A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge last week denied a motion from former Miami Commissioner Humberto Hernandez to dismiss him from the civil case brought against former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — who is already facing bribery and money laundering charges in a separate case — for shaking down the operator of the Rickenbacker Marina.
But in her decision, Judge Mavel Ruiz also laid out the groundwork for another criminal indictment, this time under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO.
This is the case brought by former State Rep. Manny Prieguez, who is a lobbyist now and was representing Rickenbacker Marina operator Aabad Melwani at the time of the alleged bribery. Humberto Hernandez, who has been arrested on election fraud and mortgage fraud, and attorney Anibal Duarte-Viera, a favorite ADLP bagman who Diaz de la Portilla wanted included as a partner in the marina deal, are named as co-defendants.
In a separate ruling Monday, Ruiz denied Viera-Duarte’s motion to stay discovery.
The Prieguez lawsuit claims that the men met in 2020 with the lobbyist and Melwani to shake him down for the renewal of his contract and approval of his proposed improvements. Melwani would get ADLP’s vote only if he made Viera-Duarte a partner in the business. Hernandez, it is alleged, used his relationship with Prieguez to reel him in.
Read related: Miami’s Alex Diaz de la Portilla arrested on corruption, pay-for-play park deal
The ruling made Friday says that there’s enough evidence to believe that the lawsuit has satisfied the RICO requirements under Florida law.
“Based on a thorough review of the facts as alleged in the complaint, the plaintiff alleges sufficient facts for one to reasonably conclude that Hernandez was acting in concert with the other Defendants for the benefit of Duarte-Viera,” Cruz wrote, explaining that Hernandez was present at all “relevant times in several meetings in which the Defendants informed the Plaintiff and Melwani of the offers.
“He used his relationship with Prieguez to convince him to attend one of the meetings. Bribery is not simply seeking a gain or benefit for oneself, but it also encompasses seeking a benefit for another. In this matter, by virtue of his actions in addition to attending the meetings, Hernandez was acting in concert for the benefit of Duarte-Viera,” Cruz wrote.
“The facts as alleged reasonably infer that a conspiracy existed because there was an agreement between the Defendants to continuously influence the Plaintiff to form a partnership with them, in exchange for their vote. The element of an overt act is completed by virtue of the several meetings which were organized,” the judge explained.
Ruiz gets it.
Read related: Humberto Hernandez back in business of Miami politics post dubious past
It is not so far fetched to think that these things happened. Diaz de la Portilla is facing 12 felony counts for the pay-to-play scheme with the lobbyist for The Centner Academy, who poured more than $250,000 into his political action committees in exchange for an agreement build a sports dome on a public park.
So assuming that all the things alleged in the civil case actually occurred — and we all know they did — this isn’t just evidence of a pattern of corruption with Alex Diaz de la Portilla. It’s a roadmap for another criminal prosecution.
Civil case vs ADLP on marina bribery could turn to another criminal case added by Ladra on
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