Southwest Ranches Spiteful Road Closures and Cover of Darkness

On Thursday, December 22, approaching midnight, the Town Council voted 4 to 1 to close three roads shared by Pembroke Pines.  The only dissenting voting member was Mayor Jeff Nelson.

Checkpoint Charlie:  Berlin or Southwest Ranches?

This vote well reinforces a whole series of absolutely selfish, despicable, and very questionable legislative practices by this 12 years old town named Southwest Ranches.

Southwest Ranches Council's Two Big Lies

Southwest Ranches officials have repeatedly stated their two big lies.  The first big lie is that this prison has been an integral part of the planning of the Town since prior to its incorporation which is "why that parcel was given to Southwest Ranches when incorporation took place."  The second big lie is that the prison is an integral and necessary part of the revenue stream which has been planned on and depended on since incorporation.

We will eviscerate both lies.

Pembroke Pines Terminates ILA

LATE BREAKING NEWS... DATELINE DECEMBER 21, 2012 PEMBROKE PINES, FL, BROWARD COUNTY

PEMBROKE PINES VOTES TO TERMINATE 2005 INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT ON ROADS AND OTHER MATTERS.

THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT HAS BEEN THE TARGET OF MUCH IRE WHEN RESIDENT ACTIVISTS OPPOSED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LARGEST DHS ICE DETENTION CENTER IN THE COUNTRY DETERMINED THAT A POISONED PILL HAD BEEN INTRODUCED INTO THE ROADWAYS ILA NEARLY 6 YEARS AGO.

The Small Town Fight Gone Bigger Than CNN

Neighbors,

Yesterday at our Holiday Jubilee, Al Jazeera English picked up the story of our fight.  Al Jazeera reaches a bigger audience than CNN.  This fight now has worldwide exposure.

CCA Lie --This Won't Hurt Property Values a Bit

CCA's Position on Property Values
 At the ICE "informational" meeting with CCA and Southwest Ranches on November 5, 2011 it was asserted by CCA's Lucibeth Mayberry that studies show that property values are not adversely impacted by the siting of a prison.  She was shouted down with demands that she tell us about the impact of a prison siting on affluent communities such as Southwest Ranches.  There were shouts asking "what about Goodyear, AZ?"

Holiday Jubilee

Join us for a Holiday Jubilee!

SWR Mayor Jeff Nelson Maliciously Harms Housing Market

DATELINE FRIDAY DECEMBER 16, 2001, SOUTHWEST RANCHES FL, BROWARD COUNTY

SOUTHWEST RANCHES MAYOR JEFF NELSON DEMONSTRATES NO CONCERN FOR COLDWELL BANKER'S NEWLY IMPLEMENTED PRISON DISCLOSURE AND HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT THAT APPLIES TO ***ALL*** PROPERTIES WEST OF I75 SOUTH OF GRIFFIN ROAD AND NORTH OF PINES BOULEVARD.  STUNNINGLY, THIS AFFECTS APPROXIMATELY 13,000 ACRES AND NEARLY 15 SQUARE MILES OF SOME OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE PROPERTY IN BROWARD COUNTY IN BOTH PEMBROKE PINES AND SOUTHWEST RANCHES.

Let's Talk About it!

Finally, in one of the realest talks ever about private prisons, we talked with Bob Libal and Gail Tyree from Grassroots Leadership (check their other blog here), Silky Shah from Detention Watch Network, Bill Discipio-resident of SW Ranches (where there is a huge fight against a private prison-check the blog here), and Kathy Bird from the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the CCA Go Away campaign.  Check out the piece HERE or press play below...

Let's Talk About it!!!

Castillo Calls For Independent Counsel To Review Prison

LATE BREAKING NEWS... DATELINE DECEMBER 15, 2012 PEMBROKE PINES, FL, BROWARD COUNTY

 

PEMBROKE PINES COMMISSIONER CASTILLO DEMANDS CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES HIRE INDEPENDENT LEGAL COUNSEL TO ADVISE ON ANY METHOD LEGALLY AVAILABLE TO OPPOSE THE PRISON AND DEMANDS MOTION TO TERMINATE 2005 ILA CONTAINING 'NON INTERFERENCE WITH CCA CLAUSE.'

A Math Lesson For Attorney Keith Poliakoff

Keith Poliakoff's Twitter Feed has been an interesting source of "creative statistics."  He just posted a few Tweets regarding the AWESOME turnout we had opposing his immigrant prison at the SWR Town Council meeting last Thursday, December 8th.   There were over 150 area residents who came out on a rainy Thursday night to express their opinion on an item that wasn't even on the agenda and barely two weeks away from Christmas.

Take a look at the creative math used by our Attorney who will be compensated more than $600,000 this year by the Town for his apparent expertise.  He Tweeted on 12/12:

Since I was just asked, there are 2460 residential households in the Town. 16 households spoke against the CCA Facility, or .0065%.

12 Dec Favorite Retweet Reply

»

keith_poliakoff Keith Poliakoff

16 total SWR households spoke against CCA Facility at Town's meeting. Town asks CCA to reach out to households not spoken to yet.

Keith is negotiating our contract but apparently doesn't understand basic mathematics.  He claims that 16 households our of 2460 residential households equals a percentage of 0.0065%.  Of course, even an elementary school student knows this math is wrong.

One can only guess at the motive this allegedly smart man had in understating opposition by a factor of 100.  But, it should be a wake up call to the Town Council as to how consistently Keith Poliakoff plays fast and footloose with facts.  He has no compunction about shooting from the hip and emoting whatever is on his tongue at the moment.

The correct percentage of turnout of SWR households was 0.65% (assuming their aren't HUNDREDS of vacant houses in foreclosure in the Town.  But that's a different issue.)  This turnout should resonate with anybody who understands the nature of public turnout and activism.  It is the tip of the iceberg in terms of grassroots opposition.

When is the last time that Poliakoff saw 0.65% of his Town's residents turn out for ANY political issue, especially a non agenda item?  And if 0.65% is nothing to Poliakoff, then perhaps HIS turnout of 4 people at the ICE meeting which is 0.16% is even more telling.   It's more telling that on a widely anticipated and advertised meeting with ICE on 11/5 that took place on a beautiful Saturday morning at 10:00 AM, he was only able to get FOUR SWR residents to go on record supporting the prison.  One was former Councilman Aster Knight.  So really, he got three people who apparently didn't have a dog in the fight to come out.

THAT'S pathetic.

Shame on you, you feckless Attorney.  I hope you understand mathematics or the TRUTH better as you negotiate two prison contracts.  For the sake of us all.

