Golf great Gary Player joining SWFL charity tournamentWINK News Game of the Week: Gulf Coast at Immokalee
NORTH PORT Golf great Gary Player joining SWFL charity tournament Career Grand Slam winner Gary Player is participating in the 2nd Heron Creek Charity Pro-Am to benefit Tunnels to Towers.
IMMOKALEE WINK News Game of the Week: Gulf Coast at Immokalee Our WINK News Game of the Week for Week 10 brings us to Immokalee when they host Gulf Coast for the district championship.
NAPLES Naples restaurant servers stage walkout over pay changes Restaurant servers in Naples staged a walkout to protest changes to their pay structure. The heart of the issue is tips.
Innovative ultrasound treatment for liver cancer Tens of thousands of Americans die from liver cancer each year.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs offensive lineman puts in work in the trenches and on a job site Bonita Springs offensive lineman Luis Jimenez is one to put his hand in the dirt both on the line of scrimmage and out on a job site.
Amendment 5: Homestead exemption inflation adjustment Property taxes are not anyone’s favorite words, but they are money that must be paid if you own Florida real estate.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Beach man accused of assaulting Capitol police during Jan. 6 arrested A Fort Myers Beach man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Charlotte Co. approves site plan for marina resort development Charlotte County commissioners approved the final site plan Oct. 22 for a marina resort complex with a hotel, restaurants and condos in Placida near the Boca Grande Causeway.
NAPLES Naples Zoo welcomes critically endangered Mongoose Lemurs The Naples Zoo has incorporated a breeding pair of critically endangered mongoose lemurs into its habitat enclosures.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers Fire Department’s newest life-saving upgrade The North Fort Myers Fire Department has a new life-saving upgrade that is used underwater, one that is much needed.
Collier County experiences daily power surge issues due to Hurricane Milton It’s a breath of fresh air now that the storm has passed, and we are slowly picking up the pieces. However, some areas now deal with quick power interruptions almost daily.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman wins $2M on scratch-off ticket On Thursday, the Florida Lottery announced that a Fort Myers woman claimed a top prize of $2 million from the Monopoly Secret Vault game.
Affordable housing project planned for North Naples A 150-apartment complex, with nearly half reserved for income-restricted affordable housing, is planned for Vanderbilt Beach Road in North Naples.
FORT MYERS More construction underway for Fort Myers diverging diamond project The Diverging Diamond Interchange at Colonial Boulevard and Interstate 75 is in its final stages.
DeSoto County uses aerial mosquito treatment following Hurricane Milton If you hear airplanes in DeSoto County during the evening and early morning hours, don’t be alarmed. An aerial team is treating the area for mosquitos.
NORTH PORT Golf great Gary Player joining SWFL charity tournament Career Grand Slam winner Gary Player is participating in the 2nd Heron Creek Charity Pro-Am to benefit Tunnels to Towers.
IMMOKALEE WINK News Game of the Week: Gulf Coast at Immokalee Our WINK News Game of the Week for Week 10 brings us to Immokalee when they host Gulf Coast for the district championship.
NAPLES Naples restaurant servers stage walkout over pay changes Restaurant servers in Naples staged a walkout to protest changes to their pay structure. The heart of the issue is tips.
Innovative ultrasound treatment for liver cancer Tens of thousands of Americans die from liver cancer each year.
BONITA SPRINGS Bonita Springs offensive lineman puts in work in the trenches and on a job site Bonita Springs offensive lineman Luis Jimenez is one to put his hand in the dirt both on the line of scrimmage and out on a job site.
Amendment 5: Homestead exemption inflation adjustment Property taxes are not anyone’s favorite words, but they are money that must be paid if you own Florida real estate.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Beach man accused of assaulting Capitol police during Jan. 6 arrested A Fort Myers Beach man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Charlotte Co. approves site plan for marina resort development Charlotte County commissioners approved the final site plan Oct. 22 for a marina resort complex with a hotel, restaurants and condos in Placida near the Boca Grande Causeway.
NAPLES Naples Zoo welcomes critically endangered Mongoose Lemurs The Naples Zoo has incorporated a breeding pair of critically endangered mongoose lemurs into its habitat enclosures.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers Fire Department’s newest life-saving upgrade The North Fort Myers Fire Department has a new life-saving upgrade that is used underwater, one that is much needed.
Collier County experiences daily power surge issues due to Hurricane Milton It’s a breath of fresh air now that the storm has passed, and we are slowly picking up the pieces. However, some areas now deal with quick power interruptions almost daily.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers woman wins $2M on scratch-off ticket On Thursday, the Florida Lottery announced that a Fort Myers woman claimed a top prize of $2 million from the Monopoly Secret Vault game.
Affordable housing project planned for North Naples A 150-apartment complex, with nearly half reserved for income-restricted affordable housing, is planned for Vanderbilt Beach Road in North Naples.
FORT MYERS More construction underway for Fort Myers diverging diamond project The Diverging Diamond Interchange at Colonial Boulevard and Interstate 75 is in its final stages.
DeSoto County uses aerial mosquito treatment following Hurricane Milton If you hear airplanes in DeSoto County during the evening and early morning hours, don’t be alarmed. An aerial team is treating the area for mosquitos.
Konrad Bicher, who dubbed himself the “Wolf of Airbnb,” leaves Federal Court, in New York, Monday, June 26, 2023. Bicher, of Hialeah, Fla., pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud for entering lease agreements on false pretenses and cheating a government pandemic program. (AP Photo/Lawrence Neumeister) A Florida man who dubbed himself the “Wolf of Airbnb” pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge Monday, admitting gaining about $2 million illegally by defrauding landlords and cheating a government pandemic program. Konrad Bicher, 31, of Hialeah, Florida, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court, agreeing not to appeal any prison sentence that is roughly four to five years long. The wire fraud charge otherwise carried a potential 20-year prison sentence. Bicher also agreed to forfeit $1.7 million and make restitution of $1.9 million. A sentencing date was not immediately set. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that Bicher proudly referred to himself as the “Wolf of Airbnb” but admitted that his businesses were premised on fraud after he entered lease agreements based on false pretenses and made false statements to obtain U.S.-guaranteed loans. “Bicher lined his own pockets by abusing government programs and tenant protections intended to benefit those in crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Williams said. When Bicher was indicted in October, Williams said Bicher operated at least 18 apartments in Manhattan “as mini-hotels” while using the pandemic as an excuse not to pay landlords. In a news release, prosecutors noted that Bicher told media outlets that he called himself the “Wolf of Airbnb” because he was “hungry and ruthless enough to get on top of the financial ladder” and had the ferocity … of a wolf, because wolves are territorial, vicious and show no mercy when provoked.” The “Wolf of Airbnb” seemed to be a play on “The Wolf of Wall Street,” the title of a memoir by former stockbroker Jordan Belfort, who made a fortune on penny stocks before blowing much of it on a wild and lavish lifestyle and going to prison for financial crimes. Prosecutors said in court papers that Bicher began his fraud in February 2019, renting apartments in Manhattan before subletting the units to third parties on a short-term basis even though clauses in his lease agreements said he could not do so. Prosecutors said he failed to make rent payments required by the lease agreements and refused to leave the apartments after the leases expired. They said that he and his associates failed to make more than $1 million in lease payments from July 2019 to April 2022 and earned at least $1.17 million in rental income through his own short-term rentals. From April 2021 to July 2021, he used fraudulent information to obtain over a half million dollars in government-guaranteed loans through a program administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors said. Outside court on Monday, Bicher said he has a “fantastic story” to tell, though he quickly added: “My story will come out, just not today.”