Ron Book, head of Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, brought ZERO donations to the homeless registrant camp

If there is one day out of the year that opens the hearts (and wallets) of charities, it is Christmas. Charities around the globe see an increase of donations around this time of year. In turn, charities tend to do more hands-on work this time of the year. Those of us at the Anti-Registry Movement are hard-pressed to think of a more desperate situation for registered citizens than the ongoing homeless crisis in Miami. Currently, a homeless camp sits deep in an industrial park in Hialeah, a place with no running water or toilets. The nearest store to gather supplies or to use a flushing toilet is about a fifteen minute walk away if you are healthy enough to walk. (One man at the camp is an 84-year-old man in a wheelchair and cannot reach these stores without assistance.) 

The Anti-Registry Movement, with assistance from Women Against Registry's Florida chapter, visited the camp and brought some underwear, socks and other supplies to the camp on Christmas Eve. Derek Logue of ARM even camped out at the homeless camp to better gauge the need there. While there, Mr. Logue observed other local charities bringing food to those at the camp (noting we were the only group bringing other supplies this day). These charities were not identified outside of being connected to local churches.

However, there is one charity, one that is the most connected to Miami's homeless, and that is the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust. Once again, Ron Book was conspicuous by his absence. He was nowhere to be found Christmas day. Go ahead, check out their Facebook page and see for yourself. And barely a day later, the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust was given an additional $30 MILLION to "expand services."

The Anti-Registry Movement has a far smaller budget because we aren't funded by lobbyists, corporations and millionaires; we are a network of regular folks who share a desire to abolish the registry. ARM raised $900 to bring the homeless camp in Hialeah, delivering brand new socks, underwear, camping goods and hygiene products to the camp. This so-called Homeless Trust, with their multi-million dollar budget, brought NOTHING to the camp.

Ron Book hasn't done anything to help the camp in so long, only a handful of folks even know the name Ron Book, much less the fact he is responsible for putting them there. The residents of this camp are too busy trying to survive to do anything about it. It isn't like they can leave on their own, either-- pretty much every resident there is wearing an ankle monitor and on parole. Don't expect a dime of the Homeless Trust money to be used on them, either, even to buy an 84 year old man an electric wheelchair.

Why do they call this organization a 'Trust" if you can trust those in charge to do the right thing?

You can read a detailed report at the Miami camp by clicking on the link below:

http://sosen.org/blog/2016/12/29/christmas-at-the-camp.html

These are pictures from the current Miami Homeless Camp:

Those at ARM even had the opportunity to visit the site of the original homeless registrant colony under the Julia Tuttle Bridge ("Bookville"). There isn't any sign of the original camp-- even the iconic messages "We R Not Monsters" and "They Treat Us Like Shit" were painted over.

The names of Ron Book and Lauren Book will FOREVER be synonymous with the problem of homeless sex offenders in South Florida

There are lots of reasons why Lauren Book should not be trusted for public office and why Ron Book should have been fired from his position as head of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust long ago. For almost a decade, the Book family has been synonymous with the international embarrassment that was the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender causeway camp. In fact, those living at the camp called the place "Bookville" after Ron and Lauren Book. [There is a lengthy and comprehensive look at this camp HERE.]

The population of Bookville increased as much as 150 before Ron Book had the place demolished in 2010. As head of the Miamo-Dade Homeless Trust, it was his responsibility to clean up the mess created by the controversial Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance, which made roughly 99% of Miami-Dade off-limits to registered sex offenders. Ron Book never solved the problem. Instead, former Bookville residents have spent the past five years living a nomadic existence, from the Department of Corrections parking lot to Shorecrest to Allapattah to Hialeah. 

Florida Action Committee, a legal reformist group, recently reported the transient camp at 7100 NW 36th Court now has over 200 "residents." Feel free to go to the Florida Sex Offender registry yourself, enter 7100 NW 36th Court as the address, Miami as the City and 1/4 mile as the radius, and see for yourself. 

Despite how you feel personally about people listed on the public sex offender registry, consider the fact that Miami (and the entire state of Florida, for that matter) has become synonymous with sex offenders (like the cutscene from the Family Guy episode "Grumpy Old Man" where an entire block is "SOs"). 