Council take heed.  If you honestly believe that you have 75% of the SWR residents on your side, it's going to be FUN to watch the freight train of residents hit you in November.

Vice Mayor McKay says, "Do Your Homework."

Thank you Vice Mayor McKay.  Your warning to "do your homework" has been headed by Coldwell Banker.  They are now doing what they are obligated to do and informing their perspective clients to the fact that you all on the Council wish to DECIMATE property values for a mere pittance that you can squander on putting your names on parks or your $600K a year Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff's earnings.

Thanks a bunch for nothing Congresswoman and DNC party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Senator Bill Nelson, Mayor Jeff Nelson, Vice Mayor Doug McKay, Councilman Gary Jablonski, Councilman Steve Breitkreuz, and Councilman Freddie Fisikelli.  Thank you Commissioner Angelo Castillo, Mayor Frank Ortis, Commissioner Carl Shechter, and Commissioner Jack McKluskey. 

Your magic is starting to work.  You all have worked tirelessly to ensure we get a nice immigrant prison in our back yard.  It's starting to pay off and it hasn't even been built yet!

ADDENDUM

At the Fire workshop at Pembroke Pines tonight, Mrs. Frank Ortis researched this document and found that the scope is applied to ALL houses west of I75, south of Griffin and north of pines.  Further, she indicated that she expected all major real estate companies would be protecting themselves with similar documents.

Friend or Foe? You be the Judge!

In 1998 Ronald Bergeron sold Prison Inc. the land for the proposed prison. Since that time Prison, Inc has been biding their time, waiting for the right client. Prison, Inc. now has a potential client; the Federal Government via their contract for the ICE Detention Center. Prison, Inc. has been diligently working on this silently for 13 years while unsuspecting families bought homes and Broward County built schools in the immediate area adjacent to the prison site.

In this article, we expose the different players who have been working behind the scenes for their own interests, instead of those they represent. These politicians and “leaders” should be protecting the men, women, and children they were elected to serve. They should consider the safety threat of having a prison so close to residential housing, to say nothing of the affect the prison would have on property values. This leaves us no choice but to call these people and entities out.

Mr. Ronald Bergeron, developer extraordinaire, is the owner/operator of Bergeron Land Development. Mr. Bergeron has made quite the name for himself since he has developed quite a bit of Broward County and beyond. He knows where the loopholes are and was a "Founding Father" of Southwest Ranches along with Gary Poliakoff.  According to the Broward County appraisers office Mr. Bergeron sold the property for the prison to Prison, Inc. for approx. $14.8 million back in 1998 with an attached deal for Bergeron Development to get the contract to build the prison. According to the Broward County Tax Appraisers office, the property is currently assessed at $2.6 million.  Do you notice the big inconsistency here?  Why would CCA pay $14.8 million when it's only worth $2.6?  Incidentally, at the time of this transaction, there were already two schools that were built very close to the site in question.

It's estimated that Mr. Bergeron could make $100 - 200 Million dollars from building the immigrant prison. Bergeron Land Development is the developer on all of the plat note changes filed with Broward County. Over the past 20+ years, Mr. Bergeron has been donating large sums of money to those in office on the local, county, state and federal level hedging his bets for gov't contracts.  It is also common knowledge that there was alot of illegal drug trafficking of Cocaine going on in the 70/80's on the I-75 that Bergeron's company built which his two brother's later took the fall for during the investigation.  Would you take campaign funds from these questionable beginnings?

Ron Bergeron is allowed an unlimited amount of time in front of any commission meeting. No one has ever seen him have to fill out a card like the rest of us nor has he had the clock started when he begins to speak. Since he has so generously donated so much money to both the City of Pembroke Pines and to many of the Commissioner's and Town Councilmen campaign fundraisers he should be granted so much free time during the commission meetings right? Do you think they show him any favor? As they discuss the color of his hat he is wearing does this relationship seem to be a bit overly friendly? Watch the November 16th Commission meeting.  Mr. Lonnie Bergeron, Ron’s son, lives in The Trails of Pembroke Pines.  Do you think that he would let anyone know about this sleeping giant?

The now bankrupt development firm TransEastern had purchased the property from Bergeron that Laguna Isles was built on. Laguna Isles is the closest community to the prison site at 4 tenths of a mile. TransEastern had control of the first board in place when Prison, Inc. supposedly held these "private" meetings with the HOA board of directors in Laguna Isles in the 2000‐2001 timeframe. This was in complete violation of Florida Public Meeting Laws.(FS 286). In addition, TransEastern never informed the resident led HOA of these discussions as they were taking the checks to the bank for the 500 homes they sold in Laguna Isles. Was this full disclosure? Does anyone know if they developed communities anywhere else nearby?  I wonder if Mr. Bergeron disclosed during the sale of the land that he intended to sell land to Prison Inc.?

The Prestigious Law Firm of Becker & Poliakoff served as Chapel Trail HOA counsel since they were built. Do you think they would have told the HOAs that they knew about the prison? Is this putting their client as a priority? Could Chapel Trail have a lawsuit against the prestigious Becker & Poliakoff law firm for conflict of interest while representing Chapel Trail?

Over the Years, Century Management (Now NextGen Management) has been the property management firm for Laguna Isles and Chapel Trail. There may be other properties they manage, but these are all that are confirmed at this time. One of the interesting partners in this Property Management firm is Ryan Poliakoff. He is the son of Southwest Ranches Founding Father Attorney Gary Poliakoff and the Brother of the Southwest Ranches Town Attorney and Becker & Poliakoff partner, Keith Poliakoff. Could the communities out west who were managed by the Poliakoff gang be trusted to let the people know there was a prison on the horizon?

Through the years when this prison did get brought up it was only with certain people. One of those people could have been Todd Nelson who has served on the Chapel Trail Master Association for many years until he dropped off the planet during the recent months when he’s never before missed any board elections and no one can reach him. Incidentally he is also a Captain with the Pembroke Pines Fire Department and the brother of Southwest Ranches Mayor Jeff Nelson. Todd Nelson attempted to hush any discussion on the detention center stating it was political but was later called out as being Southwest Ranches Mayor Jeff Nelson’s brother. Was he furthering the Pines agenda for the 14 Fire Fighter jobs that would be servicing the Detention Center? Incidentally, in 2002 he was selected to be the Semi‐annual Fire‐Fighter of the year by the City of Pembroke Pines Commission where he received a plaque and a $500 U.S. Savings Bond.

