4 July 25-31, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ MIAMI BEACH WRIST SLAPPED WOMAN CHARGED WITH DISABLED PARKING FRAUD AVOIDS JAIL. BY THEO KARANTSALIS A woman charged with selling fraudulent disabled-parking permit paperwork has avoided a long jail sentence for a hand- ful of felonies by entering into a deferred prosecution agreement. Nicole Cardona, 28, was arrested in gym clothes outside an L.A. Fitness club in Miami- Dade County in 2022 by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Miami Beach Police De- partment on a warrant for fraud and forg- ery. Camera crews from local stations were rolling as Cardona was perp-walked into the backseat of a patrol car. Prosecutors charged her with an orga- nized scheme to defraud, criminal use of a public record, forgery, and false official state- ments. She was accused of scheming to sell documents with forged doctors’ signatures, which her customers would use to apply for and obtain disabled parking placards. “Miami Beach Police and Miami Beach government officials have been inundated with resident complaints [that] reference drivers abusing disabled placards to park in permitted residential neighborhoods for un- limited lengths of time,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Rundle’s office said in a news release following Cardona’s arrest. While the court proceedings were pend- ing in January, Valeria Mejia, Miami Beach’s Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator, said she believed prosecutors would be seek- ing jail time for Cardona. “The Miami Beach Police Department reached out to me today to search for people in the ADA community who would be willing to show up to the Miami-Dade County Court- house tomorrow morning in support of the prosecution of the case of the woman that was arrested for selling fake disabled parking placards,” Mejia said in an email to local dis- ability-support groups. “The prosecution is looking for jail time and for this, attendance of support groups is essential.” After a January plea bargain hearing, Car- dona switched her lawyer to veteran criminal defense attorney David Macey. On July 3, all charges against Cardona were quietly dropped contingent upon Car- dona completing a pretrial diversion pro- gram. Macey did not return phone or email messages by New Times seeking comment about the outcome of the case. State attorney’s office spokesperson Ed Griffith tells New Times in an email that once an individual charged with a non- violent crime, and having no prior convictions, enters pre-trial diversion within the local advocate program and successfully completes the program’s requirements, charges are dropped. If the defendant fails to successfully com- plete the program, the charges then go for- ward in criminal court, Griffith adds. Meanwhile, Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Jim Beauford says that Cardona was the sole target of FHP’s arrest operation. “I am not aware of any additional arrests by our department on this case,” Beauford tells New Times. Key witnesses in the case included two medical doctors who alleged during police in- terviews that their signatures had been forged. Tony Abbassi, who practices internal medicine, told a detective that a full diagnosis and/or CT scan to establish a disability is re- quired for him to sign off on a disabled-park- ing permit application. New Times reached out to Abbassi for comment but has not received a response. Cardona was busted in a two-year, multi- agency sting operation that included Florida Highway Patrol, Miami Beach and Miami- Dade police. Undercover officers set up purchases of two bogus placard applications for a total of $400 from Cardona, according to police. One “controlled buy” of a placard applica- tion took place in 2021 in the parking lot of a Kendall McDonald’s, police said. Investiga- tors carried out a second purchase in 2022 in the same lot. Selling fraudulent disabled-parking placards is big business in the Sunshine State. In August 2023, state law enforcement announced the arrest of seven people in connection with the sale of 700 fraudulent placards. A retired pediatrician who was listed on the permit applications told investigators he had no idea his name was being used to obtain the permits. FHP’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence discovered ads in which the group allegedly marketed the parking passes to those who were “tired of parking in the back.” | RIPTIDE | Disabled-parking pass fraud in Florida takes parking spaces away from those who need them most. Photo by Theo Karantsalis ▼ MIAMI THE NAIL MAN D-WADE NAIL-CARE TALK LEAVES OG RAPPERS FLUSTERED. BY ZULEKHA PITTS M iami Heat icon Dwyane Wade had a bit to say about rappers Cam’Ron and Mase’s reactions to him possibly launching a nail care line. While discussing Wade’s potential business venture into nail polish toward the end of the July 12 episode of It Is What It Is — a podcast cohosted by Cam’Ron, Mase, and Treasure Wilson — Cam’Ron responded by walking off-set. At the same time, Mase blurted out, “Oh, my goodness.” The clip of the podcast segment eventually went viral on social media, leading to Wade commenting under an Instagram post about it published by Hollywood Unlocked. “It’s the ‘Oh, goodness’ for me,” wrote Wade with a laughing emoji. In a CBS Mornings interview last week, Wade initially teased creating the nail care line as he showed off his manicure. “You know, I’m creative. I’m expressive. And there’s so many ways to do that,” said Wade. “I’m actually thinking about jumping into the nail line. I’ve been thinking about it, yeah. I [have] been thinking about it. I been in it so long, and I’m like, you know what? It could be a good time. But I got some cool ideas that I’m exploring.” In addition to seeing his love for nail care as a cool career move, he also uses it to bond with his daughter Kaavia. “One of my favorite things to do when it comes to this is actually sitting down with my daughter and getting my nails painted and painting hers,” said Wade. “That’s the time that we get to connect — me doing something she loves and also that I love. I give her manis and pedis as well.” When it comes to manicures, Wade is no newbie. For his Hall of Fame induction cere- mony in January, Wade’s manicure featured red, nude, and black to symbolize the colors of the Miami Heat, for which he played from 2003 to 2016, and again from 2018 to 2019 after playing for the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. Cam’Ron and Mase had something to say about Wade’s Hall of Fame manicure, too. “This is like seeing [Michael] Jordan in linge- rie,” said Mase as Cam’Ron laughed during a January episode of their podcast. In March, Wade told Highsnobiety that he’s been painting his nails in color since 2007 and credits his dad and un- cles with giving him his fashion sense. Then, in an April epi- sode of “The Wine Down” podcast, Wade revealed Michael Jor- dan’s clear nail polish also inspired him. “One day I saw MJ’s nails, and MJ had clear polish on his nails. And when I’m talking about MJ, I’m talking about Mike, Mike Jordan. And I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I can get the clear polish. Mike got it!’ You know what I’m sayin’?” said Wade. Initially hesitant due to societal expectations, Wade opted for clear polish to avoid criticism and maintain a traditionally masculine image. “At first, I thought I can’t get no polish for my nails; I just got to do buff because I come from a community where if you do anything outside of the masculine norm, you’re gay,” said Wade. “And so, I was like trying to stay away from cer- tain things because I was trying to stay away from certain conversations that people would say about me, right? That’s when I cared. So I went with the clear for a while.” Gradually, he embraced more color, recogniz- ing it as an extension of his personal style and confidence. “And then I went on vacation again, and one day I was like, ‘Get my thumb. Let me get a little color on that.’ So, it was a slow process for me to do it, but eventually, it was just something I wanted to do because, like, I’m a fly dude,” said Wade. “I’m a fly dude, and it’s just a part of my aesthetic.” This year isn’t the first time Wade has been outspoken about his nail polish journey. Over a decade ago, the NBA star opened up about painting his toenails black. [email protected] “I’M A FLY DUDE, AND IT’S JUST A PART OF MY AESTHETIC.”
