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St. Maarten holds main suspect in gay-bash attack
BY STEVE ROTHAUS
srothaus@MiamiHerald.com
St. Maarten police have arrested the primary suspect in the April 6 alleged gay-bash attack of two vacationing CBS News employees.
"Wonderful. What we all wanted was for this crime not to go unpunished,'' said CBS
News production secretary Ryan Smith, 25, who suffered a smashed skull in the attack.
A plumber nicknamed Duracell, 21, is being held, said Taco Stein, St. Maarten's chief prosecutor.
Duracell struck Smith and CBS News senior producer Dick Jefferson, 51, in the head
with a tire iron, witnesses said.
""He says that he was there during the altercation, but he denies being the one who
wielded the tire iron,'' Stein told The Miami Herald.
A woman and two men already are being held in the attack, which happened about 3 a.m. near Bamboo Bernie's bar in Dutch St. Maarten.
"They were just an obnoxious bunch out for a night of making trouble,'' Stein said. "The gay thing was a detail, but not a main motive.''
Stein said that according to St. Maarten law, the four won't be publicly identified
until they go to trial, probably in August or September.
The suspects began fighting with Smith and his boyfriend, Justin Swensen, inside Bamboo Bernie's, witnesses said.
Outside, the four attacked Smith, Swensen, Jefferson and several others. Duracell
struck Smith and Jefferson with a tire iron, witnesses told Stein.
Both men suffered severe head injuries. Smith was flown to Miami's Jackson Memorial
Hospital and underwent brain surgery. He recuperated in South Florida for about a month, then returned to New York City where he and his friends live.
Last week, doctors in New York replaced a portion of Smith's shattered skull with a
titanium plate.
Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner (4)
Three-hundred fifty attended Saturday night's Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Radisson Miami Hotel. Here are pictures from the event.
(Click to enlarge.)
Jorge Mursuli introduces honoree Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson
Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson accepts her award
Honoree Harvey Burstein & presenter Ellen Wedner
Comedian Judy Gold entertains
Danielle Truszkowski and Dr. Hope Wine
Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner (3)
Three-hundred fifty attended Saturday night's Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Radisson Miami Hotel. Here are pictures from the event.
(Click to enlarge.)
Attorney Elizabeth Schwartz, Dr. Hope Wine & Lance Weiner
Mike & Nancy Wallman
SAVE Dade Executive Director Hedy Peña and former Miami Beach Mayor Neisen Kasdin
Miami Herald Assistant Features Editor Teresa Mears and Gilda Iriarte
Chamber President Steve Adkins welcomes the crowd
Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner (2)
Three-hundred fifty attended Saturday night's Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Radisson Miami Hotel. Here are pictures from the event.
(Click to enlarge.)
The silent auction
Radio personality Mark (Marky G) Gilbert & Carol Coombes of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Chamber co-founder David Treece & state House candidate Peter Walsh
Merle Weiss, Ana Kasdin, Miami-Dade Commissioners Katy Sorenson (a Chamber honoree) and Sally Heyman
Chamber honoree Harvey Burstein, Elaine Lancaster & attorney Michael Gongora
Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner (1)
Three-hundred fifty attended Saturday night's Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce dinner at the Radisson Miami Hotel. Here are pictures from the event. (Click to enlarge.)
Lisa Palley and Robert Rosenberg 
Jeanne Covert & Vicki Brail 
Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce: Straight members add their support
BY STEVE ROTHAUS
srothaus@MiamiHerald.com
Many of the most satisfied members of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce aren't gay or lesbian. They're not bisexual or transgender.
They're straight.
Of about 400 paid members, 40 percent are not gay, according to chamber President Steve Adkins.
''We like to call them our ally friends,'' Adkins said. ``They are our biggest supporters and derive the biggest benefits.''
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GLCC Fab Flicks
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