If you are looking for someone to blame for all this, blame Ron and Lauren Book. They have made it their life's mission to make Miami a place full of homeless registrants. Ron Book uses his position as head of the Homeless Trust to push this homeless issue into other communities. As for Lauren Book, don't expect her senate bid to address much about issues other than sexual abuse. When asked about her political stance by the Miami New Times, Lauren's response was, "Political points? I want to be clear about one thing. I was raped every day for six years, and they were the six most horrible and horrific years of my life. I felt guilty, ashamed, invisible, bad, dirty, hurt, and afraid every single day from the time that I was 11 until I was 16... Children in every community on the planet are also enduring the pain I suffered. I am trying to turn my personal pain into something positive and hopefully prevent this from happening to others." I somehow doubt Lauren Book will be any better at representing the mostly good people of Ft. Lauderdale than Ron Book has been at running the Miami-Dade Homeless Camp. 

Ron Book and his daughter Lauren have made people all across the world think "sex offender" whenever they think of South Florida. Voting for Lauren Book will simply solidify that view. 

Ron Book's Dade County Commissioner patsy Jose "Pepe" Diaz BUSTED for DUI

This is Jose "Pepe" Diaz, and for years, he has been Ron Book's go-to lackey on the Dade County Commission. In fact, he is credited with writing the controversial "Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance," the 2500 foor residency restriction law that led to the Julia Tuttle Causeway sex offender colony, otherwise known as "Bookville." 

Actually, this is Pepe's MUGSHOT. You see, he was recently arrested for DUI. (HERE IS THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE if you want to see Pepe go full tilt, courtesy of the Miami Herald.) At this time there is no word if he will blame it on a brain tumor. In response Pepe said, "There goes my political career." We can only hope. 

http://www.wsvn.com/story/30072561/miami-dade-commissioner-jose-pepe-diaz-arrested-for-dui

Dade Commissioner 'Pepe' Diaz caught on camera: "There goes my political career"

Posted: Sep 20, 2015 10:10 AM EDT

Updated: Sep 22, 2015 11:14 AM EDT

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Dashcam video has been released showing the moment before Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz was arrested over the weekend after allegedly driving his motorcycle drunk in Key West.

Diaz, known to ride a motorcycle, was arrested Saturday night following the Key West Poker Run, a charity motorcycle event.

According to Key West Police, the commissioner was pulled over at around 7:45 p.m., on South Roosevelt Boulevard near Sea Side Drive, for going 74 mph in a 30 mph zone. Authorities said, during the traffic stop, Diaz failed to put his kickstand down, causing his Harley-Davidson motorcycle to fall to the ground. According to the police report, Diaz did not place his feet down on the ground to steady the motorcycle, causing him to fall over to his side. They also noticed that he had a slight slur, his eyes were bloodshot and watery. There was also a strong alcoholic odor from his breath. Police said that was when the DUI investigation began, and he was taken into custody.

Dashcam video showed Diaz as he attempted to walk a straight line, at times stumbling during the test. 

Key West Police bodycams and dashcams on the police car rolled throughout the traffic stop. According to the bodycams one Key West officer was wearing, when asked why Diaz was driving over the speed limit, Diaz apologized. "I'm Commissioner Diaz. I apologize," he said.

"You're who?" asked the officer

"Commissioner Diaz for Miami-Dade County," he responded, as he approached the officer.

"Stop right there."

That's when Diaz explained to police that he was trying to catch up to his friends. A few minutes later, he realized the severity of the stop and said, "There goes my political career."

"Sir," the officer said, "I don't make the decisions on whether you drink, you drive."

Diaz was asked to perform several sobriety tests and failed. He also refused a breathalyzer test. 

Commissioner Diaz appeared before a judge Sunday, and his bond was set at $1,000. 7News was the only station there as Diaz bonded out of the Monroe County Jail, just before noon Sunday, but he refused to comment.

Under legal council, he said he could not discuss any details following his arrest. He later released a statement Monday that reads, "Under advice of my legal counsel, I cannot discuss details at this time. However, I look forward to resolving this matter. In the meantime, I will continue to serve my community and the residents of District 12 as I have done for the last 24 years, and I humbly ask for your patience during this time."

Commissioner Diaz addressed the media from his home Monday evening. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry, once again. I am extremely sorry," he said. "This is a very difficult moment for me, for my family, for my friends, for my neighbors. Especially my neighbors that please, after this, let them come back to a normality of life. It's not been easy for them. I will tell you that I will follow the judicial system, as I believe in it, like I've always believed in it. I will go through this process like anybody else that's been in this situation."

7News requested information from the Governor's Office on what steps it might take following the charges. We were told that the legal team there are looking into this case.

Diaz has served on the commission since 2002 and was previously mayor of Sweetwater. The next commission meeting is Oct. 6.