The Commissioner Angelo Castillo comes across as a pretty nice guy right? Always says he tells the truth? And the Mayor, He says he’s working in the best interest of the City, right? The truth may be better interpreted with their actions. The November 16th, 2011 Pembroke Pines Commission agenda was set to discuss the "9 month canceling for convenience clause" in the Fire/EMS agreement between Pines and Southwest Ranches. This includes Water for the prison. We were set up to believe that all of these issues would be pushed together into a workshop based on Angelo Castillo’s motion to defer. Seconded by Commissioner McClusky. The Commission then expeditiously voted on the motion. Ortis, Yes. Castillo, Yes. McCluskey, Yes. Schechter, Yes. Siple, No. This motion to defer shut down all public comment so there was no way for the People to get up in support of cancelling the contract for convenience.

Incidentally, that pushed the agenda item to a workshop scheduled for December 14th, which is past the deadline for anyone to file papers to run against Mayor Ortis.


Delaying to a workshop could back off potential opponents to his mayoral race and give the appearance that the Mayor and Commissioners are working in the best interests of the City on the issues surrounding the prison. It appeared as though it was a staged event. Staged to preserve Mayor Ortis' seat so no one would feel compelled to run against him even though the FBI is now investigating him for his relationship with ELAN, a landscaping firm that has conveniently been awarded the contract for the City.  Incidently, Mayor Ortis operates a consulting business and has recently had to give up some Broward County clients under the new ethics laws that have gone into effect Jan 2nd, 2012.

Another one of Castillo’s underhanded actions was putting the water items on the agenda for the December 7th Commission Meeting. Wait, weren't we supposed to be discussing these in the Workshop that was supposed to be scheduled December 14th? What is the rush? This workshop is a scam, just like the Advisory Council that he is talking everyone into. Has he been lobbying for the past 6 months through emails to the Pembroke Pines HOA’s to get involved with this advisory council over the prison?

What is this advisory council? It’s something straight out of the CCA bible on siting prisons: the National Institute of Corrections (DOJ) publication entitled An Information Brief Issues in Siting Correctional Facilities published in 1992 which states:

• Formulation early in the planning process of a community advisory committee with broad-based membership from significant segments of the community;
• Use of "field visits" whereby community leaders make in-person or video tours of existing facilities, comparable to the one proposed for their area;
• Opportunities for community and neighborliness leaders to meet with their counterparts from an area where public participation options have been used successfully to site facilities.

We believe this whole time Angelo has been working with Prison, Inc. and Southwest Ranches Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff to push their agenda, disregarding what is in the best interest of City, Town and most importantly of the People he works for and who pay the taxes.

Charles Dodge‐ City Manager of Pembroke Pines. As the City Manager he is in charge of the day‐to‐day management of both the City and the City Charter Schools.  In 2005 Mr. Dodge was instructed by the City Commission to write an objection to the plat note change for the prison stating that they objected to the change since there was nothing in it for the city and it would use Pembroke Pines roads.  In late 2004 SW 199th road was closed and then in June 2005 both SW 202 and SW 205 were closed, both by the Town of Southwest Ranches.

On November 3rd, 2010, the Town of Southwest Ranches passed a resolution to cancel the Roadways and Other Matters agreement with the City of Pembroke Pines. This Roadways Agreement introduces the "non‐interference" clause so that Pembroke Pines is now unable to defend itself while Southwest Ranches is trying to build a jail so close to thousands of homes and over a dozen schools within the area, not one of them being a City Charter school. Currently there are approximately 19,000 school children in the area.

In a memo dated November 19, 2010 the Southwest Ranches Town Manager, the late Charlie Lynn addresses the Pembroke Pines Management Charles Dodge requesting the termination of the Roadways ILA. Charlie Lynn wasn’t managing the town when this agreement was put into place. John Canada was the Town Manager in place at the time of the road closures and then Roadways ILA so he would not be able to understand the importance of such an agreement to be in effect.

This prison could cause a huge drop in home values, and puts our kids dangerously close to a prison population. And to make matters worse, Prison, Inc. has a history of hiring employees who have in some cases been accused of committing worse crimes than some of the detainees. Why wouldn’t Pines want this ILA to be reversed so they could protect the constituents and children? When Mr. Dodge was presented with this opportunity to cancel this Roadways 2005 ILA, the Pines Commissioners and Management looked at it and decided not to act because it would “close roads”. What possible reason could they have not to cancel the contract? People would rather have the roads closed than to have a big prison near their kids and have their property devalued. Southwest Ranches was handing them the opt‐out clause on a silver platter. I find myself asking, “Why would Pines not want to reverse this agreement, unless they had in fact placed it on themselves?”

The Pines Commissioners state there was a significant public safety hazard placed on residents in the area by Southwest Ranches land locking residents and cut off access to the nearest hospital at the time, the Cleveland Clinic. Using public safety as an excuse is dishonest, since it no longer applies. We now have the Memorial Hospital Miramar to the south. Could this have all been a staged event? Could they have had this road blockage put in place in order for the City and Town to enter into such an ILA? Is it possible that instead of protecting their constituents, those commissioners have effectively tied the hands of any current or future city commissioners from having any ability to interfere or oppose the implementation of this prison.

Why would they sign this “Non‐interference” clause? There had to be something in it for Pines. The Fire/EMS contract and water sold to Prison, Inc. Pembroke Pines will collect almost $3.4M in water and sewer connection fees and then $931 thousand per year for the water.  The Fire/EMS contract brings Pembroke Pines the much needed $1.1M in direct revenues.  With the budget shortfalls in the recent years from declining home values and economic slump, they had to get money for their projects and inflated City Management salaries somewhere. Mr. Dodge has recently come under scrutiny for getting both an income from the city and retirement pension that tops $700,000.  Gross Mismanagement?

Since 2005, Prison, Inc. has courted the Southwest Ranches Town Councilors and the "HOA" Presidents, sending them up to Tennessee to look at their potemkin village all paid for by Prison, Inc. These Prison, Inc. guys are really nice right?? They are so nice to these Town Councilmen they may even have been promised positions at the prison when their tenure is over with the council.

"The mayors of many cities, including Appleton, MN, Eloy, AZ and California City, CA, have found themselves with jobs at the CCA prisons they host."  -- Privateci.org

It's not like the current council will be re‐elected once the people in the town figure out that this prison holds nothing but problems, and causes yet another drain on the town's delicate revenue stream.

It has been proven that this contract will not bring in the dough like it was promised to them in 2005. The Town and Prison, Inc. had to since bring down the per‐diem rate in order to attract the Federal ICE Detention Center placement. Southwest Ranches will now only bring in about half of the originally promised amount. When you add all the fees that Prison, Inc. will most likely stick the town with for any environmental permitting that comes up that wasn't included in the contract, at full capacity it may only generate a mere $100,000 for the town, if that! Which could be diminished further if the town home values plummet and less tax revenue is brought in.

