real name was Hulon Mitchell Jr., of ordering his followers to murder at least 14 people, including random white vagrants who were massacred as an initiation rite.

Symonette was charged in federal court along with Mitchell and 15 other followers in 1990; while the cult's leader was later convicted of 14 charges of murder conspiracy and served nearly two decades in prison, Symonette and six other cult members were acquitted.

In the decades since, Symonette has been charged with crimes including grand theft auto, carrying a weapon onto an airplane, and threatening a police officer, but has never been convicted. (He does have a pending case on a municipal ordinance charge in Hollywood after police showed up to a really loud party he threw.)

Since Trump's election, Symonette has carved out an unlikely new niche as one of President Trump's most visible African-American supporters. He has a knack for getting prime placement directly behind Trump and has handed out hundreds of his "Blacks for Trump" signs. They advertise his website, which is full of conspiracy theories about Cherokees running the U.S. banking system. (Really.)

Symonette was even featured at a Miami Trump rally that prosecutors later alleged had been funded by Russian nationals looking to disrupt the election.

Symonette filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 16, listing Washington Mutual, Homecomings Financial, HSBC Bank, and Indymac Bank as his creditors; each institution laid claim to one of four houses. Three are in North Miami-Dade County, and one is near Kendall.

In court docs, his only listed assets are clothing, watches, various household items, and a pool table. He does say that his live-in girlfriend, whom he doesn't identify by name, provides him with $2,000 per month.

Could that money from his significant other cover Blacks for Trump's various trips around the country to support the president on TV? Symonette wouldn't discuss that with a New Times reporter. 

Instead, he spoke at length about his belief that the banking system is corrupt. He added that "Trump being the president is the greatest blessing we have ever had."

In his bankruptcy case, he's repeated those allegations about the banking system being crooked to Judge Laurel M. Isicoff. He's also repeatedly sought to change hearings that overlapped with Trump events. Symonette suggested the scheduling conflicts are a sinister plot to keep him away from the spotlight at Trump rallies.

"Creditors know that I have a rally in Arizona on July 25 and deliberately set the hearing on that date to cause me and my musical band to miss the performance and the rally with the bus we rented," he wrote in a motion filed the same morning as the Phoenix rally. "The creditors overheard that at the house we are disputing... and set that hearing on the same date just to harm me."

That motion was denied, as was another he filed on July 30, just before Trump's Tampa rally. "As founder of Blacks for Trump, (I) have rented vans to go to Trump's rally. We need to make the country aware how the banks (FOREIGNERS FROM THE EAST) are illegally taking WHITE AND BLACK PEOPLE'S houses away."

For a second, Donald Trump seemed to be backing off his vitriolic attacks on the free press. After five journalists were massacred at the Annapolis Capital Gazette, Trump briefly toned down his slurs. He even invited New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzburger to the White House to clear the air. But it didn't last.

Trump quickly returned to his Stalinist, enemies-of-the-people label for journalists and then lied about his meeting with Sulzburger to insist that truthful reporting is "fake news." Those insults have a real effect, and that fact was never frighteningly clearer than at Trump's rally last night in Tampa, where an unhinged-looking mob screamed insults and waved middle fingers at journalists, particularly CNN's chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

The scene left many political watchers deeply shaken, including Acosta:

Just a sample of the sad scene we faced at the Trump rally in Tampa. I’m very worried that the hostility whipped up by Trump and some in conservative media will result in somebody getting hurt. We should not treat our fellow Americans this way. The press is not the enemy. pic.twitter.com/IhSRw5Ui3R— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 1, 2018

But most national press watchers didn't notice who was right at the center of that mob hurling invective at Acosta and his colleagues: Yep, it was Michael the Black Man, AKA Maurice Symonette, a former member of Miami's murderous Yahweh ben Yawheh cult who once faced charges of conspiring in the group's murders.

That's him with his instantly recognizable "Blacks for Trump" sign:

.@Acosta is trying to do a stand-up at #trumptampa and the crowd is booing and chanting “CNN sucks” behind him. pic.twitter.com/XiULajB1Li— Emily L. Mahoney (@mahoneysthename) July 31, 2018

Symonette has been a mainstay at Florida Trump rallies and over the past year has popped up at other Trump-linked events around the nation. Just last week, he flew to Arizona to film a video at the border with disgraced former sheriff Joe Arpaio. Trump's staff regularly gives Symonette front-and-center seats where he waves his black-and-white sign on national television.

