Nevins: Lieberman Spins Fantasies For Prosecutors

BY BUDDY NEVINS

Former Tamarac Mayor Beth Talabisco should rest easy.

Although she is charged with corruption in the probe of bribery at Tamarac City Hall, prosecutors cut Talabsico a break when they took a deposition from County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman.

Lieberman is supposed to be a star witness against Talabisco.  Instead, parts of her testimony doesn’t ring true to me.

The county commissioner’s tale should have the Broward political world laughing.  It sure had me laughing.

The case involves this:  Talabisco, the former Tamarac mayor, voted in favor of a huge project being built on two city golf courses. Prosecutors charge the vote was an illegal quid pro quo in return for the developer paying to help Talabisco win her 2006 city election.

Lieberman would have us believe that former County Commissioner Norm Abramowitz of Tamarac was running Talabisco’s campaign from behind-the-scenes.  Lieberman would have us believe that she was little more than a bystander.

Convenient.  Abamowitz died of cancer just months after the election. A dead man can’t deny Lieberman’s story.

Prosecutors said an e-mail indicated Lieberman– not Abramowitz — was the Svengali of Talabisco’s controversial campaign.

Lieberman brushed off the e-mail: “Well, that is not correct.

Instead Lieberman blamed the dead guy. She blamed the dead guy, who had been out of office six years by the time of Talabisco’s campaign and was near death.

I don’t believe this tale and no one who has followed politics here for the last two decades will believe it either.

Why?

Lieberman never takes a back seat. She is no one’s vice president.  She is always the quarterback and never plays the line.  She takes charge of everything and anything she touches.

So the idea that she deferred to anyone, much less Abramowitz, is ridiculous on its face. It is especially preposterous to me.

When Abramowitz was on the county commission, Lieberman never disguised her disdain for the man.  They were usually on opposite sides of issues.

Abramowitz was part of the effort to elect Talabisco, maybe even a big part.  But based on her personality and her past history, Lieberman was in the pilot’s seat.

Her deposition pushing blame on Abramowitz is a joke.

Lieberman created Talabisco the politician. Lieberman told prosecutors that she was Talabisco’s “mentor.

It was widely known in political circles that Lieberman wanted to control Tamarac City Hall and tried to use Talabisco to achieve that goal.

It didn’t work out that way.

When prosecutors asked why she broke with Talabisco, Lieberman said the newly elected mayor didn’t follow her wishes.

Talabisco wouldn’t back banning fishing in certain canals.  Talabisco wouldn’t agree that Lieberman’s upscale neighborhood should become a gated community.

And the final straw:  Talabisco opposed a developer who was represented by Lieberman’s husband, Stuart Michelson.

That part of Lieberman’s testimony handed Talabisco’s attorney Larry Davis a potential game changer.  Jurors can now be told that Lieberman had reasons to lie about Talabisco.

Sounds like “reasonable doubt to me.

Meanwhile, Lieberman gave prosecutors very little.  I believe what she did give prosecutors was fantasy.

No surprise to those of us who have watched her career.

Lieberman took office in 1996 as a reformer with the Sun-Sentinel calling her “an endless source of innovative ideas on how to improve government.

That too was a fantasy.



13 Responses to “Nevins: Lieberman Spins Fantasies For Prosecutors”

  1. Resident says:

    Lieberman has a saying that she tells everyone, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

    Helps explain about Stracher. She takes a back seat to no one and she has hatched this to figure a way to survive politically and legally.

    Anyone who knows anything about Lieberman doesn’t believe for a second that she wasn’t an active participant/calling the shots in anything she does. She lives on controling everything she touches.

    I hope she got immunity so when she testifies she purposely fails to disclose something required so she can be prosecuted. I don’t think she will be a very good witness.

    Maybe this is how Satz is trying to set up Lieberman, and I don’t think she can stop it now.

  2. Kevin says:

    As an avid fisherman, I think anyone who would try to ban fishing in canals has forfeited their right to hold public office!!

    Kevin

    FROM BUDDY:
    She wanted people fishing from the banks banned from only certain canals, like the ones near her house.

  3. Dee Dee says:

    Lieberman and Stracher should have been charged instead of Talabisco.

  4. Tomas Tripparro says:

    Once again we see Ilene Lieberman helping her husband’s law practice. I thought Stephanie Kraft got arrested for the same thing. Lieberman got her husband a job in Sunrise and probably got him other clients. When is Satz going to find out about that because that could be the real dirt?

