Dennis Stackhouse -- A Lawyer's Friend

We've previously expressed admiration for Dennis Stackhouse and his endless capacity for litigation, some of which may or may not have involved the great wrestler Dave Batista.

Turns out today the State arrested Stackhouse for fraud and grand theft in connection with the troubled never-built, $118 million Poinciana Biopharmaceutical Park that was supposed to spur redevelopment in Liberty City:

According to court documents, Stackhouse stole about $990,000 from loans he obtained from the Miami-Dade Empowerment Trust and Tremont Realty Capital LLC in Boston. One method he allegedly used was to submit invoices to one of the lenders that had already been paid by the other as well as faked documents for work that was never performed.

Come on -- don't make it sound so novel!

Half of Miami's publicly-financed projects were built that way.

His attorney Larry Handfield says Dennis didn't make a penny from this project.

You're not kidding -- it gets tougher and tougher to do it right.

BTW, new South Miami City Manager Roger Carlton vetted Stackhouse and helped oversee the failed biopark project:

However, Carlton was the public face of several controversial projects, including a failed biotech park in Liberty City. Some, at the time of his dismissal, believed him to be a scapegoat.

Burgess could not be reached for comment Friday.

Carlton said that ``we all could have done a better job'' on the project, including vetting its troubled developer, Dennis Stackhouse, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to five counts of bundling campaign contributions. ``It was a learning experience for everyone involved.''

It's nice to learn. I like learning. We learn a lot here in South Florida.