Still no strip clubs for 'Big Daddy' boss: judge

No lap dances for you!

A former strip club impresario who made his hooker dancers call him "Big Daddy" had a big disappointment today -- a Manhattan judge slapped down his bid to be sprung early from probation, effectively barring him from even setting foot inside a wiggle joint for another two years.

Lou Posner is a model probationer -- but officials still need to keep him on a short leash, a judge ruled.

Probation supervision is the only way the courts can be sure that Posner stays away from the adult entertainment business, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus ruled.

Steven Hirsch

Louis (Big Lou) Posner outside of court.

Under the terms of his probation, Posner can't run a strip joint or even go to one.

"The court's directive excluding defendant from the many facets of the 'adult entertainment' industry is only enforceable as long as defendant remains on probation," the judge wrote.

"I'm disappointed," Posner said as he left court, griping that keeping him on probation is a waste of taxpayers money. Posner has been working as a commercial real estate broker.

Posner had pleaded guilty in a 2010 no-jail deal, admitting to pimping women out of his "Big Daddy Lou's Hot Lap Dance Club on W. 38th St. His probation expires in April, 2015.

A now-disbarred lawyer, he'd repped himself in the failed probation application.

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Don’t get too personal on LinkedIn

Have you ever received a request to connect on LinkedIn from someone you didn’t know or couldn’t remember?

A few weeks ago, Josh Turner encountered this situation. The online request to connect came from a businessman on the opposite coast of the United States. It came with a short introduction that ended with “Let’s go Blues!” a reference to Turner’s favorite hockey team in St. Louis that he had mentioned in his profile. “It was a personal connection … that’s building rapport.”

LinkedIn is known for being the professional social network where members expect you to keep buttoned-down behavior and network online like you would at a business event. With more than 200 million registered users, the site facilitates interaction as a way to boost your stature, gain a potential customer or rub elbows with a future boss.

But unlike most other social networking sites, LinkedIn is all about business — and you need to take special care that you act accordingly. As in any workplace, the right amount of personal information sharing could be the foot in the door, say experts. The wrong amount could slam it closed.

“Anyone in business needs a professional online presence,’’ says Vanessa McGovern, the VP of Business Development for the Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs and a consultant to business owners on how to use LinkedIn. But they should also heed LinkedIn etiquette or risk sending the wrong messages.

One of the biggest mistakes, McGovern says is getting too personal — or not personal enough.

Sending a request to connect blindly equates to cold calling and likely will lead nowhere. Instead, it should come with a personal note, an explanation of who you are, where you met, or how the connection can benefit both parties, McGovern explains.

Your profile should get a little personal, too, she says. “Talk about yourself in the first person and add a personal flair — your goals, your passion … make yourself seem human.”

Beyond that, keep your LinkedIn posts, invitations, comments and photos professional, McGovern says.

If you had a hard day at the office or your child just won an award, you may want to share it with your personal network elsewhere — but not on LinkedIn.

“This is not Facebook. Only share what you would share at a professional networking event,” she says.

Another etiquette pitfall on LinkedIn is the hit and run — making a connection and not following up.

At least once a week, Ari Rollnick, a principal in kabookaboo, an integrated marketing agency in Coral Gables, gets a request to connect with someone on LinkedIn that he has never met or heard of before. The person will have no connections in common and share no information about why they want to build a rapport.

“I won’t accept. That’s a lost opportunity for them,” Rollnick says.

He approaches it differently. When Rollnick graduated from Emory with an MBA in 2001, he had a good idea that his classmates would excel in the business world. Now, Rollnick wanted to find out just where they went and reestablish a connection.

With a few clicks, he tracked down dozens of them on LinkedIn, requested a connection, and was back on their radar. Then came the follow-up — letting them know through emails, phone calls and posts that he was creating a two-way street for business exchange. “Rather than make that connection and disappearing , I let them know I wanted to open the door to conversation.”

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Two charged with taking protected live sharks from the Keys

For the second time in weeks, federal prosecutors have ordered the arrest of people for illegally taking live sharks out of the Florida Keys.

Two officials of Idaho Aquarium Inc. in Boise were indicted on federal charges of conspiracy and illegally purchasing four spotted eagle rays and two lemon sharks, all protected species and all from Keys waters.