Look at examples of other failed prison sites and you tell me how this would benefit this area? If the town isn't going to benefit, they why sign the contracts?

A legislative panel in Rhode Island is looking into the reasons why a for‐profit prison hasn't been making its payments to the cash‐strapped city of Central Falls.

Taken from Why I Hate CCA Blog:

"Back in 2004, researchers at Washington State University came out with a report
debunking many of these claims. Their report found 'no evidence that prison expansion has stimulated economic growth,' and that bringing private prisons to town actually impedes economic growth. They followed up this report with another that came out late last year, reaffirming the findings of the original report. The researchers found that not only is economic growth hindered by bringing a private prison to town, but 'a negative relationship [exists] between the growth of new prisons and growth in private employment.'"

Another example of Private Prisons not working out, taken from Why I Hate CCA Blog:

"The town of Littlefield, Texas is suffering the repercussions of funding a private prison on a bond venture. The GEO Group cancelled its contract to run the facility in January of last year, and the town has not been able to secure a new contract to bring prisoners in. Because the facility there has sat empty for so long, the bonds used to finance it have dropped in value. So now Littlfield becomes a higher investment risk, meaning future bonds investments will likely cost more. This is another unforeseen consequence of bringing a private prison to town; people get so excited by the prospects of new jobs that they fail to think about what might happen when the private prison company leaves town. So the next time you hear about all the economic benefits that come with a private prison, take that advice with more than a grain of salt."

Specific quotes regarding several for profit prison projects

Additionally, in March 2010 the Southwest Ranches Town Council continues to give themselves away in page 13 of the Miami IGA Proposal where they state they have the “agreement with neighboring municipality”. Whatever could they be referring to? They didn’t have the Fire/EMS agreement with Pembroke Pines settled until June. The only conclusion is that the neighboring municipality, Pembroke Pines is complicit in these plans to tie the cities hands to interfere with the progression of the jail from a size standpoint as well as protect it’s citizens from it being built so close to their homes and the 15,000 school children nearby.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Friend or Foe? You Decide. Who can we trust in all of this?? Ourselves and Neighbors. We can trust that something in this just isn't right and our drive to keep on fighting this injustice!! Why is our Town and City doing this to the People out in Western Broward? The answer is plain and simple. Money. As you can see the pieces of the puzzle fit quite nicely together that the City and Town are not looking out for the People they were elected to serve. Special interests and developers will be the only ones who will benefit from this project. Bergeron who stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars and Prison Inc who will make billions of dollars from our Federal Tax Dollars.

Take it by Eminent Domain!

At the December 8, 2011 Southwest Ranches Town Council meeting as well as prior meetings, various residents have made claims that it would cost some entity hundreds of millions of dollars for the 20 acres CCA owns if they were "denied" the "right" to put a 1500 to 2200 bed immigrant prison with dual rows of 15 foot high fences festooned with concertina wire on our front porches.

Do Your Homework! Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware).

This article was submitted by noted anti prison activist Frank Smith and we thought it was worth posting. There's a lot more great information about CCA and others on their site.

Miami Heat's Superstar Haslem Opposes Prison

LATE BREAKING NEWS

DATELINE SOUTHWEST RANCHES FLORIDA DECEMBER 8, 2011

SOUTHWEST RANCHES RESIDENT AND MIAMI HEAT SUPERSTAR UDONIS HASLEM IS LENDING HIS SUPPORT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST WHAT IS POTENTIALLY THE LARGEST ICE IMMIGRANT PRISON IN THE COUNTRY.

Senator LeMieux Opposes SWR Detention Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Anna Nix
December 8, 2011
954-608-0520

LeMieux: Nelson Blatantly Ignoring Pleas of his Constituents

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – George LeMieux today released a statement opposing the proposed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center in Southwest Ranches.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the Spotlight on WLRN

Good work, neighbors.  This radio clip aired over the past few hours both locally and nationally, we believe. Any readers who have heard this outside of the Miami market, please drop us a note.

In the audio, you can hear a clip of the Jimmy Cefalo WIOD interview, you can hear mention of the $1000 endorsement of the prison, and the November 5th ICE meeting. Listen to the audio below the image.

Representative Mario Diaz Balart Letter

The constituents of US Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL21) have just received a copy of a letter that he has sent to Director John Morton, the Director of ICE, opposing the placement of the Detention Center. Gary Mead, Director of Removal and Enforcement who is in charge of making the decision to award the contract to Southwest Ranches reports directly to Director John Morton.

Congressman Mario Diaz Balart specifically cites the reasons for apprehension:

... that the facility would affect property value, traffic, and noise to the area, utility consumption, fire department response times, and their overall quality of life. In addition, the potential site is less than five miles from more than a dozen schools...

In addition, he encouraged input from residents:

I would strongly encourage you to seek the input of nearby residents that could be directly impacted by the facility before moving forward on a decision.

We Thank the Congressman for standing up for his constituency in this matter. For him to take the time and personally listen to his constituents concerns and act upon them is highly commendable and is appreciated among the community.

Click Here to download Letter.

Only 2% of Nov 5, ICE Meeting Attendees Support Immigrant Prison

We are constantly being told by Southwest Ranches Mayor Jeff Nelson and Congresswoman Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL20) that they are listening to us and that they've had many public meetings on the prison.  Jeff Nelson says confidently that he is sure that the majority of SW Ranches residents actually support the prison.

That conclusion is not in evidence... not by a long long shot.

In fact, the data show otherwise.  On November 5, 2011, the ICE meeting that Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo got the ball rolling on, took place.  Even though a phalanx of armed Broward Sheriff's officers as well as Pembroke Pines Police created quite an intimidating presence, that didn't stop approximately 150 residents from being seated in the library auditorum with at least another 200 residents forced to bake outside in the sun and watch a malfunctioning audio visual retransmission of what was happening inside the meeting.  Actually, BSO and Pines police stopped and screened every car entering the facility and asked if they were "here to protest."

As an illegal (we believe) condition of entry to the public meeting, we were forced to fill out an entry card containing our name, address, telephone number along with our opinion on the prison.  Some people were threatened with arrest if they tried to enter without complying with this patently illegal request. A sample of a card is shown:

Sample Card from November 5, 2011 ICE Informational Meeting

Note that even on the card itself, the organizers are blatantly threatening to violate Florida's open records laws by claiming they are going to destroy records if you don't fill them out "completely and truthfully."   You'd imagine that all these politicians would be more mindful of the Florida Constitution and the constituents they serve as to actually OBAY laws, themselves.