Here's some background on Symonette from New Times' earlier reporting on him:

He's also a former member of the murderous Yahweh ben Yahweh cult, which was led by the charismatic preacher Hulon Mitchell Jr., who was charged by the feds in 1990 with conspiracy in killings that included a gruesome beheading in the Everglades. Michael, along with 15 other Yahweh followers, was charged for allegedly conspiring in two murders; his brother, who was also in the cult, told jurors that Michael had helped beat one man who was later killed and stuck a sharpened stick into another man's eyeball. But jurors found Michael (and six other Yahweh followers) innocent. They sent Mitchell away for 20 years in the federal pen. In the years that followed, he changed his last name to Symonette, made a career as a musician, started a radio station in Miami and then re-invented himself as Michael the Black Man, an anti-gay, anti-liberal preacher with a golden instinct for getting on TV at GOP events. He's planned events with Rick Santorum and gotten cable news play for bashing Obama. Since 1997, he's been charged with grand theft auto, carrying a weapon onto an airplane and threatening a police officer, but never convicted in any of those cases. 

In other words, he's exactly the kind of guy you might not want to drive into a blind rage at journalists who are just trying to do their jobs. Yet there he was in Tampa, right in the middle of the crowd screaming at Acosta — who, incidentally, took time to talk to the crowds who were so angry with him:

After each live shot, @Acosta would walk down and politely talk to the people who just heckled him. He talked to one group for at least 15 minutes. pic.twitter.com/J26nlxfD6k— Christopher Heath (@CHeathWFTV) August 1, 2018

There are two safe bets on this topic going forward: Trump won't stop throwing insults at the media, and wherever the president is whipping up that anger, Michael the Black Man will probably be there with his signs, happily taking the bait.

The Duty of a Miami Insurance Coverage Adjuster

Insurance coverage adjusters play a critical duty in the insurance coverage market, evaluating the level of damages and determining the amount an insurance holder ought to obtain in case of a case. In Miami, like in lots of various other cities, insurance insurers contribute in about aiding people and services recuperate from losses because of various risks.

When an insurance policy holder sues with their insurance provider, a Miami insurance policy insurer is assigned to investigate the case. The insurer will certainly assess the policy concerned, evaluate the damages, and figure out the coverage and payment the insured is qualified to obtain. This process entails event evidence, speaking with witnesses, and inspecting residential or commercial property damages.

One of the essential responsibilities of a Miami insurance insurer is to work out with the policyholder or other included celebrations to reach a settlement. This calls for strong communication and negotiation abilities to ensure a reasonable and timely resolution for all celebrations. Adjusters need to likewise have a good understanding of insurance coverage legislations and regulations to make certain conformity and justness in cases refining.

Besides analyzing cases and negotiating negotiations, Miami insurance policy adjusters likewise play a role in threat assessment and prevention. By examining information and fads in insurance claims, insurance adjusters can help insurance companies determine prospective threats and create methods to reduce them. This aggressive method can help reduce the frequency and seriousness of future claims, profiting both the insurer and the guaranteed.

Finally, miami insurance adjuster are vital players in the insurance coverage industry, helping individuals and organizations recover from losses and navigate the intricacies of insurance coverage. Their knowledge in analyzing damages, bargaining settlements, and avoiding future threats make them valuable properties in making certain fair and effective claims handling. Check out more about this post here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurance#Claims.

Wildfires and Flooding: The Uninsurable Reality for Homeowners in California and Florida

As the United States grapples with the devastating impacts of climate change, two of its most populous states, California and Florida, are facing an unprecedented crisis. Annual wildfires and flooding are wreaking havoc on homes and communities, leaving homeowners in a precarious situation: major insurance companies are refusing to cover them.

The Reality in California California has been ravaged by wildfires in recent years, with the 2018 Camp Fire being the deadliest and most destructive in the state's history. The fire burned over 153,000 acres, destroyed nearly 19,000 structures, and claimed 85 lives. The economic toll was staggering, with estimated damages exceeding $16.5 billion.

In the aftermath of such disasters, homeowners are finding it increasingly difficult to secure insurance coverage. Major insurance companies like State Farm, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual are either refusing to renew policies or canceling them altogether, citing the high risk of wildfires in the region.

The Reality in Florida Florida, meanwhile, is battling a different kind of disaster: flooding. Rising sea levels, heavy rainfall, and storm surges are causing widespread flooding, especially in coastal areas like Miami and Key West. The 2017 Hurricane Irma caused an estimated $83 billion in damages, with many homeowners still struggling to recover.

Insurance companies are taking note of the increasing frequency and severity of flooding in Florida, and are adjusting their policies accordingly. Some are imposing hefty rate hikes, while others are simply refusing to cover homes in high-risk flood zones.