Ammon Covino, 39, president of Idaho Aquarium, and corporate secretary Christopher Conk, 40, were arraigned late last week in Idaho and ordered to appear in U.S. District Court in Key West on March 15.

The Idaho Aquarium is a display facility covering 10,000 square feet operating in a converted Boise warehouse. Listed as a nonprofit educational center, the aquarium opened in late 2011. It claims to offer "over 250 different species of animals and marine life" for the $9 adult admission fee.

The indictment from November was unsealed this month.

On Feb. 7, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami unsealed a separate indictment against two Broward County aquarium suppliers. They were charged with conspiracy to acquire and resell juvenile nurse sharks without a required permit, and angelfish larger than the maximum size allowed. Those fish from the Keys allegedly were sold to a Michigan buyer.

"While both cases relate to the marine living resources of the Florida Keys and involve violations of the Lacey Act, predicated in part on [Florida law], there is no public record material to suggest there is any other relationship between the cases," said Alicia Valle, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In the indictment against Idaho Aquarium and its officials, prosecutor Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald wrote that the defendants knowingly conspired with fish collectors in the Keys to have the rays and sharks captured without permits and shipped north.

After being offered $1,250 for each live eagle ray, an unnamed fish collector eventually told Covino that permits needed to take the rays could not be obtained. Covino reportedly answered, "Just start doing it.... Who gives a ...".

The collector reportedly shipped three eagle rays in May 2012 and another in June 2012. All were sent to Covino at the Idaho Aquarium.

A second unnamed collector reportedly was solicited by Conk in June for two lemon sharks. The collector said no capture permits for lemon sharks are being issued so "the transaction would have to be conducted on the 'down low,' " the indictment says.

In a later conversation, Covino is accused of saying the lack of permits for the lemon sharks was "no big deal." The lemon sharks were purchased for $650 each and sent to Idaho in October.

Neither collector was named in the indictment.

According to the U.S. District Court documents, Covino and Conk could receive prison terms of up to five years on each of four counts.

The Idaho Aquarium could be fined $500,000. The government is seeking to seize Conk's 2005 Ford pickup truck, reportedly used to transport the fish from an airport.

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Adorable Tots: Celebs and their Cute Kids!

Rachel Zoe

Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe's little fashionisto Skyler Berman had a playdate with a fellow style-savvy toddler at a park in Beverly Hills on Feb. 26, 2013. These could be the tiniest hipsters we've ever seen!

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Jury in alleged Zumba prostitution case can see some explicit images: judge

REUTERS

Accused madame Alexis Wright 29, of Wells, Maine is pictured during an arraignment hearing at Cumberland County Superior Court.

ALFRED, Maine — A Maine judge says she's not going to let prosecutors introduce almost 600 sexually explicit images at the trial of a man charged with helping a fitness instructor run a prostitution business from her Zumba studio.

But Judge Nancy Mills said Wednesday she will allow prosecutors to show jurors in the trial of Mark Strong Sr. some of the images, but not all 577 of them. He's on trial on charges of promoting prostitution.

The defense says Strong had an affair with Alexis Wright and helped her launch her dance studio in Kennebunk by co-signing for her lease but knew nothing about allegations of prostitution.

Prosecutors say the images show Strong knew about the prostitution.

Both Strong and Wright have pleaded not guilty. She'll be tried later.

Meanwhile, a detective is testifying Wednesday about text messages.

Yesterday, the judge refused to throw out charges against Strong.

Strong's lawyers asked the judge to punish prosecutors for repeatedly missing deadlines for turning over discovery materials, even as more than 100 pages of police reports, notes, videos and audio recordings were provided to the defense on Tuesday.

"They're beyond discovery violations. They're due process violations," defense lawyer Tina Nadeau told Justice Nancy Mills. "Enough is enough."

But Mills said there were other less-drastic remedies that include delaying testimony to give the defense more time to review the materials and giving special instructions to jurors.

Strong's trial has been marked by delays caused by motions and appeals. At one point, jury selection was delayed by more than three weeks while prosecutors sought to reinstate 46 invasion-of-privacy counts that the judge dismissed.