So, the good stuff.  What did these cards tell us?  Well, there were 333 cards submitted.  Of those 333 cards exactly SEVEN cards indicated support for the prison.  That's right, Mayor Nelson, only 2.1% of the attendees indicated their support for the prison.  Only in Soviet Russia, Mayor, would THAT be considered a majority.  And thank goodness for active citizens opposing people like you, this won't be the Soviet Union just yet.  Are you embarrassed Mayor Nelson?  Or are you incapable of embarrassment?

A breakdown the attendees and their opinion is shown in these pie charts:

There is almost no support for the prison. The numerical opposition to the prison is similar to the opposition in the Miami-Dade recall elections which saw the Miami Dade Mayor and a Commissioner thrown out of office with near unanimous support of the electorate.  People are fed up with politics as usual and here in Broward, we have it in buckets.

We ran some simple statistics on the breakdown and distribution of the attendees and their views on the prison. This Excel table contains the results:

One of the 7 prison supporters was from Weston and had the surname Poole.  You tell me if this Poole is related to our Samuel E. Poole III.  The only Pines resident to support the prison was a person employed by Miami Dade Fire Department.  The other "not indicated" provided no contact information and this datum should have been discarded.

From Southwest Ranches, only FOUR people attending the meeting indicated support for the prison.  One of those was former Town Councilor Aster Knight who has repeatedly bashed those of us who don't support (90+ Percent of SWR residents) the prison.  Mr. Knight should remember this IF he tries running for Council again.

Also, it is surprising to find some names NOT indicating support for the prison.  That's a topic for another day.

The Congresswoman, her local staff as well as General Bob Butterworth supported a forum whereby the opinions the 7 pro prison group WOULD BE GIVEN EQUAL TIME IN THE MEETING as the 326 people that were against, neutral or indicated no opinion on the prison.  This is likewise an abomination in representative democracy.  Thankfully, our audience would have none of that Soviet style silliness from our elected politicians. 

So, you can see your gut instinct that a private prison for your community is vile and perverted is right on the money... 9 to 1.  It is the height of arrogance for Mayor Nelson, and the Town Council to double down on tone deafness as they did at the November 7th Council meeting. They promptly forgot or ignored OUR message two days before at the 11/5 ICE meeting and reinforced their unwavering commitment to shove this blight down our throats.

4 people in SWR came out to support the prison and it's still being ramrodded.  The council, Mayor and Debbie Wasserman Schultz should be embarassed beyond belief for their constant support of something that clearly no one supports.

Do you believe that these career politicians are capable of feeling embarrassed?

Partial Analysis of Debbie Wasserman Schultz's WIOD Interview

After listening to the Jimmy Cefalo interview of Debbie Wasserman Schultz it's apparent that Debbie has it wrong on many accounts, is perpetuating lying talking points, and sounds like Attorney Keith Poliakoff and Mayor Jeff Nelson.

Before the analysis begins, let's reflect on why the DNC Chairwoman and FL-20 representative is behaving this way supporting her immigrant prison.  She's taken a lot of money from all the parties involved.  They are all cashing in on our misery.  But, Southwest Ranches Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff laid it out best in one of his emails.  He said:

As you probably have seen we have remained incredibly quiet and have been working diligently with our legislative leaders on this matter without pushing the press angle.

As such, I have been fully advised by our DC contacts that we should remain fully quiet on this one and to let our DC Leaders help without sparking a fire that will make it more difficult for them to assist.

So, the motive and the conspiracy are all here on display for us all to see.  Now,  a number of the Congresswoman's quotes are analyzed here for accuracy:

DWS: You know, what I did was wrote a letter... a sort of cursory letter of support because...

She did not write it. It was on Senator Bill Nelson's (D-FL) letterhead and Debbie cosigned it. It did not even come from her office!  The letter was actually written by Southwest Ranches Attorney Keith Poliakoff and SENT to Nelson and Wasserman Schultz for endorsement.  Check the NT blog for the original email containing the letter sent off to them and proving that she's lying.  It's at the bottom of the article.

DWS: Southwest Ranches for many years has been planning on the property already zoned for things like a dump and a MAXIMUM security prison.

The zoning has been for a minimum or medium security prison.  Maximum security is specifically NOT allowed.  Yet ICE requires this as described in their Statement of Objectives. This inconsistency has never been adequately addressed by Debbie (who continues to lie on the issue), ICE, CCA or SWR.

DWS: There have been many many hearings lots of input.

This is patently false which is why Debbie wrote a letter admonishing Mayor Jeff Nelson for a paucity of public information on the prison.  Keith Poliakoff is well noted for gagging his Town's elected officials with a cone of silence and threats that their constituents may even have to register as LOBBYISTS to speak with their Councilmen about the prison.

She then goes on to describe the ICE meeting she set up (even though Pembroke Pines Commissioner Angelo Castillo already began securing this meeting days before).  What she did not tell you is that in clear violation of open meeting laws, residents were barred from entry unless they filled out a card containing their name, address AND position on the prison.  There were people who were threatened with arrest for trying to enter without filling out that card.   She AND General Butterworth should be ashamed for having their names on such a farce.

Further, after review of the public records, the people spoke loudly and clearly.  Of the 333 cards submitted, only 7 cards in total indicated support for the prison.  4 were from SWR.  One was from a Weston resident with the surname Poole.  4 people in SWR came out to support the prison and 1 from Pembroke Pines (who is a Miami Dade Firefighter).  Unreal.  And they are going ahead with the prison.

When an appropriate meeting was held with the public, near 100% unanimous opposition to the building of the prison was expressed.  Does Debbie sound like she got the message or does it sound like she's just aping SWR Attorney Keith Poliakoff's talking points?

DWS: And now I have urged and now it has been done for the Town to create a citizen's advisory council which will be both in Pembroke Pines affected and Southwest Ranches residents too as the facility moves forward give them input and feedback on what they think needs to be addressed.

This is outrageous sham.  What part of WE DON'T WANT A PRISON does this tin-eared politician not understand?  Further, it's NOT made up of we citizens, it's made up of the ELITE.  Not the proverbial 1%, but the 0.01% who are HOA presidents!  None of the opposition to the prison has been included in ANY of these meetings.  This is addressed in the article Announced Advisory Council... Who does it represent?

DWS: ..that many years ago when the town was first incorporated, that property was brought into the Town of Southwest Ranches and it was already zoned for things like a maximum s... there's a prison right next door to the facility...

Debbie, did YOU have anything to do as an elected legislator from the State of Florida for that special dispensation which allowed the town to bring in a non contiguous parcel?  We believe you did.  Your office believes you did as well.  You were an original part of the problem and you still are part of the problem.  Directly.

