The Miami Heat fan seen giving Joakim Noah the middle finger has been identified as Filimena Tobias, widow of Seth Tobias.
By Ihosvani Rodriguez
2:19 p.m. CDT, May 9, 2013
The Miami Heat fan who gave the one-finger salute to Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah has become an Internet sensation overnight.
The Sun Sentinel reported that the woman is Filomena Tobias, the widow of former CNBC commentator and financial wizard Seth Tobias, according to her daughter, Victoria Racanati.
"She's embarrassed, but she is being a good sport," the daughter told the Sun Sentinel today. "She was having fun just like any other fan. All she has to say is that people need to get a life."
The daughter said her mom did not want to comment.
Racanati said the family are Miami Heat season ticket holders who attend every game. Tobias was captured giving Noah the bird after he was ejected from the game. The photo has been widely posted all through Internet.
Racanati described Tobias as an ardent Heat fan, but was fuming by some of the less-than-flattering comments left on Internet stories about the incident.
"I have to say she still looks really hot," the daughter said.
The game was a blowout as the 115-78 win for the Heat tied the series at 1-1.
In 2007, Seth Tobias was found dead in the swimming pool of his Jupiter mansion. The following year a probate court judge approved a settlement agreement between his widow and his brothers, who were warring over his $25 million estate.
On Sept. 4, Jupiter police and paramedics found Tobias drowned in his pool. Medical examiners ruled he had a lethal mix of alcohol, cocaine and the sleeping pill Ambien in his system.
A five-month police investigation concluded there was no foul play, and prosecutors declined to pursue a criminal prosecution.
But Tobias' brothers -- Samuel, Spence, Scott and Joshua -- accused his widow of murder in a civil battle to keep her from grabbing their late brother's $25 million fortune under Florida's "slayer statute."
They claim Filomena Tobias spiked their brother's last meal of penne a la vodka with a deadly dose of Ambien, and then lured her woozy husband to the pool area, promising him sex with a male go-go dancer know as "Tiger."
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