The remaining 13 counts against Strong focus on promotion of prostitution with dance instructor Alexis Wright. Both pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday, a state police investigator specializing in cellphone records testified that Wright and Strong were in constant contact, with 25,111 phone calls, texts and data transfers between the two of them from January 2010 to February 2012.

A postal inspector also testified that Wright sent a number of packages to Strong.

The defense contends Kennebunk police targeted the 57-year-old Strong, who held a private investigator's license, because he was conducting an investigation into unprofessional conduct by Kennebunk officers.

On Tuesday, Mills ordered prosecutors to give Strong's lawyers a police file involving a Kennebunk officer involved in a shooting. Previously, prosecutors had to turn over a written reprimand against the lead investigator, who had an affair with her boss.

The defense is expected to mine the material to try to discredit investigators.

Still up in the air was how many pornographic images jurors would see. The judge had yet to rule on a request to prune back the 577 images prosecutors wanted to introduce.

The images were found on Strong's computer, and prosecutors contend they show Strong knew Wright was working as a prostitute. The defense argued that pornography possession isn't a crime and the photos could "horrify" jurors and make them biased against Strong.

The prostitution scandal attracted international attention last year after it was reported that Wright had ledgers indicating she made $150,000 over 18 months and had more than 150 clients.

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Coral Gables native Martin Zweig, Wall Street wiz, dies in Florida

A decade before he foresaw the 1987 stock market crash, Coral Gables native Marty Zweig was already considered a Wall Street wizard.

Renown business journalist Dan Dorfman called him “the country’s hottest investment adviser” in 1981, his picture appeared on the cover of Money Magazine in 1982, and he was frequent guest on the PBS financial show Wall Street Week.

Wall Street Week

He wrote two best-selling books: Winning on Wall Street, in 1986, and Winning with New IRAs, in 1987.

On Oct. 19 that year, just as Zweig had predicted three days earlier on Wall Street Week, the market plummeted 23 percent.

Zweig, whose three-story Pierre Hotel penthouse is one of New York City’s most lavish residences, died Feb. 18 at another of his homes, on South Florida’s Fisher Island. He was 70. Zweig had been treated for cancer, and underwent a liver transplant in 2010 with tissue from his younger son.

Born Martin Edward Zweig on July 2, 1942, in Cleveland, he spent his formative years growing up in Coral Gables where he was known as Marty Gateman after his widowed mother remarried.

He attended Coral Gables Elementary and Ponce de Leon Junior High schools, was a Coral Gables High School varsity basketball player and track star — class of 1960 — and 2001 Cavalier Hall of Famer.

Childhood friend Richard B. Bermont, a Miami financial adviser, remembered Zweig as a great poker player even in high school, “pretty much a jokester, and the ladies loved him.’’

He legally changed his last name back to Zweig when he was 21, after his mother and Dr. Gateman divorced, said former wife Mollie Friedman.

Zweig wrote that his interest in financial began when the 1948 Cleveland Indians were playing in the World Series.

“I was the kid who knew the most about the team and had a vague idea about what batting averages mean. I had begun to love numbers. Perhaps this was a tip-off that I’d later graduate to the market.’’

He earned a bachelor’s in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1964, later an M.B.A. from the University of Miami and a doctorate in finance from Michigan State University.

In 1984, Zweig joined with stock picker Joe DiMenna, with whom he co-founded Zweig-DiMenna Partners, their first long/short hedge fund.

Zweig also created two closed-end funds traded on the New York Stock Exchange, according to his corporate biography: The Zweig Fund in 1986 and The Zweig Total Return Fund in 1988.

In his first book, he wrote: “When playing the market, remember you must deal with probabilities, employ sensible strategies to limit risk, and get aggressive only when conditions warrant.’’

He was as quirky in his private life as he was serious about investing. Stan Smith, a Fisher Island friend, said that last year, Zweig installed a “banana yellow’’ 1934 Packard convertible in his living room.

