The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 96

2B TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2005 BR BROWARD PLUS MiamiHerald.com THE MIAMI HERALD AROUND SOUTH FLORIDA FORT LAUDERDALE Finger found on beach is shrouded in mystery Fort Lauderdale police confirmed Monday that an appendage that a beachcomber found on a leisurely stroll on the beach Sunday is indeed a human finger. "Pinkie, possibly female," Detective Kathy Collins said. "It's too decomposed to get prints." The finger, found on the shoreline at Northeast 14th Court and Atlantic Boulevard, doesn't appear to be cleanly cut, she said, but "ripped" off the hand. And whose hand that might be is a mystery. "We would try to find out if this finger belongs to a body from a homicide, possibly," Collins said.

FORT LAUDERDALE MIAMI DRIVER BUSTED AFTER TEELE'S WIDOW WINS RAMMING POLICE CAR ROUND IN LEGAL FIGHT A man intentionally The widow of the late rammed his Corvette into a Miami City Commissioner police car Monday morning, Arthur Teele, Jr. who is after hitting several other fighting to receive her husvehicles near downtown band's city pension may Fort Lauderdale, police said. soon have her day in court. Rafael Jose Rubin Reyes, Stephanie Teele's attor34, was driving on Broward ney, David Garvin, said Boulevard about 7:30 a.m. Monday he is "very confiwhen he hit a car and spun it dent" an appeals court will into an intersection near 11th now hear arguments on Avenue, said Fort Lauder- whether to overturn a felony dale Detective Kathy Col- conviction Teele received lins.

While attempting to months before his death, a flee, Reyes backed into a conviction now keeping his second vehicle. He headed surviving wife from collecttoward Southwest Third ing $39,100 in pension Avenue and 17th Street near money annually. Broward General Medical Garvin said he received Center where he was cor- word Monday that the Third nered by police. District Court of Appeal had "We boxed him in, and he rejected an attempt by state hit a police car in his prosecutors to toss out the attempt to take off," Collins appeal without a full hearing said. Reyes was arrested and because case law prevented charged with reckless driv- the conviction from being ing and fleeing police after challenged when the person he was checked for injuries convicted is now deceased.

at Broward General Medical Teele was forced from Center. office in 2004 because of allegations he assaulted and MIAMI-DADE COUNTY threatened an undercover Miami-Dade police officer. CROOKED CAMPAIGN DONOR DEPORTED His removal came only weeks before he would have A Filipino businessman qualified for Miami's retireimprisoned for two years on ment pension for elected federal tax evasion and elec- officials. In March, Teele tion fraud convictions aris- was acquitted on the assault ing from his Miami business charge but convicted of activities was deported to threatening a police officer his homeland over the a felony and placed on weekend, U.S. officials said probation.

The conviction Monday. Mark Jimenez, 58, left him ineligible to collect used corporate money from two Miami companies to reimburse employees for illegal donations to several top Democrats in the mid1990s. Among them: At least $41,500 in illegal contributions to the reelection campaign of then-President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, and to the campaigns of Sen. Edward Kennedy, and Sen. Robert Torricelli, The donors were employees of Future Tech International, a computer parts distribution business owned by Jimenez, and Mark Vision Computer, another Miami company owned by a relative.

Jimenez, who had come to the United States on a business visa almost two decades ago, fled to the Philippines in 1998 after Clinton was caught up in fundraising scandals. In his native country, Jimenez renounced his status as a U.S. resident. He was then elected to the Philippine Congress as a representative of one of Manila's poorest districts, but he was ousted after his extradition in 2002 on federal charges. ROYAL PALM BEACH NEARLY-DROWNED GIRL, 5, IMPROVING A 5-year-old girl is in intensive care after nearly drowning in her cousin's swimming pool, according to Royal Palm Beach police.

The 51-year-old cousin was baby-sitting Sunday afternoon but she changed clothes inside the home and left the girl unattended, police said. The cousin found the girl face down in the pool and called 911. Emergency responders took the girl to Palms West Hospital, where her condition was improving Monday afternoon. No baby gate guarded the pool and the screen enclosure was badly damaged in Hurricane Wilma. Police would not release anynames, saying it is an ongoing criminal investigation.

BROWARD COURTS Tate admits he pretended to hear voices in his head FROM 1B mental illness on the advice of a 34-year-old jailhouse attorney, who suggested it might land him a better deal. If found incompetent, a defendant can be hospitalized in a secure state facility until doctors decide he is able to take part in the court proceeding. Williams predicted Lazarus would not hold the episode against him. Similarly, Kathleen Grossett-Tate, the defendant's mother, said the incident "just goes to show that my son is not what the media makes him out to be a criminal." But Tate's new lawyer, Ellis Rubin, said the malingering incident was something "to be overcome." "It's going to be a bumpy road," said Rubin, a controversial, high-profile attorney known for using unorthodox legal strategies. Tate, who asked that Rubin take over the case, turned down a plea deal for 10 to 30 years for the probation viola- LAWYER AND CLIENT: Lionel Tate, Monday in court.

