GUILTY PLEA SET FOR CANADIAN MAN IN FLORIDA SEX TOURIST CASE
A Canadian man is scheduled to plead guilty to charges he traveled to Florida to have sex with someone investigators say he believed was an underage boy. A Miami federal judge set the plea change Monday afternoon for 47-year-old Rene Roberge of Sherbrooke, Quebec, who had previously pleaded not guilty. Roberge’s lawyer has said a plea deal was in the works.
OFFICIALS WARN SPRING BREAKERS TO BE CAREFUL AROUND DOLPHINS
NOAA is encouraging Florida spring breakers to be careful around dolphins. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says tourists can harm dolphins by paddling too close to them or by feeding them. Officials say the message is especially important because of recent bottlenose dolphin deaths caused by human interaction with the animals.
FLORIDA BUSINESSMAN ARRESTED IN NORTH CAROLINA ON ALLEGATIONS HE FAKED HIS DEATH TWO YEARS AGO
A Jacksonville businessman reported dead two years ago in Venezuela has been arrested in North Carolina on alleged fraud charges Saturday after his life insurance companies filed a lawsuit alleging he was alive and they shouldn’t be making payments. Details of the charges against 62-year-old Jose Lantigua are unclear. There had been speculation about whether the former furniture store owner had faked an illness in 2013 while vacationing in Venezuela, leaving his business millions of dollars in debt.
FORECLUSRES ARE DROPPING BUT THE SUNSHINE STATE STILL RANKS #3 IN COUNTRY
Florida’s foreclosure activity has declined by more than a third from a year ago, but it still ranks as one of the highest in the nation. The research firm Realty Trac reported last week that Florida has one out of 570 homes with a foreclosure filing last February. That figure put Florida with the third-highest rate, only behind Maryland and Nevada. Florida’s foreclosure activity has declined by 35 percent in the past year.
RESCUERS SEARCHING FOR FAMILY OF 4 THAT NEVER RETURNED FROM AIRBOAT RIDE IN BELLE GLADE
Authorities find a family of four they say went out for an airboat ride in South Florida and didn’t return on time. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s officials say the unidentified family left Saturday night from Belle Glade Marina. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says they found the boat with all four people on board. No one suffered any injuries.
