MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

Boss of teachers union takes unpaid leave

Under pressure from the national teachers union, United Teachers of Dade President Pat Tornillo announced Monday he would give up his $264,000 annual salary for the duration of a federal investigation into his use of union dues.

A news release said the longtime UTD chief acted voluntarily, but a union source said the American Federation of Teachers told Tornillo it was going to terminate his salary if he didn't waive it.

Tornillo charged at least $350,000 on union credit cards between September 2000 and this March, including lavish trips and pricey clothing, The Herald reported Sunday. He went on paid leave the day after an April 28 FBI raid at the union's headquarters.

Jury awards $3.27 million for misdiagnosis

A jury on Friday ordered two doctors affiliated with Mount Sinai Medical Center to pay $3.27 million in damages to a county employee who had gone to them for his injured right foot and ended up losing the lower part of his leg.

The jury found internist Lester Shalloway and vascular surgeon Harry Sendzischew negligent in diagnosing and treating Christopher Johnson, 45, a supervisor in the Property Appraiser's Office.

Johnson initially suffered an unexplained pain in his right calf and right foot while jogging, and went to a storefront clinic owned and operated by Mount Sinai in October 1991. Then, after dropping a door on the center of his right foot, Johnson went to the clinic a month later.

Both times, Johnson was treated by Shalloway. The patient's suit claims the internist failed to recognize the symptoms of severe ischemia, a halting of blood flow that kills tissue. Shalloway referred the patient to Sendzischew in March 1992. The surgeon also missed the same symptoms, the suit says. The jury found Shalloway 55 percent liable for Johnson's damages and Sendzischew 25 percent liable. Johnson was found liable for 20 percent.

MIAMI

Slain reporters are subject of ads

The Inter-American Press Association announced an advertising campaign about the lack of justice in hundreds of cases of murdered journalists in the Americas.

The ads are to be published this week in more than 100 publications in the Western Hemisphere. They call on readers to petition their governments to punish the culprits.

''Our goal is to enable citizens throughout the Americas to react to violence against journalists, because in that way they defend their own right to know,'' Alberto Ibargüen, chairman of The Miami Herald Publishing Company, said.

The IAPA reported that 269 journalists have been murdered in the Americas in the last 15 years.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has given the IAPA $3.6 million for the next four years.

Cop's bid for dismissal of case fails

A federal judge said Monday she won't dismiss obstruction of justice charges against a Miami police officer accused of lying after the March 1999 fatal shooting of an allegedly unarmed mentally challenged man.

Alejandro Macías, who was one of three officers acquitted last month in an 11-defendant conspiracy case, is charged separately with lying about seeing a gun before shooting Jesse Runnels twice in the face as he stood in his kitchen.

Prosecutors say a toy gun was planted outside the kitchen window and a bloody cellular phone in the sink after the fact. Defense attorney William Matthewman said prosecutors tried to railroad Macías in front of the grand jury, switching the order of crime-scene photographs.

While acknowledging that the photos are a problem for the government's case, U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz said it wasn't worthy of dismissing the indictment.

LIBERTY CITY

County: Beware shady contractors

Tornado victims in Liberty City and Brownsville should be careful not to be victimized by unscrupulous contractors and predatory lenders, county officials warned Monday.

The predators, mostly unlicensed, do shoddy repair work, charge inflated prices and talk homeowners into taking out additional mortgages to pay for the work, the officials warned. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle said disaster victims often have nowhere to turn and trust contractors who later take advantage of them.

People concerned about contractors can call the state attorney's office at 305-636-2240; Housing Opportunities Project for Excellence Inc. at 305-651-4673; or the Housing Finance Authority at 305-372-7990.

HOMESTEAD

Arrested driver surrenders passport

Blas Romero, charged with vehicular manslaughter after his car killed a teenage bicyclist last month, surrendered his Salvadoran passport on Monday to a judge, who allowed him to remain free on bond until his Aug. 25 trial.

Romero, 43, of Homestead, appeared at a hearing requested by Assistant State Attorney Michael Gilfarb after Romero did not attend his arraignment hearing last week, though he was not legally required to do so.

Romero was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving without a license in the death of Lauren Katzenstein, 15. The Davie girl was killed April 26 during a Multiple Sclerosis Foundation charity bike ride near Florida City.

BROWARD COUNTY

A top cancer center aids Broward hospitals

The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, based at the University of South Florida in Tampa, announced it will lend its expertise to hospitals of the North Broward Hospital District. Patients will be able to receive the latest medical advice, experimental drugs, therapies and other treatment without leaving Broward.

The Moffitt center is considered among the nation's top cancer research and training facilities. This is its first affiliation with South Florida hospitals.

Broward General Medical Center's Comprehensive Cancer Center in Fort Lauderdale will be involved in the Moffitt partnership, as well as other district members, including North Broward Medical Center.