Kudos for connecting dots on Russians, Sunny Isles

Fred Grimm’s column last Sunday exposing the Russian take-over of Sunny Isles was remarkable. He connected the dots better than anyone else could.

I was aware of the influx of Russian Mafia there but had no idea it was so pervasive. All roads there really do lead to Putin.

For the curious, I recommend a visit starting with a drive down Collins Avenue to count the Trump-owned properties, followed by a visit to any café to see the many Slavic men with open shirts, gold chains and thick rolls of cash, leading up to the Cabaret at Tatiana’s (actually in Hallandale Beach) with its $100 bottles of champagne, Russian dolls and its “high roller tacky” décor.

Grimm cites exposes by the Miami Herald in 2016, Politico recently (yes Giuliani’s goons live there) and The Daily Beast in 2017.

I hope the Sun-Sentinel is working on a blockbuster series to follow the money on our local connection to the emerging investigation on the scandal over Trump’s Russian money-laundering operation right here just across the Broward County line.

With all the shiny distractions since then, it’s hard to remember Trump’s humiliating performance in Helsinki, where he described Putin as strong and powerful and that he didn’t see why the stolen election “would be” done by Russia. Everyone has forgotten how the President of the United States, after congratulating himself for giving a great speech, then said he really meant “wouldn’t be”. Fred Grimm really brought it home.

Stuart Goldberg, Parkland