Zweig’s memorabilia collection includes the dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962, a pair of JFK’s pajamas, suits The Beatles wore, Super Bowl rings, Heisman Trophies, Oscar statuettes and Gold Records; one of the Harley-Davidson Hydra-Glide motorcycles that actor Peter Fonda rode in the film “Easy Rider;” an outfit that Jimi Hendrix wore in concert; and the booking sheet from one of Al Capone’s arrests, and a letter written by baseball legend Mickey Mantle describing a sexual encounter at Yankee Stadium.

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Bagpipes and kilts come to South Florida on Saturday

As tradition calls for it, burly male competitors will be on hand to throw large, heavy wooden poles, some as far as 20 feet.

But it’s not just the athletics that will keep fans of Southeast Florida’s 30th annual Scottish Festival entertained. Expect to hear Charlie Zahm’s Celtic music, Albannach band playing the drums and blowing bagpipes, and men wearing the kilts of their clan. “It’s very important for the people to know that the Scottish culture in this community is not exclusive,” said Nigel MacDonald, one of the founders of the festival. “It’s for everyone — the music, dancing and piping is enjoyed by everyone.”

More than 4,000 are expected to fill Fort Lauderdale’s Snyder Park for the festival, which began three years ago in Key Biscayne.

“In Scotland there are games like this in every town, but we didn’t have any here and we had to go to other games in Orlando, Atlanta or the Carolinas,” said MacDonald.

Steve Rogers of Plantation hasn’t missed a festival in the last 12 years. He fell in love with the culture and even learned to play the bagpipes.

“At first I wasn’t involved, but after going a couple of times, I learned to play the bagpipes,” said Rogers, whose wife also got involved in the Scottish culture by playing the drums. “It turned out to be a very good decision. I participate in a lot of things that normally I wouldn’t be able to do.”

Among the activities that caught his attention was the caber toss, a traditional Scottish athletic event where men throw a large wooden pole that’s almost 20-feet long and weighing about 175 pounds.

Besides the caber toss, strong men compete in such age-old events as the hammer throw and the shot put.

These events come from the Highland games which are held throughout the year in Scotland and other countries as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic heritage.

Plenty of Scottish merchandise and food will be on sale, including Scottish eggs, (a plate of hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried); sticky toffee, (a moist sponge cake made with finely chopped prunes); clootie dumplings, (a traditional dessert pudding made of breadcrumbs, dried fruit and spice) and of course, traditional Scottish beer.

Although there is no dress code, many of the men will be dressed in traditional kilts with patterns of their clan’s tartan. The different Scottish clans and societies will also set up displays to welcome members and educate people about their roots.

“There are the MacDonalds, the Campbells, the Ritchies and others,” said MacDonald. “We have all these families and set up tents where people who are associated, or not associated, can learn about our heritage.”

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'Golden Boy' Cast Talks Crime Procedural Drama Genre

There have been various genres of television shows that have thrived in a given era. One such genre that is current thriving is the crime procedural drama, with shows like NCIS and its spin-offs continuing to flourish. Tonight, a new procedural named Golden Boy drama premieres, but that's not how the cast chose to describe it.

The new series, created by NYPD Blue co-producer Nicholas Wootton, centers in on the journey of a man named "Walter Clark" (Theo James) who works his way up to becoming the youngest police chief in the history of New York City.

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While the procedural element of solving crimes remains a facet of the show, the cast made it clear that it's not the central focus.

"I think it has a minor procedural element, but I think at the end of the day it's about the characters," said Theo James, who plays the series' central character. "That sounds like a standard-issue thing to say, 'It's about the characters,' but it is.

"...It's a story about [Walter's] evolution as a person. So, in that way, it's not about the case each week; it's about this person growing and becoming a very powerful man, but also what he loses along the way and all the relationships he has."

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Walter's most important relationship that the series focuses on is with his mentor "Don Owen," who is portrayed by I, Robot actor Chi McBride. He gave a more candid opinion on television genres but also maintains that his series is unique.

"The only people that want something new and different are television critics because they watch everything," McBride said bluntly. "...People have their shows and they like 'em; they like doctors, lawyers, and cops."If I'm going to say that there's something that separates this from the pack, though, it is [that it's] a more character-driven show."

"Golden boy," a term refers to an individual who is the favorite of a group, is a moniker commonly used in law enforcement offices for promising young workers. True Blood actor Kevin Alejandro, who plays "Tony Arroyo" on the show, explained why the term is an optimal title.

