Fmr.politician commits suicide @ Herald Bldg

[Aessotariq]

About 30 minutes ago, former Miami City Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr. shot himself in the lobby of The Miami Herald building. The entire building is on lockdown... the area is cordoned off and there are helicopters currently circling the building. Mr. Teele is facing charges involving fraud against Miami-Dade County relating to airport contracts and additional charges regarding certain deals with developers. It was a Herald investigation that had brought these allegations to light.

A co-worker of a friend of mine who works at the Herald was in the lobby and witnessed the incident. Apparently he was still conscious and was taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

[ironchapman]

Wow...that's sad to hear...any ideas as to why he would have done it?

[up+down=midtown]

the 26 counts of fraud might have done it..or maybe the cover stories and headline articles

[Aessotariq]

This explains it all: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12238270.htm

State AND federal charges.

State: threatening a police officer (convicted), unlawful compensation [took kickbacks from developers]

Federal: mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering

It was the paper's investigation that got him exposed. I wonder if he thought he could get past security into the building. After 09/11, they search non-employees entering the building.

[logybogy]

There is also a New Times article that was published today that reveals he used the services of male prostitutes.

That might have pushed him over the edge.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/curren...ws/feature.html

[Aessotariq]

Mr. Teele has died. "Fatally shot" was added to the Herald's front page headline.

[Brickell]

Wow is all I can say.

[cityboy05]

Dane yo!

[Brickell]

More fallout.

Politician rose to power then fell from grace

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12241364.htm

and DeFede has been fired for taping a phone conversation with Teele hours before the shooting. Can't wait to hear what Teele said and what DeFede has to say about it.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12241103.htm

[Urban_Legend]

Yikes!

I like how it's front page news on The Herald....lol

But that's got to be gruesome (sp?) to witness.

[Aessotariq]

It's really sad. On one hand he was a brilliant man and did a lot for the residents he served and for all of Miami-Dade as well... he was one of the people who helped make Metrorail a reality. But then at the same time he was also human and sometimes that pedestal that people put you on gets so high that the line between what's right and wrong, ethical and unethical, legal and illegal, gets blurred in one's mind. Makes me wonder what will happen to his family... life insurance doesn't pay benefits for suicides.

On the other hand, this thought is in the back of my mind... Other politicians have done worse and gotten away with murder (figuratively). This isn't the first time this has happened in Miami-Dade and I'm sure it won't be the last.

And yeah, I always think it's interesting to watch a news agency report about itself and try to report on itself impartially... It's just like how when MSNBC has to run a report about Microsoft, and then has to disclaim at the end of the report that "MSNBC is a joint venture between NBC News and Microsoft." Or CNN reporting on Time Warner, "parent company of this network." Or when the BBC had to report when its own building was bombed.

I don't think the news likes to become "the news."

[mercator]

Aessotariq,

Most life insurance policies will pay for suicides so long as the suicide occurs 2 or more years after the policy was issued.

Very sad event.

[Aessotariq]

Thanks for the clarification... certainly something I would never want to use.