Florida - Haiti Observer Blog

Out of a crowded group of candidates for the Florida Senate District 38, Daphne Campbell wan the Democratic primary. She was competing against: Don Festge, Kevin Burns, Anis Blemur, Jason Pizzo and Michael Góngora. The seat was left vacated by Senator Margolis when she announced she was retiring after insulting some other candidates in a forum back in June, 2016. She will face former Democratic State Representative Phillip Brutus, who is running this time as independent. Brutus obviously did not want to take part of the crowded group during the primary election.

Regardless on how it turns out, after the November election in the United states, we will have a Haitian-American as a Senator in Florida. He or she will be representing District 38.

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On Saturday, five people were killed with 25, injured when a bus carrying Haitian farm workers and tractor-trailer collided in Wakulla, Florida. The bus was carrying between 30 and 35 Haitian Farm workers from Georgia where the farm workers were employed. According to authorities, the bus ran a flashing red light and a stop sign before hitting the tractor-trailer last Saturday. Both vehicles caught fire and rescue was difficult as many passengers were unable to move. Most of the passengers passengers were members of the First Haitian Community Church.

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fleeing to Haiti did not work for Raymond Vincent after all. According to Police, back in February, 2016 the 10 year old girl was taken to Broward Health Medical Center after complaining of stomach pain. She was found to be pregnant. The case was reported to the local police.

In the meantime, Raymond Vincent who is a youth pastor at a Pompano church and friend of the girl's family was suspected in committing the crime but left South Florida for Haiti.

U.S. Marshalls flew to Port-au-Prince and returned with Raymond Vincent, a youth pastor at a Pompano Beach Church

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Roro Nelson is now a fugitive from Haitian justice, fleeing from custody. He is a wanted person. Government Commissioner Danton Leger was shocked to see Roro Nelson on Television participating in the Haitian musical event in Miami, Florida recently.

After more than 20 complaints against him with several court invitations left answered, Government Commissioner Danton Leger had issued an Arrest warrant against Roro Nelson. However; like many people, he was surprised to see Roro Nelson in Miami, performing with former President Michel Martelly. Mr. Leger intends to seek the help of The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to capture Roro Nelson and bring him to justice

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This can't look good for the Haitian community. First female Haitian-American Mayor of North Miami, Marie Lucie Tondreau, was among four people indicted on Mortgage found Monday, May 19, 2014.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida on Monday filed criminal charges for activities from December 2005 to May 2008 well before Marie Lucie Tondreau had become the Mayor of North Miami.

Tondreau along side with Karl Oreste, Okechukwu Josiah Odunna and Kelly Augustin were all charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. If convicted, she is likely to face up to 30 years in prison.

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On 18th May, 2013, a three-count formal accusation was unsealed by the federal judge. The indictment was returned by Florida's Southern District's grand jury. The indictment charged 59 years old Jetla McPhee from Tamarac Florida. For bringing 143 Haitians to US soil by using guest worker visas obtained fraudulently by McPhee and co-conspirators by incorrectly representing that jobs were waiting in US for these 143 Haitian workers.

According to the charges, McPhee along with Marie Nicole Dorval committed the visa fraud from April 2008 to July 2009. McPhee and Dorval falsely represented to the federal government that consturction jobs were available and secured the H-2B guest worker visas. According to this accusation, a false contract was created by McPhee, which showed that an American construction company had a requirement of 150 men who could work full-time on an hourly wage of $8.42 for a period of 10 months.

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Haitian radio is the chief means of media communication on the island. Few have income to buy a TV, and those who have sets are subject to unreliable electricity service. Going online to access news coverage is impossible for all but the rich. Not only is newspaper distribution minimal, but 80% of the population are illiterate. The only information source available to everyone is the radio and radio stations are plentiful in Haiti. Reception is widely accessible in virtually every village on the island. Radios cost little to own and run on batteries.

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Listed as an absconder/fugitive after an arrest for robbing a bank he worked in as a teller in 2007, Karl Jean-Jeune, aide to Haiti's first lady Sophia Martelly, tweeted his whereabouts to his followers and consequently the Florida Department of Corrections.

In early 2008 Jean-Jeune was sentenced to six year's probation for stealing nearly $30,000 from the Lake Worth Bank, a sum he was also ordered to pay back. While the nature of his sentencing didn't prohibit him from travelling within the U.S. it was from a Caribbean summit held in Port-au-Prince, after a riveting musical performance he witnessed, where Jean-Jeune unwittingly disclosed his abscondment to the public and his location to the U.S. authorities.

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Attorneys representing a Haiti high-level official, Rene Duperval, convicted of money laundering in a kick-back scheme between Haiti Telco and two U.S. telecom companies, filed a motion Friday afternoon to appeal his sentence. The past Director of International Relations at Haiti received a nine-year prison sentence for charges related to money laundering (19 counts) and money laundering conspiracy (2 counts). Besides the convictions, the defendant was forced to deposit close to $500,000 in bribery money that he allegedly received from Terra and Cinergy in 2003 and 2006, into a court escrow account.

Rene Duperval's attorney, John E. Bergendahl, filed the motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, announcing his intention to appeal Duperval's prison term. When contacted by the news media, Bergendahl declined to comment.

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The November 2012 presidential election in the United States is one of the most important events in world politics that could change and affect other countries greatly. For the upcoming election in the U.S., Jean Monestime was appointed to Electoral College.

The Electoral College requires the services of thousands of government officials and workers to ensure that the election will be done fair and right in choosing the next most powerful man in the world, which only happens every four years.

For Haitian-American Jean Monestime, working for the upcoming elections is a big obligation, and at the same time a huge privilege. Monestime, who is currently the Commissioner in Miami-Dade County's 2nd district, has been made a member of the Electoral College of the Florida Democratic Party. He is joined by 28 others in representing the state of Florida. The U.S. Electoral College is a set of selected individuals that represent a particular institution or organization in electing a candidate for a certain government office. The members are usually appointed just a few months before the actual elections.

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