The Consequences The lack of insurance coverage has severe consequences for homeowners in California and Florida. Without insurance, homeowners are left to foot the bill for damages and repairs, which can be financially crippling. Many are forced to take out expensive loans or dip into their savings to cover the costs, leading to financial hardship and even bankruptcy.

Moreover, the lack of insurance coverage can also affect property values and the overall economy. As homes remain uninsured and unrepaired, neighborhoods can become blighted, leading to a decline in property values and a decrease in local economic activity.

The Solution So, what can be done to address this crisis? Some possible solutions include:

Implementing stricter building codes and zoning regulations to reduce the risk of wildfires and flooding

Investing in mitigation measures like fire breaks and flood-control infrastructure

Creating state-funded insurance programs or reinsurance pools to provide coverage for high-risk areas

Encouraging private insurance companies to offer more affordable and accessible coverage options

Conclusion The reality of wildfires and flooding in California and Florida is stark. Homeowners are facing an uncertain future, with major insurance companies refusing to cover them. It's time for policymakers, insurance companies, and homeowners to come together to find solutions to this crisis. By working together, we can build more resilient communities and ensure that homeowners are protected from the devastating impacts of climate change.

Uncovering Justice: The Vital Role of Criminal and Civil Investigations in Miami

Miami offers special chances and problems in the field of legal investigations because of its dynamic culture and busy metropolitan setting. Investigations must be done thoroughly in anything from complicated civil disputes to high-stakes criminal prosecutions. Empowering people and organizations to successfully negotiate the legal system in Miami includes knowing the different responsibilities and procedures involved in criminal and civil investigations.

Navigating the Intricacies of Criminal Investigation in Miami

A thorough knowledge of local, state, and federal legislation is necessary for the dynamic profession of criminal investigation in Miami. The main goals of these investigations are crime solving and apprehending offenders. They entail cooperating closely with law enforcement, obtaining evidence, and speaking with witnesses. To ensure that justice is done, the objective is to assemble a solid case that can withstand scrutiny in court.  

The Significance of Evidence in Criminal Investigations

A successful criminal investigation in Miami hinges on the quality and integrity of evidence collected. This includes physical evidence, digital data, and personal testimonies. Investigators must be meticulous and unbiased in their approach to ensure that all evidence is legally admissible and capable of withstanding the scrutiny of defense attorneys and judges.

The Importance of Civil Investigations in Legal Disputes

Civil investigations play a crucial role when private disputes arise between entities or individuals over non-criminal matters, such as business contracts, personal injuries, or property issues. Unlike criminal investigations,civil investigations aim to resolve disputes by providing the necessary evidence to support claims or defenses in civil court.

Civil Investigations: A Tool for Resolution and Justice

Civil investigations serve as a powerful tool in uncovering the facts and ensuring fairness in legal disputes. These investigations can involve background checks, asset searches, and surveillance to gather the needed evidence. By providing detailed and accurate information, civil investigators help clarify the circumstances of a case, aiding parties in reaching a resolution or preparing for litigation.

Conclusion

It is crucial to have competent detectives whether you are being investigated for a crime or are in the middle of a legal battle. Valdesinvgr.com provides thorough assistance in both criminal and civil investigations for people in need of professional investigative services in Miami. Their team of experts is dedicated to honesty and diligence, and they are well-suited to manage the intricacies of any case. They give customers the information and proof they require to successfully seek justice.

Entitlement Divestment

What about that scholarship money? That you accepted so grateful, It probably came from war investments Which you now claim are hateful, And next year's scholarship From a different endowment fund, Was invested in Israeli pharmaceuticals Oops, now they will be shunned.

Say, let me see what you are wearing Your clothes, jewelry and shoes, Was any of it created with slave labor If so, it's time to pay your dues, Divest yourself from those purchases The gold obtained by hand by oppressed miners, As you stand on the quad screaming slogans Having food catered to you from nearby diners.

By any standard We are all complicit (including you), A butterfly is crushed in Bermuda And Fifi the Pomeranian craps on my shoe, To completely divest yourself and your University From the military industrial complex, You need to spend your life in a cave While giving up sex.

The majority of mass protests Prompt dialogue But not necessarily change, Usually some folks die Such that the chessboard pieces rearrange, And there isn't always somebody that you can sue Because Free speech protesting is your Right, But do wear a helmet just in case a brick Is thrown your way in the dark of night.

