Last week was my good friend's birthday. Like me, she had kids back to back, just 16 months apart, which means getting out is a rare event. Not because we're lame, boring, married people, but because trustworthy sitters are hard to come by. The good ones (kids with no arrest record) know they're in high demand, so they can play the extortion game and charge as much as a car payment. ...more

August 13, 2008

Glad To See Him Go Regarding "The Angel of Escape" (Nation/World, July 31): ...more

August 6, 2008

Police accused a 30-year-old man of trying to extort money from another man by threatening to have him criminally charged. Shannon Reed Shepard of Tampa told the other man several times this week to pay him money for "psychological treatment for his son," an affidavit states. ...more

July 24, 2008

TAMPA – A former Chicago police officer who became a local lawyer, Vincent James Krocka is now serving a state prison sentence after being convicted in a standoff with sheriff's deputies. ...more

June 24, 2008

AVON PARK — A tenant who accused his landlord of beating him to collect rent found himself in jail after allegations surfaced that he was trying to extort money from the landlord in exchange for dropping charges, according to the sheriff's office. Roger Ray Vickery, 38, of 3603 Monza St., Sebring, was charged Friday with compounding a felony crime, punishable by death or life imprisonment, and fraud-swindle to gain money or property less than $20,000. In late May, Vickery accused his landlord, Thomas Gordon Ramsey, 46, and two other men of beating him and robbing him to collect rent. ...more

June 23, 2008

TAMPA - A woman called Tampa police early this morning saying her "pimp" had control of her 1-year-old son. ...more

June 21, 2008

Three South Carolina residents were released from a Hillsborough County jail Tuesday on $100,000 bail each; all face charges that they tried to extort $1.2 million from one of their relatives, Lazydays RV SuperCenter co-founder Don Wallace. ...more

June 18, 2008

TAMPA - Three South Carolina residents were released from a Hillsborough County jail Tuesday on $100,000 bail each; all face charges that they tried to extort $1.2 million from one of their relatives, Lazydays RV SuperCenter co-founder Don Wallace. ...more

June 17, 2008

The relatives of prominent Tampa businessman Don Wallace, whom he has accused of trying to extort $1.2 million from him, turned themselves in Monday night to Hillsborough County authorities. ...more

June 17, 2008

Sometimes, money is a curse. If you're wealthy, friends come easily, many with their hands out. ...more

June 12, 2008