Former Broward Demo Boss Busted Again
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The letter, which I later found out was the work of Broward Democratic Leader Russ Barakat, came in a plain white envelope with no return address.
It was addressed to my wife.
I remember it went something like this:
“Your husband is having an affair with a black man. Get him tested for AIDS.”
Why “a black man?” I have no idea.
Little did I know at the time that Barakat had written similar letters, some of them containing outright threats, to dozens of others while awaiting jail on tax evasion charges.
Barakat’s problem was that in addition to me and others, he threated the federal prosecutor who had prosecuted him — Debra Herzog. The Feds took such threats seriously.
Barakat was videoed taped by the FBI and Broward Sheriff’s Office typing the letters in the public library wearing white gloves. Those white gloves were my favorite touch!
Russ Barakat: Picture courtesy of Tamaractalk.com
This week Barakat was in the news again. The TamaracTalk.com wrote that he was arrested again for slashing tires at his condominium. Again he was allegedly caught on a surveillance camera, apparently not remembering what tripped him up two decades ago.
Here is the link to the Tamaractalk’s story, which includes a lot of the background of the 1998 case:
Former Broward County Bigwig Busted for Slashing Tires in Tamarac
When Barakat lost his party leadership of the party, Democrats elected Mitch Ceasar as boss. Ceasar stayed until he ran for Clerk of the Courts in 2016.
May 7th, 2019 at 11:23 am
Haven’t heard that name in ages. Knew him before his fall from grace.
May 7th, 2019 at 12:45 pm
This Mr.Barakat what a piece of garbage.I mean to send that to your wife in regards to Buddy committing adultery and with another man who had Aids.U could have sued him Buddy..
May 7th, 2019 at 6:35 pm
Just another Democrat who has gone off the rails. The media is full of them.
May 7th, 2019 at 7:41 pm
He put me and many of his former co-workers) through absolute hell after he was fired from the Broward County Housing Authority for the crimes he committed. Outrageous letters to our spouses. Thankfully, the FBI discovered it was Barakat typing away in a public library. They got him for only a small portion of his crimes. Many federal election law violations, money laundering and more. I’m not the least bit surprised that he is still at it.
May 7th, 2019 at 8:25 pm
After Barakat was convicted of his federal crimes, he decided to take his anger out on people who worked for him and had nothing to do with his criminal acts. He sent more than 150 letters to Broward County Housing Authority employees , their spouses, and Board members making ridiculous claims. My wife got one of the first. I am thankful to the FBI for taking his accusations and threats seriously. We weren’t sure what he was capable of doing to us or our families. I kept my doors locked. He’s a sick character. But I’m still surprised that he’s still trying to intimidate people at his age and after having served time in a federal prison.