I protested the Vietnam war On a college campus in the Miami Valley, We occupied the lawn of the administration building Sang our slogans, smoked weed and bragged about our rally, And then came the shootings at Ohio State After which we pondered the divestment of someone else's existence, A lot of scared kids quit the game at that moment And shipped home without resistance.

So, Mr. College student you are welcome to exercise your freedom of speech And protest to your heart's content, But please don't create any property damage Or we may consider your education money poorly spent, Such that we might ask you to leave So we can find a more appreciative pupil, One with high principles And at least one moral scruple.

Essential Considerations When Hiring a Car Accident Lawyer in Miami

Experiencing a car accident can be a traumatic and overwhelming experience, especially when dealing with injuries, property damage, and insurance claims. If you’ve been involved in a car accident in Miami, hiring a car accident lawyer can make a significant difference in navigating the legal process and obtaining the compensation you deserve.

Claims arise against Globe House Buyers,LLC and Michael Candelario

A Buckeye man with business ties to Globe is out on bail after his December 2019 arrest in Maricopa County. Michael Alexander Candelario, who bills himself as a real estate investor and the man behind Globe House Buyers, LLC, was featured in our article on home remodeling published in the January issue of Globe Miami Times. 

On Dec. 18, 2019, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Fugitive Task Force arrested Candelario in Phoenix.  The original warrant stems from Candelario’s failure to appear last year for a status hearing on his retrial for felony theft charges, said Det. Sam Hatley, with the Carson City (Nev.) Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division. The jury trial ended with a hung jury—11 to 1 in favor of conviction, Hatley said.

As the former owner of the Lake Tahoe Brewing Company, Candelario was arrested by CCSO deputies on a property theft-related warrant in 2016. The U.S. Marshals service states that Candelario advertised beer canning equipment for sale on a brewing industry website. The victim, who owned a brewery in British Columbia, Canada, made an agreement with Candelario to buy the equipment. Allegedly,while the victim paid more than $45,000, Candelario received the funds but never arranged for the equipment to be shipped to him.

A U.S. military veteran, the victim was allegedly forced to cash in his retirement to cover the losses. He filed a report with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia, which forwarded it to the Carson City Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrested Candelario without incident at his former brewing company, which closed in January 2016.

USMS also alleges that Candelario is involved with fraudulent activities across the nation, setting up fake companies taking money from hospitals in Virginia, Louisiana and California.

After his Phoenix arrest last month, Candelario appeared before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Judge Barbara L. Spencer.

According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Candelario was released on a $25,000 bond on Dec. 19, 2019, despite being the subject of a no-bail warrant out of Carson City, Nev.

After learning about Candelario’s release, Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury said, “We are working with the Maricopa County Attorney’s office to process a Governor’s Warrant from our jurisdiction so Mr. Candelario can be extradited back to our jurisdiction for trial.”

Asked if he was consulted prior to Candelario’s release, Woodbury said no, adding that at first he was “very concerned because the process in our jurisdiction is different.”

“In Carson City, a person will be held in jail for an out-of-state warrant until he or she waives extradition, is actually extradited or posts the bail required by the warrant,” Woodbury said. “I was worried that Mr. Candelario had been authorized to post a bond not authorized by our warrant and we would not see him again.”

Since then, however, Woodbury learned that Maricopa County’s process is different, “or at least it was in this case,” he said.

“He is allowed to surrender himself on the warrant in Nevada if he chooses,” Woodbury said. “Otherwise, he is required to appear before the Maricopa County Court every 30 days pending extradition.”

Candelario is scheduled for fugitive from justice hearings on Jan. 29, Feb. 12 and March 11, all on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. Spencer waived Candelario’s required presence at the Jan. 29 FFJ hearing.

Maricopa County contacted the Carson City Sheriff’s Office “fairly quickly after Candelario bailed out to let them know we’d have to go through the formal extradition process,” Woodbury said.

At this point, Woodbury’s office is proceeding with Candelario’s extradition, “which is exactly what we would be doing if he was still incarcerated and had not been allowed to post a bond,” he said.

“So, for our process, it makes no difference,” Woodbury added.

For his part, Candelario alleges that the USMS arrest was based on false and biased information provided by Hatley and Woodbury. He deferred further comment to his attorney, Paul Quade of Reno.

Quade said that he represented Candelario “related to the 2015 allegations of theft in Carson City,” agreeing to a phone interview on that case in the near future.

“I am advising him (Candelario) not to make any further statements regarding that case or the conduct of the prosecutors in Carson City given the circumstances,” he said.

In reponse to further questioning, Quade said that he would not comment on “any steps we may or may not take in the future related to the case in Carson City.”

