The public corruption charges against Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla and attorney/lobbyist Bill Riley Jr. revolve around the two political campaigns waged by the lawmaker’s baby brother, Renier Diaz de la Portilla: The 2020 race for county commission and a 2022 judicial contest.

An arrest affidavit lays out the scheme as having begun around May 2020 when Baby DLP announced he would run for county commission in District 5 and continue through his campaign for judge last year against incumbent Fred Seraphin. The campaign contributions that investigators tagged as bribery were made to both of The Dean’s political action committees during those campaigns.

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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.

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Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla was arrested Thursday on money laundering and political corruption charges — including unlawful compensation, bribery and criminal conspiracy — after a yearlong investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Broward State Attorney’s office.

These charges do not stem from the shakedown of the Rickenbacker Marina operator (more on that later) or the COVID gift cards that went missing for months or the ghost employees in Diaz de la Portilla’s office. No. These charges reportedly stem from a commission vote last year to basically give Biscayne Park away to a private school whose lobbyist paid for the commissioner’s accommodations and a vacation, among other things, and served as his baby brother’s judicial campaign fundraiser.

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DEVELOPING STORY: Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla has a new challenger as of Thursday when Marvin Tapia, brand ambassador and shareholder of the Salty Donut and chairman of the Miami-Dade Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board, filed to run in the city’s November election.

And it’s too late for the city commission to cut his house out of the district.

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Another lawsuit is filed by a candidate in District 1

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After several cancellations, the foreclosed Little Havana house owned by Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — you know, the one he supposedly doesn’t live in because it’s outside his district — has been set for auction in November.

Unless he gets another last minute reprieve. Again.

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