Iranian of the Day

Mimami's NewTimes News:  In our effort to determine which blogger deserves the number one spot on the list, we examined how they earn a living, which major news stories they've broken, and whether they have altered the outcome of elections and criminal investigations >>> Why Hatami was No. 3 on the best bloggers list

Mike Hatami's, The Straw Buyer: On October 3, 2008, ten months after his wife Delaila Estefano was arrested for grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, and identity theft, Hatami launched his blog. The idea: undermine the case against his spouse. Hatami zeroed in on the two men responsible for arresting Delaila, Miami-Dade Police Det. Jorge Baluja and assistant state attorney William Kostrzewski. Hatami even mocked Baluja in an August 11, 2009 post showing how the detective had improperly filled out a mortgage application. The blogger included a Google maps image of the detective's house in Southwest Miami-Dade. Six months later, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office subpoenaed Hatami's internet service provider in an attempt to find out his identity. Since prosecutors dropped the charges against Delaila in 2010, Hatami has been scooping local media outlets on major fraud stories. Last February 21, he was the first to report former Miami assistant fire chief Veldora Arthur had been indicted in a $100 million mortgage fraud scam >>>