Luis Toruno Given 25 Years In Prison

 LaBelle (May 1, 2024) – Drug Trafficker Luis Abel Toruno, of Clewiston was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison, as a mandatory/minimum, for Trafficking in Illegal Drugs, 28 grams or more. He was also ordered to pay a $500,000 fine, court costs, and the cost of prosecution.

Toruno was found guilty in March, in the second Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (NETFORCE) case to go to trial, as well as be convicted at trial.

Assistant State Attorney John Dommerich Jr., Chief of Special Prosecutions, and Assistant State Attorney Natalie Savino prosecuted the case.

The defendant was arrested in September 2020, in Operation Block Party, a long-term NETFORCE investigation into local drug trafficking organizations. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies worked together during the investigation.

The defendant was dealing Fentanyl, in trafficking amounts, in Southwest Florida. Toruno was identified as a supplier of Fentanyl by NETFORCE. When he was taken into custody, in Clewiston, he had multiple ounces of Fentanyl that were intended for another narcotics trafficker located in Lee County.

State Attorney Amira Fox created NETFORCE to coordinate a circuit-wide approach to identifying, investigating, and dismantling long-term organized crime, narcotics, racketeering, and money-laundering criminal enterprises.

Boil Water Precaution For Port LaBelle

LaBelle, Fla. – Due to a temporary power outage, the Port LaBelle Utility System service area is currently under a precautionary boil water notice.

The precautionary boil water notice will be lifted when satisfactory bacteriological sampling results are obtained. The precautionary boil water notice is anticipated to be in effect for 4 days.

A boil water notice does not mean the water is contaminated. As a precaution, it is advised to boil the water for 1 minute before consumption.

Residents with questions or concerns are asked to call 863-675-5376.

Political Sign Alert - Illegal Signs Coming To Your Streets

LABELLE, FL. -- Florida Statutes Chapter 106 regulates political advertising, including campaign signs. Political signs can only be placed on private property with the owner's permission and cannot be placed on public property.

Public property includes:
Roads
Medians
Right of way (ROW)
Sidewalks
Swales
Property adjacent to road containing utilities
State or county road ROW
Utility poles
Public parking
Public parks
Government buildings

They must be removed within 30 days after the election. 
 If political campaign advertisements aren't removed within the specified time, the political subdivision or governmental entity can remove them and charge the candidate the actual cost.

Clewiston rules, in addition to the Florida State laws above say signs can be place up to 60 days before the election and cannot be on side or back property line, or on sides of driveways.

In Hendry County signs can be located on private property during the period from 60
days prior to, and ten days after, any public election in Hendry County. When a primary election occurs
in August, signs do not have to be removed within ten days after the primary election and may,
instead, remain in place until ten days after the general election. 

More rules can be found in Hendry County Code Sec. 1-56-12 on size limitations, etc.

Glades county elections office says Glades County has no political sign rules, and if true only the Florida State rules or city rules would be applicable.

Each county election office is required to give candidates a copy of the political sign rules.

Scam Alert - Social Security Number 'Suspension'

LABELLE, FL -- Fake emails are being sent out warning about suspension of Social Security numbers:

"Due to the presence of suspicious and illegal activities detected during our investigation, we have found it necessary to temporarily suspend your Social Security number.
We kindly ask that you give priority to the provided case ID. (CaseID: SSA-713248210)

:Ensure you have the Case ID available when contacting our Query Support team.

We stress the importance of your cooperation as it is indispensable to swiftly solve the case in every possible way.

We extend our sincere gratitude for your assistance.

Yours respectfully,
Social Security Investigation,
United States of America"

The email comes from a gmail account, so obviously that's not a government email. Secondly, government agencies will not send any notices by email. Ignore and/or report the email as "spam" or "phishing." Do not click on the attachment at the end of the email.

Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Week May1

Artwork by Lorelei Tommie - ‘Seeing Red’ Exhibit

BIG CYPRESS RESERVATION, Fla. (April 29, 2024) – The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum will host community events in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Week the first week of May. 

The first event on Wednesday, May 1 will take place in Brighton at the Veteran’s Building. The second event on Friday, May 3 will be in Big Cypress at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum. The third event on Saturday, May 4 at Seminole Okalee Village Indian Village & Venue, in Hollywood. 

All three events will begin at 4 p.m. and culminate with dinner at 7 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

The exhibit, “Seeing Red” will travel to each location, attendees will be able to speak on the MMIP crisis and how it affects the Indigenous community, as well as engage in creating an art piece for future installation at the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum.

For centuries, Indigenous people have experienced violence, murder, and gone missing at an alarmingly disproportionate rate.

The Exhibit, Seeing Red: A Community’s Response to Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, is the Seminole Tribe’s response to the relatively unknown crisis. This moving experience is a marriage of art, educational resources, and personal stories that evoke emotion and reaction to a major injustice.

For more information, please visit https://www.ahtahthiki.com/mmip/.

The National Week of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP) is a week-long campaign that spans from April 29 to May 5 to raise awareness and call for action to honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. The week leads up to the National Day of Action on May 5.