“I can only tell you that the case is five years old, relates to a failed business venture; the alleged victim has already been reimbursed and the first trial resulted in a hung jury,” Quade said. “The allegations are extremely weak related to any ill intent on behalf of my client and I have not been party to such an unexplainable prosecution in my 25 plus years as a criminal defense attorney.”

On the subject of reimbursing the alleged victim, Woodbury said, “Among other lawsuits, Three Ranges Brewery—the victim in the criminal case—sued Mr. Candelario civilly. They were awarded a judgment of $82,073.13 (plus accruing interest) in May 2016.”

In April of 2017, Candelario paid Three Ranges $45,000 of the judgement, which was the original amount the brewery had paid Candelario “for the canner that was never delivered,” Woodbury said.

Quade went onto say that the fugitive warrant is “primarily related to my retirement from criminal litigation and the transfer of counsel which did not work out for Mr. Candelario.”

” At this point, I decided to return to this unfinished business because I firmly believe Mr. Candelario is getting railroaded in Carson City,” he said. “We will be aggressively defending this matter, hopefully to a successful conclusion at the next trial.”

Meanwhile, back in Globe, Candelario is the defendant in four civil cases currently pending in Globe Regional Justice Court.

One of the plaintiffs is Wayne Williams, a former employee of Globe House Buyers who resigned on Sept. 9, 2019, and allegedly has yet to receive his last two weeks of pay. The plaintiff filed the complaint 11 days later, stating that Globe House Buyers owed him $1,731.

Williams has since filed a new complaint seeking $7,600, which includes his meals, mileage and time spent trying to collect the payment due him.

Candelario has filed a response which refutes Williams’ claims saying “The plaintiff has misled this court on his damages and claim.”

With 30 years in the remodeling business, Williams said he responded after Candelario advertised on Craigslist, seeking a site foreman for his Globe-area projects. After signing a contract with Candelario, Williams said he moved from Florence to Globe in June to take the position.

“From day one, payment was never made on time,” he said.

Williams and Candelario are scheduled to have their day in court at 10 a.m Monday, March 9.

Candelario said that he is not the owner of Globe House Buyers, but rather its general manager, giving instead the name of his “boss” as Anthony Albano of Massachusetts. However, according to articles of organization filed July 16, 2019 with the Arizona Corporation Commission, Candelario is listed as the principal member and organizer of Globe House Buyers, LLC. Neither Albano’s name, nor that of anyone other than Candelario, is listed on the articles of organization for Globe House Buyers, LLC.

Another plaintiff, who also claimed to be a subcontractor, filed a complaint on Sept. 23, 2019. He claimed that while he completed his work on a house in the 400 block of East Cedar Street in Globe, Candelario and Globe House Buyers did not pay him. The plaintiff asked for $900.

At the plaintiff’s request, the case was dismissed Dec. 24, 2019 without prejudice, meaning that the matter could be revisited in court. On Dec. 16, 2019, the same plaintiff filed a new complaint against Candelario, this time asking for a total of $2,000. In addition to the $900 already owed him for labor, the plaintiff, who lives in Apache Junction, said he was suing for “lost time” as well as “wear and tear” on his vehicle, having driven back and forth to Globe “multiple times” seeking payment.

“I have given plenty of time. The defendant has not returned calls; only text excuses,” the plaintiff stated in his complaint.

A fourth case was filed Sept. 30, 2019 by LeAllen Decker who said that Candelario agreed to pay him $600 for landscaping a yard on Cedar Street in Globe. He claimed that after Candelario gave him the deadline of 4 p.m. Aug. 26, the landscaper completed it a half hour early.

“After repeated attempts to collect my money, Michael no-showed every time,” Decker said in his complaint. “I feel I have no other choice than to go to small claims court.” He is asking for $625.

When contacted, Candelario claimed to have no knowledge of Decker. However, we followed up with Decker, who showed us more than two dozen text messages between Candelario and himself in which he tried to collect payment. The texts showed a string of excuses Candelario gave Decker over a two week period as follows: Aug. 27, “I’ll be there [Globe] in a couple of hours. I can leave it [the check] at the nursery;” Aug. 29: “I’ll have it there 100% tomorrow. I haven’t been back up to Globe. I apologize;” Aug. 30: “I’m going to leave a check at the house;” Sept 4: “I’m really sorry. Very unusual. Let me get a plan ASAP and get back to you. I know someone going to Globe and I’ll try to coordinate with them.” Then, six days later it was, “In Buckeye, I’ll be there tomorrow. I can overnight a check if you prefer and send tracking.”