SHOCKING ALLEGATIONS
Angelita Sanders has filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Broward State Attorney’s Office, seeking an investigation into her claims that Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion offered to pay her to submit a false statement. Sanders is the mother of a son Eggelletion fathered with her, outside of his marriage, and the two were embroiled in a long-running paternity and child support lawsuit last year. During the case, Sanders alleged that their sexual relationship actually began when she was an underage student in his classroom, while he was her teacher at Dillard High School. In the complaint, Sanders alleges that she also met with Eggelletion several times over the past few weeks, and that he offered to pay her more than $7,000 to provide a sworn statement indicating the allegations she made in the case about the underage sex were untrue. Eggelletion did not respond to my calls about the complaint, but Sanders says she has proof of what happened.
LASER STUPIDITY
Parents, before you get one of those “harmless’’ laser pointers for yourself, or your child, consider what had happened to 22-year-old Thomas Kiefer Jr. On July 24, a Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office helicopter was shining a light and hovering over his parents’ West Palm Beach home. Kiefer allegedly pointed his green laser inside the cockpit of the aircraft. The pilots reacted and tracked the laser by using a GPS device. A short while later, sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents swarmed the home, and confiscated 10 of the devices. Lasers have the potential to blind pilots momentarily and possibly permanently, depending on the conditions. Kiefer admitted to pointing the device at the copter, and was arrested this week. He is now facing third-degree felony charges.
STUNNING BRUTALITY
One West Palm Beach police officer has quit and two others were fired this week after a patrol car dash camera showed them brutally beating and kicking in the head a handcuffed suspect, for no apparent reason, during a May 26 arrest. Pablo Gilberto Valenzuela, 42, suffered a broken jaw, damaged eyes and other bruises from the beating at the hands of officers Louis Schwartz, Kurt Graham and Jason Zangara. Valenzuela was charged with the armed robbery of a pharmacy, accused of stealing about 1,000 OxyContin pills. The video of the beating is brutal, and the violence is senseless. Graham was a rookie. He quit before he could be terminated. I hope all three do a lot of time in prison.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Schools in Broward and Miami-Dade counties will open this Monday. So drivers, let’s be careful on the roadways. Also, there will be a number of back-to-school rallies. One of them will take place this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Westside Park, 445 S.W. 2nd St. in Deerfield Beach. There will be a free barbecue at which school supplies will be given away to the children. The annual event, which is put on by Roosevelt Caldwell and other black men in the community, is totally free and open to everyone, until all of the food and supplies are gone. For more information or directions, call 954-480-4481.
OFFICIAL STEPS DOWN
Last week, two-term Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Francine Schiller abruptly announced her resignation, effective Aug. 29. Schiller, 66, is ailing from numerous health issues and is now wheelchair-bound. Minutes after Schiller announced her resignation, Mayor Joy Cooper nominated the Rev. Anthony Sanders, a community activist and pastor at the Higher Vision Ministries church in the predominantly black, western area of the city. Commissioners voted to appoint Sanders to fill out the remaining three months of Schiller’s term. This is causing a stir: Sanders had been rumored to be a candidate in the November election. Some residents are calling for a review to determine if the resignation and nomination of Sanders were planned events.
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
Broward County Interim Public Administrator Bertha Henry has confirmed an investigation is underway surrounding work conditions and the treatment of black employees at the county’s Pompano Beach water and sewage treatment plant. The facility has been the target of racial discrimination complaints for years. Now, more than a dozen employees have filed a petition alleging unthinkable incidents of discrimination and disparate conditions. Some of the accusations are outrageous, and it’s time to air this smelly laundry, once and for all. Stay tuned.
BLACK SLAUGHTER
Due to crime and violence, blacks are being slaughtered like cattle every day. For some reason, it is becoming expected and accepted for blacks to be the victims of senseless, violent crimes. Many times, these are black-on-black acts, so few people seem to care. At the same time, our black leaders are as quiet as a mouse on the issue, and this is a shame. It’s happening everywhere, but let’s take a look at what happened in Belle Glade just a few days ago, where one person was killed, and four others were hospitalized from gunshot wounds. The carnage occurred during five different incidents, all within 80 minutes of one another, and in the same general area of the city. If this had taken place in the suburbs, it would have been national news. But since it was done in the slums of dilapidated Belle Glade, where the victims are all black, not a single word has been heard from black leaders. It is disgraceful, and something must be done. If we do not get a new generation of black leaders, we may be through.
COLD BUSTED
More than 60 people were arrested as part of an illegal scheme to obtain OxyContin, and then resell the addictive painkiller at a profit. Most of those arrested were individuals employed by cities, counties and other public employers around Miami-Dade County. They include police officers, school bus drivers, corrections officers and court bailiffs. To make matters worse, prosecutors say they used their employee healthcare coverage to pay for the drugs. Here’s how the scam worked, investigators say: Dr. Ronald Harris allegedly gave several recruiters, including Marcella Pierce and Dwonvalyn Johnson, blank prescriptions. The recruiters then made out the prescriptions in the names of the public employees. The employees got the prescriptions for 120 of the pills, filled for the cost of their $25 co-pay. The recruiters then paid several hundred dollars for the pills they obtained. They could then be re-sold on the street for at least $30 each. OxyContin has been found to be more addictive than heroin, and prosecutors say this particular scam was used to obtain as many 12,000 of the pills since 2005.
WALKING EMBARRASSMENT
Broward Circuit Court Judge Martin Bidwill has denied a motion to dismiss felony aggravated assault charges against suspended Miramar City Commissioner Fitzroy Salesman. His attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, says they will appeal. Salesman, 51, is the walking embarrassment (who reeked of alcohol each time I was ever around him, even at commission meetings) who allegedly pulled a gun on another customer at a grocery store on the eve of last year’s Thanksgiving Day. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, which resulted in Gov. Charlie Crist suspending him from office. Schwartzreich argued that Salesman was simply defending himself after 18-year-old Lazavious Hudson, who is also black, used a racial slur and threatened to beat him during the confrontation. No matter how this case turns out, I hope Salesman will simply move on with his life.
EJones@SFLTimes.com
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