Political corruption. A police director’s career derailed. Our most read stories of 2023

The political campaign of a Miami-Dade County police director, who once had a spotless record, derailed by a tumultuous and bloody evening in Tampa.

Developers getting a little too cozy with local politicians.

A drug overdose blamed for the death of a woman whose testimony was key to the criminal sex trafficking conviction of Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

These are just a few of the headlines that grabbed Miami Herald readers in 2023. Revisit the news that captivated South Florida with a ranking of our 20 most-read stories among subscribers.

You’ll never guess which South Florida story trumped all others to finish at No. 1. Or maybe, with that hint, you will.

20. DeSantis suspends a second elected Florida prosecutor

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Monique Worrell, a top prosecutor in Central Florida and the second Black state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, he accused her of failing to impose mandatory sentences for gun and drug crimes.

It was the second time DeSantis has suspended a prosecutor from office. Worrell, in a take echoed by other critics, called it a “political hit job.”

19. Brokerage tied to Coral Gables mayor nets $640K from property sale to embattled developer

A brokerage tied to Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago received a $640,000 commission last year from the sale of a downtown Gables lot where embattled real estate developer Rishi Kapoor planned to build a luxury high-rise.

Kapoor is the same developer whose business with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez had come under FBI scrutiny.

18. Injured girl’s family ‘outraged’ at minor charges in fatal Florida Keys boat crash probe

A boat crash in Biscayne Bay over Labor Day weekend in 2022 killed a 17-year-old girl and permanently disabled another teen. The, surviving girl’s family was “outraged” that the vessel’s operator wound up being charged with only two counts of careless boating, misdemeanors they called “a slap on the wrist.”

17. Michelin adds eight new Miami restaurants to 2023 guide. Is your favorite on the list?

The Michelin Guide couldn’t get enough of Miami. The guide, which awarded stars to 10 local restaurants in 2022 for the first time, added eight more Miami restaurants to its guide for 2023.

16. ‘It’s a crime.’ Mogul aims to demolish famed architect’s Coral Gables masterpiece home

It was one of the most celebrated modern houses ever built in Miami-Dade, famed architect Alfred Browning Parker’s waterfront “Sea Aerie” home in Coral Gables. A Texas construction mogul, despite appeals by local and national groups, ended up tearing it down.

15. Miami mayor discloses millions in side gigs in his last act as a presidential candidate

The day before he announced the end of his short-lived presidential campaign, Francis Suarez filed a financial disclosure statement with the Federal Elections Commission revealing more than a dozen previously undisclosed lucrative side gigs since the beginning of 2022.

14. Leila and David Centner caught up in Miami commissioner’s corruption scandal

A push by a wealthy Miami couple to build a sports complex for their private school in a city park was at the core of public corruption charges against Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla. He now stands accused of championing their proposed $10 million athletic facility in exchange for campaign cash, hotel rooms and food and drinks.

13. ‘I’m forever grateful to Miami’: This Kendall chef just won the Herald Chef Showdown

The Queen of Kendall dining won our extremely unscientific Chef Showdown Poll. With 54 percent of the vote, Adrianne Calvo of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant & Bar in Kendall beat her final competitor, Carlos Garcia at Leku.

12. Lolita, the Miami Seaquarium orca, died as hopes grew she would leave for the sea

Lolita, the orca who later became known as Toki and was a star attraction in captivity at the Seaquarium, died as plans to move her out of the theme park were beginning to take shape.

11. Forced to fire undocumented workers, owner of landmark Florida restaurant seeks change

Richard Gonzmart, the fourth-generation owner of the iconic Columbia Restaurant chain based in Tampa, said it was time for politicians to start listening on immigration after he was forced to fire 19 employees — including seven who had worked with his family for decades.

10. Knaus Berry Farm owner seeing ‘slight improvement’ after son accused of attempted murder

It was a tragedy that rocked South Florida. The owner of Knaus Berry Farm and her husband were brutally beaten by their son. The mother didn’t make it.

9. Erik and Nikki Spoelstra announce divorce after seven years of marriage

After seven years of marriage, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Nikki Spoelstra finalized their divorce.

8. ‘Red on top of red flags’: Problems mount for UM athletics booster John Ruiz

John H. Ruiz, a brash attorney and entrepreneur, was known as the sugar daddy of the University of Miami’s athletic program. Then the Miami Herald learned that Ruiz and his health insurance claims company LifeWallet were the targets of federal civil and criminal investigations.

7. Freddy Ramirez was known for being an even-tempered and compassionate cop. Then he snapped

As Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez rose through the ranks, he remained steadfastly Freddy, the opposite of the cynical, traumatized, volatile, trigger-happy TV cop show stereotype. Then, he snapped.

6. Miami artist David Le Batard, known as Lebo, dies at 50, says brother Dan Le Batard

David Le Batard, known as the colorful Miami street artist Lebo, died at age 50. He was diagnosed with an undisclosed illness about a year ago, said his brother Dan Le Batard, a former Miami Herald columnist and host of the sports podcast “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.” He described the loss of his brother as “inconceivable.”

5. Miami Commissioner Díaz de la Portilla arrested on bribery, money laundering charges

Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla was arrested on a host of corruption charges that included bribery and money laundering, marking a new scandalous chapter for a politician with a decades-long record of controversy.

4. DeSantis said at debate a woman survived ‘multiple abortion attempts.’ Here’s the real story

Gov. Ron DeSantis touted a horrific but puzzling story during a GOP presidential primary debate about “a lady in Florida named Penny” who had survived multiple abortion attempts.

Was the “Penny” story made up or wildly embellished, as critics claimed? Turned out Penny was real. But DeSantis failed to note key details from her remarkable story.

3. A victim of Jeffrey Epstein, she testified against Ghislaine Maxwell. Now she’s dead

A woman whose testimony was key to the criminal sex trafficking conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell died of a drug overdose, authorities confirmed. Carolyn Andriano, a 36-year-old mother of five, was found dead at a hotel in Palm Beach County, her mother, Dorothy Groenert, told the Miami Herald.

2. Miami-Dade police chief shot himself in the head after fight with wife at Tampa hotel

Miami-Dade County’s police director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez, a candidate at the time for Miami-Dade sheriff, suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The gunshot happened not long after Ramirez had been involved in what police described as a heated argument with his wife Jody at a Tampa hotel.

1. Trump indicted by Jan. 6 grand jury on 4 federal counts related to election interference

Donald Trump, the former president and current resident of the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, was indicted on federal criminal charges for his role in interfering with the 2020 presidential election.

Special Counsel Jack Smith secured an indictment in the case from a grand jury in Washington, D.C., describing over 45 pages a broad conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election that was marked by a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.