Rubin says tion, according to Williams. Rubin said it was too soon for him to discuss his defense, WHEELER HEALERS right, confers with his new it's too soon for him to discuss or predict how tough Lazarus will be during sentencing. "I never predict the out- EMILY MICHOT MIAMI HERALD STAFF Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport isn't exactly the place for indoor cycling, but it's OK for the Broward Sheriff's Office bicycle medic unit, pedaling paramedics who are there to get quick emergency care to passengers during the busy holiday season. Firefighter Nichole Arkin and Lt. Dave Lindsay walk their bikes down the escalator in Terminal One on Monday as they go about their rounds.

JARED LAZARUS MIAMI HERALD attorney, Ellis Rubin, his defense. come of athletic events, affairs or what a judge do," he said. FORT LAUDERDALE '94 killing suspect is arrested KILLING, FROM 1B his city pension. Some months later, facing a host of public corruption charges as well as the public humiliation of sordid, unverified allegations about his personal life being circulated through the media, Teele shot himself to death in The Miami Herald lobby. HALLANDALE BEACH PRESCRIPTION DRUG FORUM THIS MORNING U.S.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz will host a town-hall meeting from 10 to 11:30 a.m. today on the new Medicare prescription drug plan. The meeting will be held at the Hallandale Cultural and Community Center, 410 SE Third St. Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, has invited representatives from the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services, the Social Security Administration and SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) to attend the meeting.

For information, call 954-437-3936 or 305-936-572. DANIA BEACH TEEN CHARGED WITH DUI MANSLAUGHTER A teenager slammed his car into another car stopped at a red light, killing the car's driver Monday morning in Dania Beach, deputies said. About 4:30 a.m., Reynaldo Munoz, 19, drove his 2001 Cadillac into Timothy Byrd's 1984 Cadillac as Byrd, 40, of Hollywood, waited at the light, Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Jim Leljedal said. Byrd's car burst into flames in a westbound lane of Griffin Road at the I-95 overpass, and he was unable to escape. Munoz, of Miami Lakes, was charged with DUI manslaughter, according to BSO.

The scorched Cadillac was towed to the Broward Medical Examiner's Office, Leljedal said. Munoz was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood where he was treated for minor injuries. 1. St I received tips from people who claimed Loray was involved. But there wasn't enough physical evidence to charge him with the crime, and he wouldn't agree at the time to be questioned, police said.

Then police caught a break. Loray was arrested on traffic charges in October, and police obtained his fingerprints. They checked Loray's fingerprints against fingerprints left at the crime scene and made a match. Police say they are continuing to investigate the murder and that they believe there may be additional people involved. "This is shocking.

We had no idea that he had been arrested," said Loray's cousin, Tamara Loray. "This is the first we're hearing about it. This arrest is for something new? Oh, my God." Tamara Loray said Loray has had previous problems with the law. According to court records, Loray has been convicted of burglary, obstruction without violence and fleeing a police officer. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the murder to call the Fort Lauderdale homicide unit at 954-828-5511 or Broward County CrimeStoppers at 954-493-8477.

LAUDERHILL Strip mall City Hall may move again FROM 1B For now, Lauderhill is looking for about 20,000 square feet, assistant city manager Desorae Giles-Smith said. The final stop should be closer to 40,000 square feet, about the size of its predecessor. The vacant spaces became offices with the help of some paint, lighting and carpeting. The offices are settled, but sometimes cramped, with tables for desks and files stored in plastic tubs and paper boxes. And that's only with what people need immediately.

Most people keep just what they need immediately and still run back to the damaged City Hall for any files from long ago, Giles-Smith said. The hardest time came right after the storm when they dealt with moving prob- SMART BOX HOW TO REACH LAUDERHILL CITY HALL SPEED LIMIT 5 STORM VICTIM: Hurricane Wilma Hall. The city now operates lems and hurricane woes: transferring phones, moving computers, working off generators and trying to recover what wasn't wrecked at the city hall. LAUDERHILL CITY HALL CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE J. ALBERT DIAZ MIAMI HERALD STAFF shuttered Lauderhill City from a strip mall.

"Anything you can think about when you have to move in a hurry," Giles-Smith said. For now, they make do with what they have. At least all the departments are near City Hall is in the Plaza Shoppes at Inverrary strip mall at the northwest corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and Rock Island Road. Telephone: 954-730-3085. each other, and Dragon Village is "the cafeteria." Dragon Village doesn't mind its latest neighbors.

"The traffic they create doesn't stop in much, but we do see city workers come by a lot," manager Brian Yang said. Miami Herald staff writer Natalie P. McNeal contributed to this report..