Alex Diaz de la Portilla is suspended after arrest on public corruption charges

That was fast.

It took just about 24 hours for Gov. Ron DeSantis to suspend Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, after his arrest this week on charges of money laundering, bribery, criminal conspiracy and other public corruption and campaign finance violations.

In contrast, it took three weeks for DeSantis to suspend former Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez after he was charged last September with public corruption charges for allegedly taking $15,000 in exchange for sponsoring legislation that would benefit the owners of a shopping center and grocery store in his district.

Maybe the guv knows something we don’t about the DLP case.

Diaz de la Portilla was arrested Thursday along with attorney William “Bill” Riley Jr., a lobbyist for the Centner family and their private school, The Centner Academy, which got a license from the city last year to develop a recreational center on a public park. Authorities claim Riley paid DLP hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, hotel accommodations, and food and drinks, in order to secure the vote.

According to the affidavit released Friday, the conspiracy began in the Spring of 2020 when Renier Diaz de la Portilla, the Miami commissioner’s baby brother, filed to run for the county commission seat in District 5. It continued through last year, when the Miami Commissioner pushed a no-bid deal that provided the Centner Academy with development rights and practically exclusive use of Biscayne Park.

Alex Diaz de la Portilla did not return a call and text from Ladra, but in an email statement published by the Miami Herald Friday night, the commissioner said it was a political hit, just as he had told reporters outside the Turner Guilford Knight corrections facility after he was released on bond Thursday.

“Governor DeSantimonious should be suspending the left-wing Democrat prosecutor who he hand-picked to file these trumped-up charges against me,” the Herald quoted ADLP as saying. “I’m not surprised by his action given my strong support for Donald Trump for President, but his 15 minutes of fame will soon be over after his betrayal of Donald Trump, who got him elected.”

Attorney Benedict Kuehne, who is also representing Joe Martinez in his case, told the Herald they were “disappointed by the Governor’s reactive decision to issue the suspension based on a political prosecution.

“Without even giving the Commissioner’s legal team an opportunity to demonstrate the serious errors in the charges, the Governor has played into the hands of those who believe they can disrupt the democratic process,” Keuhne said.

The suspension means ADLP not only loses his $55,000-a-year salary. He loses his personal driver and bodyguard, his district offices, his pool of campaign donors and clients. He loses his business plan.

The city commission now has 10 days to decide whether or not to appoint a temporary replacement from now until the Nov. 7 election. So they must meet by Monday, Sept. 25, to make that decision. The alternative would be to have a special election, but seeing as how the regularly-scheduled city election is in less than two months, that would likely be the time to elect a replacement.

In other words, there is no need to appoint an interim commissioner. Even the city itself admits that he won’t be missed that much.

“The city commission is a legislative and policy-making body,” said a statement issued Friday afternoon. “A temporary vacancy on the commission does not affect the administrative functions of the city nor its services to residents of District 1 which will continue without disruption.”

So the seat will likely remain unfilled until the Nov. 7 election. But can it be filled again by ADLP? There doesn’t seem to be anything in the law to prohibit Diaz de la Portilla from running for re-election. He’s already started his campaign — as the local equivalent to Trump. If he convinces enough voters in District 1 that he is being falsely prosecuted for political reasons, the same way the former president is doing, Diaz de la Portilla could very well win in November. It’s happened before.

Remember Humbertico Hernandez? The former Miami Commissioner — who now works as ADLP’s bagman, by the way — was suspended in 1998 by then Gov. Lawton Chiles after getting indicted for money laundering and bank fraud. He ran again for a commissioner that same year, claiming he was innocent of the federal charges — and won with 65% of the vote.

A few months later, Chiles suspended him again, this time because he was arrested for election fraud.

Diaz de la Portilla qualified for the District 1 race on Sept. 8, the first day of the qualification period.

Riley is listed as his campaign treasurer.

Alex Diaz de la Portilla, public corruption

Alex Diaz de la Portilla is suspended after arrest on public corruption charges added by Ladra on September 16, 2023
View all posts by Ladra →