Lawyer’s Lies Catch Up With Him
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Disgraced lawyer Howard Kusnick had ‘em fooled.
Long before he was charged with wire fraud in the Scott Rothstein case this week, Kusnick was winning awards for being a good guy.
He never had me fooled. I always felt he was a piece of slime floating in the political swamp called Sunrise City Hall.
Unlike what many think of political players, most never lie to me outright. They present themselves in the most favorable light. They spin.
Not Kusnick.
He would lie about the most innocuous things. He would lie about things I could check out, like how much money he raised for a candidate. Or when the city’s waste contract expired.
He would lie.
When a political player lied to me, I always figured they were hiding something. Boy, was Kusnick hiding something!
Obviously the Florida Bar and Broward’s Chambers of Commerce didn’t see what I saw.
Look at his resume:
*Appointed to the Florida Bar’s Consumer Protection Committee in 1998.
*Named the 1995 Small Business Person of The Year by the Broward County Council of Chambers, an umbrella group of 18 Chambers of Commerce.
*Remains a member in good standing with the Florida Bar, although it’s almost two years since the Scott Rothstein Ponzi scheme broke. His role became known in civil court shortly after the Rothstein law firm fell.
What a joke.
As the lobbyist for Sunrise’s all-powerful waste hauler, Kusnick’s contributions helped fuel campaigns. Nothing wrong with that.
But I believed he went too far.
Like when Kusnick was head of a group that arranged free European and Israel trips for commissioners.
Like when Kusnick was part of a campaign to threaten and intimidate Sunrise Commissioner Sheila Alu.
Sheila Alu: Kusnick Target
Alu’s crime? Daring to suggest the city should seek competitive bids for the city’s waste hauling contract. Suddenly detectives started following her around. Parts of her divorce file mysteriously ended up being mailed to the media and political leaders.
Now Kusnick has proven I was right about him. He is charged with swindling $57 million out of auto dealer Ed Morse and his wife.
Just one more lie.
Kusnick once fooled the Bar, The Chamber and even an entrepreneur like Moore. He won’t be able to fool a federal judge.
I’m waiting to see if he has one more lie in him: A plea of not guilty.
May 28th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
What about Gardiner and Shineberg?
May 29th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Sometimes, even in Broward, the good guys catch a break.
May 29th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
A festering sore gets popped.
May 30th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Sunrise has always been an embarrassment.
Wasn’t Steve Feren was one of those accepting a trip from Sister Cities, which was Kusnick’s group and isn’t he a judge now?
May 31st, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Another lying lawyer oh my goddness no!!! In scumrise again no way and the cape crusader called it again. Wow ! She is sooo hot LU LU . Mayor Mike is sooo lucky to sit next to your sexiness.