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Juvenile prison head quits in wake of teen's death

TALLAHASSEE - The superintendent of a juvenile prison where a teen died because of alleged shoddy medical care resigned Friday.

George LaFlam will leave Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center next week. His resignation comes two weeks after two nurses were charged with third-degree murder and child abuse manslaughter for allegedly skipping examinations or falsifying medical records for Omar Paisley, who died at the jail last June after three days of pleading to see a doctor because of excruciating pain. An autopsy showed he died of a burst appendix.

LaFlam did not mention the death in his letter of resignationto the Department of Juvenile Justice. He was at the prison for five years.

FORT LAUDERDALE - A man accused of plotting to firebomb abortion clinics, churches and gay bars pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to one count of attempted arson.

Stephen John Jordi could face a prison sentence of five to 20 years, plus a fine of as much as $250,000, when sentenced April 30.

Prosecutors said Jordi, who once trained as an Army Ranger, described himself as a terrorist, cased several South Florida abortion clinics and talked about bombing one in Georgia. He protested outside Florida State Prison during Paul Hill's execution last year for killing an abortion doctor.

He was arrested Nov. 11, after he and a government informer bought gasoline cans, flares, starter fluid and propane tanks.

ORLANDO - State Sen. Bill Posey was released from a hospital Friday, two days after he crashed while driving in a stock car race.

The 56-year-old Rockledge Republican suffered compression fractures from Wednesday night's wreck at Orlando Speedworld.

Posey has long been a stock car driver.

He said his car in Wednesday's race, a Chevrolet-powered Monte Carlo chassis with a 1934 Chevrolet body, was "wasted."