The experienced Florida politician suddenly entered the twilight of his career. Although the judicial process against him has just begun, Alex Díaz De la Portilla has already been accused of bribery, money laundering and official misconduct. In addition, he was arrested, they took his classic prisoner photo, and he was kicked out of his seat as commissioner of the city of Miami. Governor Ron DeSantis suspended him immediately after the charges against him were released. In the free fall, no local leader came to his aid or spread any type of solidarity.
Within the microclimate of Miami City Hall, suspicions about his behavior have been popular for years. Rumors about his ethical misconduct were fueled by a dozen former employees. Some of those attendees became key informants in the investigation against them.
On Saturday, September 23, at 6 p.m., his former colleagues in the legislative body will meet to decide who will replace him, as confirmed to LPO.
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In the charming City Hall of Miami, located in the Coconut Groove neighborhood a few meters from the sea, the four remaining commissioners will seal the fall of De La Portilla. At the meeting they will decide the steps to follow: if they replace him temporarily or if they call elections. This last option, from what this media learned, is the most unlikely due to the costs it will generate.
The five elected representatives form a kind of legislative body that at times has more power – although less visibility – than the mayor of Miamo himself. To the point that Mayor Francis Suárez does not have a vote in the sessions, nor does he lead the legislative debates.
Within the microclimate of Miami City Hall, suspicions about his behavior have been popular for years and were fueled by a dozen former employees.
Alex Díaz De la Portilla is a 58-year-old Republican leader, born and raised in the Little Havana neighborhood. He is one of the four children of a Cuban exile couple. Both he and the rest of his family have a history of political activity. That pedigree gave him an air of untouchability. De la Portilla held positions as a Florida state congressman for 16 years, first in the House of Representatives and later in the Senate. That was the peak of his career.
In 2019 he was elected Miami City Commissioner for District 1, which covers the Hispanic areas of Flagami, Allapattah and parts of Little Havana. That success at the same time represented a noticeable decline in his capacity for power: he went from the state league to the municipal one. This Cuban-American of Trumpist ideological faith planned to run for re-election next November. But the roadmap was altered at a stroke.
The investigation against him was conducted in tandem by prosecutors from the state of Florida and the city of Broward. The Miami city prosecutor’s office chose to dismiss the case, given the familiarity built with De la Portilla over the years.
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Those in charge of carrying out the arrest days ago were agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Along with Alejandro “Alex” Díaz de la Portilla, they arrested lawyer William W. Riley Jr, 48 years old. The charges are for money laundering, three counts of illegal reward, one count of bribery and one count of criminal conspiracy. Those are the most serious charges.
The former commissioner also has four complaints for official misconduct, one charge for campaign contributions that exceed legal limits and two charges for failing to report a gift received.
During the investigation, agents found evidence indicating that Diaz de la Portilla and Riley Jr. accepted more than $15,000 from Diaz de la Portilla’s brother, but did not report it, as required by Florida statutes.
Riley Jr. in turn controlled a bank account in the name of a Delaware-based corporation to launder approximately $245,000 in campaign contributions. That offering was made by a management services company, in exchange for permits to build a sports complex in the city of Miami. Permits managed by legislator De la Portilla.
The charges are for money laundering, three counts of illegal reward, one count of bribery and one count of criminal conspiracy. Those are the most serious charges.
The investigation determined that the brother of the Trumpist leader operated two PACs used not only to support De La Portilla’s campaign, but also for personal expenses. Records showed that one of the committees reported donations of approximately $2.3 million. The other, for more than $800,000.
After his arrest, Díaz De La Portilla paid bail of $72,000 and was provisionally released. In the only statement he made to the press, he chose to victimize himself and deny the crimes. And something else: he compared himself to Donald Trump. “The same thing that is happening to President Trump, at the national level, with four different false prosecutions, is happening to me in Miami at the local level,” he said.
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