Commodore Plaza art dealer gets 46 months for fake Warhols
Also: Matsuri picks a Grove plaza, a tennis program counts who stayed, and a Sunday market at Mayfair.
The FBI raided a gallery at 3180 Commodore Plaza on April 9, 2025. Eighteen months later, the dealer who ran it has a federal sentence and a $2.58 million forfeiture order.
Leslie Roberts, who ran Miami Fine Art Gallery, the shop at 3180 Commodore Plaza, has drawn a 46-month federal prison sentence. Judge Roy K. Altman imposed it earlier this month. Roberts had pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In that plea, Roberts admitted to working with others to talk collectors into buying fabricated art. The judge also ordered Roberts to forfeit $2.58 million, the money Roberts made selling forged works. The case began with an FBI raid on the gallery on April 9, 2025. A grand jury indictment followed, charging Roberts with passing off fake Warhols. Eighteen months separate the raid from the sentence.
Matsuri is bringing its sushi to Coconut Grove
Matsuri, the Bird Road sushi spot that has been feeding Miami for close to 40 years, is opening a second location in the Grove. The new restaurant is headed for 2750 SW 26th Ave., in Suite C of the Coral Bagels plaza. Matsuri's own website lists that address as coming soon. New Times named the restaurant its Best Sushi pick in 2025. No opening date has been confirmed. Until then, the Bird Road original is the only Matsuri.
A tennis program brought 52 beginners to Grove courts
Fifty-two people who had never played tennis picked up a racket in the Grove between June and early October. Go Fetch Foundation ran the sessions. They met Tuesdays and Thursdays at Armbrister Park, and Mondays and Wednesdays at the Kirk Munroe Tennis Center. The USTA Florida Section Foundation chipped in a $4,768 grant to help cover the program. Each participant came in at a cost of $25. The group also counted who stuck with it once the intro sessions ended. Seven of the 52 moved on to ongoing Fetch programs. Seven is a small number, but it is the measure the program chose for itself.
Police investigate dog found tied to cinder blocks off the Grove
A dog tied to two cinder blocks was found dead underwater off Coconut Grove. Miami police have opened an animal cruelty investigation. Investigators have questioned a person they believe may be the dog's owner. That ownership has not been established. Detectives are still following leads, and the case remains open. Commissioner Damian Pardo, whose district covers the area, called for accountability Wednesday evening.
Wynwood Walls is now free for Miami-Dade residents
Miami-Dade residents can now get into Wynwood Walls without paying admission. The offer comes from the developer of "GTA VI," and it began Oct. 13 and runs through 2028. To qualify, bring a valid photo ID that shows a Miami-Dade address. Grove residents qualify like anyone else in the county. The game's Vice City has a district called Stockyard, modeled on Wynwood. Ten new murals commissioned for the game are now on view, some inside Wynwood Walls and others around the neighborhood. Those murals stay up only through Jan. 1, 2027. That means the free admission runs well past the game murals.
The Grove Bazaar sets up at Mayfair on Sunday
- When
- Sunday, Oct. 18 · 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Where
- Mayfair House Hotel & Garden
The Grove Bazaar, a pop-up market that comes back on a recurring basis, sets up at the Mayfair House Hotel & Garden on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Local vendors bring a mixed lineup: vintage heirlooms, home decor, shoes, swimwear and matcha. The hours fit after brunch at one of the restaurants nearby.