Again, no zoning of that land has EVER allowed for a maximum security prison to be built.  And the prison next door is a preexisting 700 bed Broward County facility built nearly 40 years ago.  It is not owned nor controlled by the Town.

Would your benefactors at CCA perhaps have their eyes set on taking over that facility too once they get a foothold in West Broward?  We know how you politicians on both sides of the isle are pushing to privatize prisons owned by the people, all over the country.

This is only one minute of her talking. We really can't take any more of her lies, so we will stop here.  She talks down to us and we are her constituents.  She refuses to meet with us personally.  When has a representative refused to meet with her constituents that have issues that are caused directly by that representative? This is unconscionable.  She doesn't care about the children, the women and the men who will be directly affected by this perverse facility going up DIRECTLY in our back yards that SHE supports 100%.

Addendum:

Debbie's defenders and sychophants in the media are doing full damage control for her now.  Check out Channel 10's Roger Lohose's softball report on Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the ICE prison: http://www.local10.com/news/Detention-center-critics-focus-opposition-on-U-S-Rep/-/1717324/4880330/-/view/print/-/oru1kp/-/index.html

Congresswoman, months ago you were given the opportunity to remove your endorsement of the prison.  You have steadfastly refused. You wanted your name on the project? And now you don't? Are we to believe that your's and Senator Nelson's endorsements had no effect on ICE's decision?   Were you born yesterday as you believe we were?

Threats to Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz

Folks,

Stefan Kamph at the New Times picked up on our blog posting of Debbie Wasserman Schultz's interview with Jimmy Cefalo yesterday morning.  We've had the opportunity to read comments posted to his article and are outraged.  They contain some of the most vile, antisemitic, hate speech we've ever run into which include implicit threats of physical violence to her.

 

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Tells Radio Host Her Endorsement of CCA Prison Still Stands

Our group has political differences with the Congresswoman.  This is where we draw the line.  We are an ethnically, racially, and politically diverse group as we represent the entire cross section of the communities we live in. We urge ALL of our readers to flood the comment section of Kamph's blog post with denouncements of this hate speech and suggestions of violence.

Also, we urge you to contact the Secret Service and have them investigate the source(s) of the threats to the Congresswoman.  I'm not sure if their West Palm or Miami office handle this, but here are both their numbers: 561 659-0184 (WPB), 305 863-5000(MIA).   Sorry, Secret Service said FBI Miami handles this.  They've been notified.

Announced Advisory Council... Who does it represent?

In reality, Congresswomen Debbie Wasserman Schultz's (D-FL20) Advisory Council is to provide our HOA presidents the opportunity to ask Prison, Inc. for the BEST prison we can get.  This is as if she's misunderstood our opposition to the entire project as a demand to select the color of the curtains covering the window bars or the genus of shrub that will surround the razor-wired fences.  It's a sham and a farce.

Sam Poole (Berger Singerman lawyer hired by CCA) has announced the Advisory Council will include the HOA Presidents from the following HOAs:

• Chapel Trail
• Rolling Oaks
• Sunshine Ranches
• Green Meadows
• Griffin 345
• Country Estates and Trails of Pembroke Pines
• Keystone Lake
• Laguna Isles 

View ICE Detention Center in a larger map


Deconstructing Debbie's shameless attempt to pretend she's encouraged our officials to listen to us;  here are some of the blatant flaws:

1. We don't want an immigrant prison. Her creation of an advisory council changes the question as to what TYPE of prison do we want.
2. She did not establish the council to make officials listen to the resident's demands to KILL the project.
3. Prison, Inc. has severely limited membership as HOA presidents only are on the council.
4. Prison, Inc. has included non affected HOAs such as Sunshine Ranches who are EAST of 75 nearly 10 miles away.
5. The Rolling Oaks, Sunshine Ranches and Green Meadows presidents support the prison and the federal tax dollars it will bring.  They are being sold a bill of goods. 
6. Prison, Inc. probably included Chapel Trail because a Master Board member is Todd Nelson, brother of SWR Mayor Jeff Nelson.

The bottom line is that Wasserman Schultz is trying to pull a fast one. Many of these presidents have been wined and dined by Prison, Inc. and have even been given an expense paid vacation to Prison, Inc.'s Potemkin Village in Tennessee.  Debbie, what part of "We Don't Want This Prison" don't you understand??

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz on SWR ICE Detention Center W/ WIOD 610 Jimmy Cefalo

Good morning folks.  This morning, FL20 (D) Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and DNC Chairwoman finally went on record regarding her continued support for her immigrant prison in Southwest Ranches and her refusal to remove her endorsement.  Just listen to the spin she puts on it.

Folks, notice she said an advisory committee has been formed so we can have input into OUR prison?  Notice how she mentioned the November 5th ICE meeting?  Notice how she didn't tell you that of the 333 cards submitted there were only 7 in support of the prison?  

Regarding the advisory committee, how many of YOU are on it?  We know that none of us are on it. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is up for reelection (along will ALL of the House) in November.  

Oh, if you think there's any sincerity to her, please read our blog posting of how it appears she took $1000 from CCA for the endorsement she speaks of.  $1000 Endorsement

Read an analysis of her interview with Jimmy Cefalo.

Innocent Victims: The Shameful Legacy Of Senator Nelson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Mayor Nelson?

I'm not one to engage in hyperbole to make a point.  However, I think in this case I will demonstrate how I felt as I was reading through all the cards that you filled out at the CCA / ICE prison "informational" meeting that was held on November 5th in Pembroke Pines.  We have just picked up copies of all 333 cards that you were required to fill out and state your position on the prison as a requirement to enter the public meeting.  This was after you were questioned by our police apparatus if you were "here as protesters." This document trove came from a public records request made of the Town of Southwest Ranches.

As I was reading through the NEAR UNANIMOUS opposition to the prison, I crossed one card that first hit me in the gut and then brought a tear to my eye.  At that point, I was harshly reminded of what we are fighting for. Here's the card that shook me.  Tell me if it hits you the same way it hit me:

It shook me to realize just how perverted in thinking that Democratic National Committee Chairwoman and FL-20 Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Senator Bill Nelson (D) and Southwest Ranches Mayor Jeff Nelson are in trying to CONVINCE us that we want a post American century corporate-police-state-type world.  A world where they, as leaders, have created an environment so devoid of hope and so lacking the quintessential aspects of the American dream (for all, INCLUDING immigrant families) that all they offer us are 300 near minimum wage jobs as private corrections officers in our "upscale community."

If you oppose this prison and EVERYTHING wrong that it stands for, email us at notprisontown@gmail.com and ask what you can do to help YOUR community.  WE live here and WE have a right to say that we don't want this facility irrespective of what our COMPROMISED politicians tell us.  THEY work for US.  Not the other way around.

