The men who died in the plane that crashed on a Broward street were experienced pilots
Both of the men who died on a single-engine plane that crashed into an SUV on a Pembroke Pines street near North Perry Airport, killing a 4-yearold boy, were FAA-certified pilots.
Fort Lauderdale’s Grant Hustad Jr., whose father was issued a private pilot’s license in 1948, was a 71-year-old father with a commercial-pilot certificate for flying singleengine airplanes over land and sea and landing multi-engine airplanes on land, according to FAA records. The FAA records say Hustad’s current certificate was issued in August
2012, but another database says Hustad has had FAA certifications since 1999.
He was the president of International Aircraft Services, an aircraft brokerage,
according to the company’s website.
Yaacov Nahom, a 63year-old father from Davie, had a private pilot’s certificate since 2017 and was rated to land singleengine aircraft on land and multi-engine airplanes on land.
The NTSB, leading the investigation into the crash, hasn’t released whether Hustad or Nahom was at the controls of the Beechcraft Bonanza that careened across Southwest 72nd Avenue, smashing into the SUV that was rolling up the street with Megan Bishop and her son, Taylor Bishop.
Both Hustad and Nahom died at the scene. Taylor died from his injuries after being taken to Hollywood’s Memorial Regional Hospital.
An Aventura veterinarian was arrested on Tuesday on allegations that he possessed a trove of child pornography — and also sexually abused dogs.
Federal agents took Prentiss Madden, 40, into custody on charges of possession of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and animal abuse. Madden, the medical director of Caring Hands Animal Hospital in Aventura, is being held at Miami’s Federal Detention Center.
On Wednesday, during his first court appearance, a judge ordered he be held until at least Friday, when another hearing will be held to determine whether he can be released to await trial.
On Tuesday afternoon, the hospital’s website still listed him as its medical director. His profile was taken down after news of his arrest broke. On Wednesday morning, the hospital said in a statement that it fired Madden two weeks ago after it learned he was under investigation for “these heinous and unthinkable crimes.”
“Our legal team, and every single member of the Caring Hands family will be doing everything in our power to aid law enforcement and facilitate their investigation and prosecution,” the statement read.
Madden is charged under a federal law that outlaws animal abuse, one that was initially created in response to a genre of cruelty in which people video-record the harming of animals for the sexual gratification of viewers.
This appears to be the first time in South Florida that someone has been charged under the law. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019, makes the production of torture videos punishable by up to seven years in prison.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed on Wednesday, the investigation began when authorities received a cybertip from Dropbox, the filesharing web service, that a user had received over 1,600 files of suspected child pornography. Agents traced the files to Madden’s home.
Agents from U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided his home on Feb. 24, seizing phones and a computer. According to the complaint, agents found private social-media chats in which Madden is believed
to have discussed “the sexual abuse of animals and children.”
In one chat, someone believed to be Madden also brags about a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy from Orlando.
The complaint also alleges that Madden had on his phones photos and videos of images “depicting bestiality,” files that were digitally coded as having been taken at his home.
In his chat, Madden shared the graphic images and admits in detail to having sex with and abusing dogs, according to the criminal complaint. “I was keeping a dog that needed a home,” he allegedly wrote in one chat.
Another explicit video was traced as having been taken at the Helping Hands animal hospital in May 2018. “This leads me to believe that Madden may be abusing animals entrusted to his care,” HSI Agent Leah Ortiz wrote in the complaint.
The most active venturecapital firm in Florida is finally landing in Miami — and adding a familiar tech community member’s name to its ranks.
Florida Funders, the Tampa-based hybrid venture capital fund-angel investor network, will soon open a Magic City office.
Among its first local hires is Maria Derchi Russo, the executive director of Miami tech and startup community Refresh Miami. She will serve as Funders’ Miami director of community on a part-time basis and retain her title at Refresh. For Florida Funders, she will also lead a “scout” program that will include Kiddie Kredit’s Evan Leaphart.
“Miami startups are starting to be proven with all these incredible ‘exits’ lately coming to fruition,” Derchi Russo said. “It’s proof strong businesses can be built here — and all the talent moving down here, and initiatives like the Knight investment will further strengthen the ecosystem.”
Florida Funders has invested in nine Miamibased
startups to date: HealthSnap, Secberus,
Lula, ClassWallet, Bambino, Simplenight, Cast.ai, TempMee and Aerosens. The fund typically invests as much as $500,000 in new companies with additional capital from its 1,600 member angel network. In January, Florida Funders was named Florida’s most-active venture fund by research group CB Insights.
Florida Funders Chief Investment Officer Ryan Whittemore said the firm began investing in Miami firms prior to COVID-19 but that having a presence gained greater urgency during the pandemic, and especially in the wake of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s viral tweets, which have been credited with helping spur a new wave of tech and entrepreneur migration here from across the nation.
That moment, Whittemore said, “woke everybody up outside to see what’s going on” in Miami.