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"I think it's perfect because anyone can be the golden boy. It's a real challenge and a competition to get that level of appreciation," Alejandro said. "What's great about this show is that you see each and every one of our characters struggle for that."

Watch the video for an introduction to the cast and don't miss the series premiere of Golden Boy tonight at 10 p.m. on CBS.

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Pistorius plans his own service for slain girlfriend

JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius is planning a personal memorial service for Reeva Steenkamp, the 29-year-old model he shot at his home on Valentine's Day.

The service was planned for late Tuesday at the Pretoria home of his uncle Arnold, where the Olympic athlete has been staying since he was released on bail awaiting trial on a premeditated murder charge.

Pistorius' reputation management firm said Pistorius had specifically requested the service "as he remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner Reeva," whom he says he shot by accident assuming an intruder had entered his home on Feb. 14.

AP

Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius

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Hialeah sugar firm Banah files for bankruptcy

A sugar processing company that brought hype to Hialeah after it moved into a 300,000-square-foot space last July — promising to hire up to 300 workers — has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company’s move to its new headquarters even prompted Miami-Dade County to rename a stretch of Southeast 10th Avenue “Banah Sweet Way” in honor of the company. Several local leaders, including county Mayor Carlos Giménez, attended the naming ceremony.

But late last week, the company, which is owned by a convicted drug trafficker and which had sought taxpayer benefits from a government program promoting investments, left behind a line of outraged creditors. The company had only 15 employees.

Banah Sugar International Group Inc. reported that it owed between $1 million and $10 million to a list of 232 people and companies, according to public records.

The company’s administrative director, Luis Estrada, told El Nuevo Herald on Monday that the company’s owner, Alex Pérez, was meeting with company officials and added that he was not authorized to comment on the issue.

The bankruptcy was filed under Chapter 11, which allows for an attempt to reorganize the company. It allows the company’s management to continue day-to-day operations, but the bankruptcy court must make all the company’s important decisions.

On Monday, several creditors criticized Banah’s owner for failing to make payments.

“I feel frustrated and deceived,” said Alexander A. Pérez, owner of Florida Patrol Investigators (FPI), a Hialeah company that provided security services to the company. “They sent me checks that bounced, and we sued them.”

FPI’s owner said that the company owes him close to $70,000 for security services at Banah his company at 215 SE 10th Ave.

Hialeah’s mayor, Carlos Hernández, declined to comment on the sugar company’s bankruptcy filing, but he defended renaming Southeast 10th Avenue after the company, saying that Banah had promised to make significant investments in the area.

County spokesperson Fernando Figueredo said that Giménez had attended the ceremony “in good faith,” since its intention was to highlight an investment made in a 10-acre plant where 200,000 bottles of liquid sugar were supposed to be processed every day.

“The mayor knew nothing about the company’s background,” Figueredo said. “He attended because the company was creating jobs and was being recommended to be recognized in Hialeah.”

Hiram Mendoza, an aide to County Commission Chairwoman Rebeca Sosa, said that in 2012 Banah requested to be included in a program to receive county and state financial incentives. He added, however, that Banah did not meet the goal of creating 300 jobs it had promised. “They have not received any financial aid from the state or the county,” Mendoza said. “It’s true that they asked for it, but they did not meet the goals.”

Last year, Banah executives announced it would hold a job fair.

On Monday, Estrada said the company never had a job fair. Currently it has 15 employees, he said.

In October, Francisco Alvarado, a New Times reporter, revealed that in 2001 the federal government had indicted Banah’s owner on felony charges of conspiracy of cocaine possession and possession with intent to sell. Two years before, DEA agents had arrested two men with six kilograms of cocaine hidden in a vehicle. The men declared under oath that Pérez, Banah’s owner, had handed them the drugs.

In 2003, Pérez pleaded guilty of one of the charges and served four years in a federal prison.

Diego Leiva, Banah’s former executive director, said he was surprised by the bankruptcy. “I left the company when Pérez’s past came to light,” said Leiva, who is among the company’s creditors. “I didn’t know anything about that.”

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