Also note that Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Mayor Jeff Nelson are ALL up for reelection in 2012.  Don't forget that AFTER this meeting, Mayor Jeff Nelson went on the record saying that he believed the majority of SWR residents support this prison. 

We will blog the very interesting statistics regarding those who attended the ICE meeting on November 5th and their position(s) on the prison within the next couple of days.  Stay tuned.

Can SWR Handle the Truth?

As we all were confronted with our inability to process the truth by Jack Nicholson in this famous scene, the question is can Southwest Ranches government and her founders handle the truth?

Since our incorporation a short time ago in 2000, we have shown an amazing inability to manage ourselves.  We are now going on our 5th Town Administrator in 11 years of existance.  This is an average of 2 years and a few months tenure for each Administrator.  One might consider that it takes approximately 2 years in a position to be truly effective.  Our Town administration is very inexperienced at the very least.

Problematically, natura abhorret a vacuo.  This translates to nature abhors a vacuum and in our contemporary parlance is power abhors a vacuum.  In the absence of a strong administrator, the vacuum has been filled by the Poliakoff lineage.  As Town Attorney responsible for the founding of the Town, Gary Poliakoff and his son Keith Poliakoff have run the town as their little kingdom.  Notable investigative reporter Bob Norman ultimately concluded this about the Town and the Poliakoff's:

But Poliakoff -- who manages Becker & Poliakoff, one of the largest legal and lobbying firms in the state -- is just as much to blame for the town's blatant brand of corruption.
...
With guys like Poliakoff running Southwest Ranches, the town will never get much better...

You can read the entire New Times article here:  Bob Norman's Cash Cow 2

Anybody who's followed Keith Poliakoff's underhanded behavior in the entire CCA / ICE immigrant prison fiasco knows that he's acted in a very questionable manner including lying to Senator Bill Nelson's office regarding the prison roads, for example. Another example was reported by New Times and relates to Poliakoff's Cone of Silence which gagged the entire Town Council from talking with their constituents about the prison.

The establishment of the Poliakoff's fiefdom is so underhanded and premeditated that as a precursor to favorite son Keith now earning up to $600,000 for the year in legal service to the Town Papa Poliakoff enshrined their rule in the Town Charter itself.  The charter can be found here:  Southwest Ranches Town Charter .

The worst of corrupt, self serving poison pills is on page 8 and quoted:

Section 3.07. Town Attorney [appointment; removal; terms].
The Council shall appoint the Town Attorney for an indefinite term by an affirmative vote
of at least four Council members. The Council members may remove the Town Attorney
at any time by an affirmative vote of at least four Council members. The compensation
and benefits of the Town Attorney shall be fixed by the Council.  [underline added]

The Town Council has 5 voting members including the Mayor.  So, Gary Poliakoff ensured his control of the Town by requiring a SUPER MAJORITY to fire the Attorney.  The charter requires 4 out of 5 votes rather than the traditional simple majority of 3 to 5 votes.  The bar is raised from requiring 60% of the governing body to remove the Attorney to an unrealistic 80%.  This aspect of the Town Charter MUST be amended so that we have a shot of removing this corrupt force from our presence.

With guys like Poliakoff ... the town will never get much better.  That's the truth.  Can you all handle it?

If you can, then we all need to wake up to the fact that we need a competent administrator AND we need to BANISH the Poliakoff clan from our Town and let them do what they do best, which is lawyering.

Joyce Kaufman WFTL 850 AM Radio Interview!!!

Ryann Greenberg from our Residents Group just did a LIVE radio interview with the Joyce Kaufman Radio Show!  Joyce, thank you for your interest in our story!  The Residents and people throughout Florida need to know how this was pushed through without the PEOPLES' VOICES being heard!

Now show your support by joining our email list at notprisontown@gmail.com

CCA MEETS ROLLING OAKS HOA

DATELINE NOVEMBER 29, 2011 SOUTHWEST RANCHES FLORIDA

ROLLING OAKS HOA HAS MEETING WITH CORRECTIONS CORPORATION OF AMERICA, LLC'S (CCA) SAM POOLE AND CCA ATTORNEY.

CCA GIVEN 30 MINUTES WITHOUT OPPOSITION TO TELL OF THE VIRTUES OF AN IMMIGRANT PRISON IN THEIR COMMUNITY.

25 PEOPLE ESTIMATED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDING COUNCILMEN GARY JABLONSKI AND DOUG MCKAY.  IS THIS A VIOLATION OF SUNSHINE OPEN MEETING LAWS?

SAME OLD TIMER STEPFORD WIVES WHO HECKLE THROUGH ENTIRE COUNCIL MEETINGS EXTOLL VIRTUE OF PRISON FOR THEIR OWN GRANDCHILDREN TO INHERIT.

IS THIS THE FIRST OF 9 MEETINGS PLANNED WITH HOA'S TO GET ALL THE PRESIDENTS ON BOARD SO ALL THE POLITICIANS CAN IGNORE THE 90% OF THE TOWN'S RESIDENTS WHO OPPOSE THE FACILITY?

THIS IS THE SAME HOA BOARD INCLUDING JABLONSKI AND ASTER KNIGHT THAT A NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WERE ASKED TO LEAVE FOR ASKING QUESTIONS WHEN THE PRISON FIRST CAME TO LIGHT BACK IN JULY.

PRESIDENT OF HOA SEEMS BOUGHT AND PAID FOR BY CCA... DID HE TAKE SPECIAL TRIP TO CCA'S POTEMKIN VILLAGE IN TENNESSEE?  DID HE DRINK THE CCA KOOL-AID?

WHEN AND WHERE WILL THEY STRIKE NEXT?  WHEN AND WHERE ARE THE NEXT MEETINGS?  ARE ANY OF US SAFE WHILE PRISON BUILDING UNDER A CONE OF SILENCE TAKES PLACE?

FULLSTOP

Hypocrite Wasserman Schultz Bashes Opponents on Immigration AGAIN!

CNN Interview with Debbie Wasserman Schultz

 

Last week, Debbie Wasserman Schultz was on CNN bashing her political opponents for having harsh positions on immigration.  It's almost beyond all belief that she bashes her opponents on one hand and then takes money from CCA with the other for endorsing the building of an immigrant prison IN HER DISTRICT which will be used to break up families, incarcerate CHILDREN, and make a healthy profit for Prison Inc. 

Transcript:

SCHULTZ: Well, my thoughts are that Mitt Romney did his level best to continue to pull the field of Republican candidates as far to the right and the extreme right as possible, whether it was on immigration... where he said that, even families whose have been here for 25 years, as Newt Gingrich talked about, he would tear those apart. He would take people who essentially have broken no laws and been working and paying taxes -- you know, no path to a future here in America for those undocumented immigrants, and on every other issue.

