Prosecutors drop charges against former Miami City Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla
FORT LAUDERDALE — Prosecutors are dropping the criminal charges against former Miami City Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla in a campaign money laundering and bribery scheme, the Broward State Attorney's Office said.
Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor and his office announced on Wednesday that Portilla and lawyer William W. Riley Jr. will have their charges dropped.
Both men were facing a litany of charges, including money laundering and bribery, after they were arrested in September 2023 when they allegedly failed to disclose accepting campaign contributions.
According to the Broward State Attorney's Office, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office had requested the investigation be "reassigned to avoid any possible conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety."
"After a substantial follow-up investigation and extensive depositions of witnesses, we have concluded that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction," Pryor said. "When the arrests were made, I promised that our prosecutors would pursue justice in this matter and that is what we have done."
The case
Portilla and Riley faced charges that stemmed from allegations of a "corrupt scheme involving public decisions, political action committees ("PACs"), and donations known at the time of this filing," stated a nolle prosequi memo issued on Tuesday.
In 2017, the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) explored a potential partnership with the Miami-Dade School Board to develop Biscayne Park. Various discussions regarding affordable housing, office space and expanding the iPrep Academy were involved but they never advanced beyond a draft memorandum of understanding, which was never executed, the memo stated.
Then beginning in fall 2019, David and Leila Centner proposed a $10 million donation to build a sports complex at Biscayne Park, allowing the Centner School access to the facility. According to the memo, Ken Russell, who was chair of the CRA at the time, supported the idea.
In November of that year, Portilla was elected to the Miami City Commission and sworn into office the following December. In January 2020, Portilla was appointed CRA chair, replacing Russell.
In October 2020, the city commission unanimously passed Resolution R-20-0352, which authorized negotiations with the Centners for the Biscayne Park project. According to the memo, the resolution was initially sponsored by Russell.
Over the next two years, the Centners donated about $245,000 to PACS linked to Portilla and his brother Renier de la Portilla, whose judicial campaign they allegedly supported. The funds were routed through Pristine DE LLC via Riley, who was authorized to act on their behalf, the memo stated.
By November 2022, the City of Miami finalized agreements with the Centners for the Biscayne Park project with Portilla voting in favor. According to the memo, the Centners' donation agreements included revocation clauses, which ensured continued public benefit.
The State of Florida alleged that Portilla, with Riley acting as an intermediary, sidelined the school board project in favor of the Centners' proposal in exchange for "substantial PAC donations," the memo stated. It was further alleged that Portilla "misused PAC funds for personal expenses and concealed conflicts of interest by failing to file required disclosures."
In September 2023, the city commission suspended Portilla as the investigation continued. In November 2023, businessman Miguel Angel Gabela defeated Portilla in the District 1 runoff election.
Reasons for dropping charges
However, the memo noted that a detailed analysis of the evidence revealed:
- The school board project was abandoned "years before" Portilla's election and the Centners' proposal was independently supported by other city officials.
- PAC contributions from the Centners were "lawful and transparently documented."
- Deposition testimony from key witnesses, including CRA officials, contradicted the state's initial theory of the case.
- There was "no evidence of corrupt intent, falsification, or quid-pro-quo arrangments."
- Ads paid for by the PACs constituted "electioneering communications and thus did not exceed" campaign contribution legal limits."
- Portilla was "not required to file disclosures reporting a receipt of a gift" as donations constituted legal in-kind contributions that were reimbursed.
Additionally, the Broward State Attorney's Office found that witnesses' testimonies were undermined during the depositions.
As a result, the Broward State Attorney's Office concluded in its memo that the case "fails to meet the legal standards for prosecution."
"The evidence does not demonstrate corrupt intent, unlawful benefits, or falsification of records," the memo stated. "Witness testimony is unreliable, and lawful actions have been misconstrued as criminal."