  5. City Activist Robert Walsh says:

    I’m telling you buddy this is going to back-fire on Lieberman/Stracher. Again you are right on th emoney Buddy, talabisco has good odds as to beating the charges. its allready proven that Comm.lieberman lied under oath(527 ring a bell there Red). and for Stracher to have implamented Comm.John rodstrom was another sleazy attempt to bring him into all this. Stracher should be fired or you pay her Comm.Lieberman. Not only was a retraction from the State Att. Off. but a full apology from Stracher on the Comm. floor is necessary now. I would not mess w/ John, guys . Send her packing Comm.rodstrom(Stracher)….

  6. NoseBleedSeats says:

    I posted the following last week and it’s true here as well:

    NoseBleedSeats says:

    May 4th, 2011 at 9:39 am
    Lieberman was late to this party! Norman Abromowitz brought the Chaits to Tamarac several years before all of this took place. He took their money and greased their skids with the Mayor (Joe Schreiber) and the City Commission. They built a couple crappy townhome projects at the expense of United Homes (a whole nother story)and decided after several other developers passed to take a flyer on the golf courses. Ilene screwed Norman again, just like when they were both Mayors and when Norman was on the County Commission. She stoled this project out from under his nose while he died and reaped all the cash and benefits, while he died. Ain’t politics grand

    There’s plenty more on lieberman in Tamarac – the split wasn’t only about fishing.

  7. Joe King says:

    I don’t know much, but if I was the prosecutor on the Talabisco case, I wouldn’t be optimistic.

    Every single witness appears to be a lying dog out to protect their own hides. Beth looks like the most pristine person here compared to this dirty crowd,

  8. Criswell says:

    I predict –

    Talabisco goes free. Takes Mayor’s seat back. Won’t be Mayor after next election.

    Atkins-Grad makes deal. Probation only.

    Kraft found not guilty. Never runs again.

    Wasserman-Rubin makes last minute deal. House Arrest then probation.

    Lieberman finishes term, retires from elective office. Continues lobbying.

    Stracher quits job, marries new boyfriend, moves out of Broward.

    Sultanof gets slap on wrist, house arrest at nursing home.

    Schreibers move to nursing home as dementia worsens.

    Satz loses Democratic primary, retires.

  9. Mimi Donly says:

    Please do not use my name. You should investigate the Dukes in Dania: Walter, the city commissioner who only votes as his wife texts to him from the audience and the wife, Lisa who has intimidated every city employee with threats and her meddling

  10. Duke says:

    I guess it’s too late for Mike Satz to figure out how a 20,000 seat Arena gets built in Sunrise for no other reason other than western Broward is where most of the Panther season ticket holders resided and that’s where Wayne wanted it. The northwest corner of Broward Boulevard & I-95 right opposite tri rail would have been much smarter. So would the Riverwalk site. But what Wayne wanted, Wayne got. Not only do Broward taxpayers get saddled with the debt, but no downtown businesses will benefit from being close to the 10th largest grossing arena in north America and all those downtown parking lots and garages stay empty at night. Certain folks have been getting their way with the Broward County Commission for years. These recent cases pale in comparison to the things that have gone on. That’s no fantasy. That’s reality.

    FROM BUDDY:

    I covered some of this issue. Bottom line, Duke. Wayne owned the major attraction that would fill the new arena so his wishes were paramount.

    The two sites you mentioned had problems.

    The downtown site had parking issues and was miles from Interstate 95. The downtown parking garages are not empty at night. There are university classes, bars, restaurants and the library filling those spaces. That really doesn’t matter since the arena had to have parking during the day, too, for events like the circus.

    The site at I-95 and West Broward Boulevard also had access problems and potential problems with the various land owners. There was also questions about clogging the streets in the minority neighborhood surrounding the location. It really had the least support because it lacked the backing of most downtown business folks or the Sunrise community.

    The Sunrise site had the undivided support of the City of Sunrise, lots of land and the potential of dedicated access from the Sawgrass Expressway. Also, the Sunrise site was preferred by the fans of hockey who come from the three counties — an important factor when you are running a business and trying to fill seats.

    The county and Wayne had the choice of building on acres of well-located prime vacant land. Or they could try to piece a deal together involving numerous land owners and shoehorn the arena into Fort Lauderdale’s already overcrowded streets.

    Sunrise was the obvious choice.

  11. BTBH says:

    Thank you f/k/a Beth the Bounty Hunter

  12. Anonomyte says:

    Good point Duke. Forgot about the stadium sites.

  13. Las Olas Lawyer says:

    I’m afraid that Satz is on the wrong track with this one. He should have concentrated on Lieberman. Instead, he build a seemingly week case resulting in a minor charge against a little-known small town mayor. Lieberman has been involved in so many questionable activities so maybe Satz should explain why she seemingly is getting a pass?