Is Debbie Wasserman Schultz schizophrenic?  Honestly?  Yes, Debbie, to paraphrase the sentiment of your quote in this interview, we think you've earned the attention of your district Fl-20 for jamming an immigrant prison down our throats while hypocritically trying to bash your opponents on immigration.  You are worse than them all.  None of them endorsed a deportation center like you and Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) have.

SWR Council Meeting!

GET OUT THE VOTE!!
RSVP for the SWR Town Council Meeting on December 8th at 7pm.
On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/swranchesdetentioncenter#!/events/305558089457159/
Or on the right hand pane of the page.

JUST SAY "I OPPOSE THE DETENTION CENTER!"

Pay to Play the Human Way

Over the past few months, we've crossed paths with a number of people who have been highly sensitive to certain avenues that have unfolded before us as we've published facts related to this ICE / CCA immigrant prison in Southwest Ranches.

Of the earliest and most visceral responses that we've received are those that believe that Debbie Wasserman Schultz should be given a free pass over her endorsement of this project. The reason that Congresswoman Schultz and DNC chair is not given a free pass is because we believe that her letter of endorsement along with Senator Bill Nelson's letter of endorsement were major factors in ICE's decision to situate the prison in Southwest Ranches.  We also believe that they are so powerful, they could kill the project in SWR in a heartbeat if they wanted to.

Further, if it were some sort of simple mistake based on receiving false information from backwater small town politicians as her staff including Jodi Davidson and Steve Paikowsky seemed to imply early on, then Debbie would have removed her endorsement. She hasn't. In fact, she's gotten more devious in how she is using the guise of "open" meetings with HOA presidents to try and deflate the opposition to this prison. She and her staff have been relentless in protecting the position that she took endorsing the prison.

Therefore, providing an understanding of why that is and also trying to wake up her constituencies that she's extremely hypocritical when she bashes republicans for wanting to "round them up and deport them all" when SHE is endorsing the VERY MEANS to do that with her immigrant prison in Southwest Ranches.

We have demonstrated that merely a few weeks after giving CCA her endorsement, she accepted money from CCA in such closely timed proximity that it had to be for providing her endorsement of the project in SWR.

As this unfolds, we find a set of industries which profit off our massive immigration problem and dysfunctional immigration system. The top line of it is the private corporations who are making billions of dollars incarcerating illegal aliens awaiting decisions on deportation or making a fortune using migrant labor that can be crushed and discarded like a used Styrofoam coffee cup when no longer needed. We find that one of South Florida's elite, Sam Poole III who was formerly a Broward County official has been one of the continuous threads of this story.

The other day, our investigations uncovered a link between the sugar barons who own Florida Crystals up near South Bay, abuse of immigrant labor AND Sam Poole III. Bitter Sugar and Immigrant Abuse Pointing this out caused outrage. However, those people who support DWS with their contributions must be understood because they are buying access which is being used against us.  We are getting a prison in our back yards because of this corruption and the duplicity of the Congresswoman.

Reviewing the FEC campaign contribution database, we find these interesting donations made to Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

FANJUL, ALFONSO	WEST PALM BEACH FL 33401	06/13/11	$2500	FLORIDA CRYSTAL/CEO
FANJUL, ANDRES	PALM BEACH FL 33480	06/13/11	$2500	FLORIDA CRYSTALS/EXECUTIVE
FANJUL, CATHERINE	PALM BEACH FL 33480	06/13/11	$2500	NOT EMPLOYED/HOMEMAKER
FANJUL, RAYSA	WEST PALM BEACH FL 33401	06/12/11	$2500

The Fanjul's (owners of Florida Crystals) donated a MINIMUM of $10,000 to DWS this cycle.  It could be more because more donations could come in through other family names that we don't know, yet are still part of the Fanjul clan.

This is highly disturbing.  We urge you to look at the link to the Broward New Times article on the Fanjul's to see just what type of people Debbie Wasserman Schultz is accepting donations from AND who have a relationship to Sam Poole III.     New Times' Bitter Sugar Article

While we're at it, let's take a look at donations from Sam Poole III's employer, Berger Singerman, to Debbie Wasserman Schultz's campaign:

BERGER, JAMES L.	FORT LAUDERDALE FL 33316	08/29/11	$500	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
BERGER, JAMES L.	FORT LAUDERDALE FL 33316	05/02/11	$250	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
BERGER, MITCHELL	PARKLAND FL 33067	05/02/11	$250	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
BERGER, MITCHELL	FORT LAUDERDALE FL 33301	08/29/11	$500	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
LICHTMAN, CHARLES	COOPER CITY FL 33026	08/29/11	$500	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
SAMUELS, LEONARD K.	DAVIE FL 33328	08/23/11	$250	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
SAMUELS, LEONARD K.	DAVIE FL 33328	05/02/11	$250	BERGER SINGERMAN/ATTORNEY
SINGERMAN, PAUL STEVEN	MIAMI BEACH FL 33140	08/29/11	$750	BERGER SINGERMAN/PARTNER/ATTORNEY

That's another $3250 from Berger Singerman.

While we're at it, let's put up donations from favorite law firm, Becker Poliakoff.  Are they funding Debbie's campaign?  You bet:

LEVY, ALAN J.	FT LAUDERDALE FL 33301	08/29/11	250	BECKER & POLIAKOFF/ATTORNEY
FRIEDMAN, BERNARD	HOLLYWOOD FL 33021	08/29/11	500	BECKER POLIAKOFF/ATTORNEY
FRIEDMAN, BERNARD	HOLLYWOOD FL 33021	08/29/11	500	BECKER POLIAKOFF/ATTORNEY
FRIEDMAN, BERNIE	HOLLYWOOD FL 33021	06/12/11	2000	BECKER POLIAKOFF/ATTORNEY

She's taking money from two of Sam Poole III's clients, Big Sugar and Prison, Inc., both of which profit off illegal immigration and have a history of abusing immigrants under their care.  She's taking money from the law firm who's employee has represented both Florida Crystals AND CCA.   Of course, she's taking money from the internal SWR Lobbyist, Keith Poliakoff's firm.  All these threads are woven into a tapestry of big corporations buying access to politicians.  These politicians benefit from the exploitation of immigrants yet hypocritically bash their opponents for "wanting to lock them up and deport them."  The residents of west Broward are getting an unwanted immigrant prison in the deal.

The pursuit of truth is virtuous, so the investigation continues. We will continue to bring more clarity to the issue.