Broward state attorneys officially announced in a Miami courtroom on Friday that they will not be prosecuting former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla.
The drop in charges is now on the record in the court that was supposed to preside over the trial for Diaz de la Portilla and his co-defendant, attorney William Riley Jr, who were arrested in 2023 on money laundering and corruption charges.
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Although the trial would be in Miami, the case was reassigned from Miami-Dade to Broward to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
Judge Miguel M. de la O wasn’t surprised about the drop and told Broward attorneys he believed this case would have been hard to prove in front of a jury. He commended the prosecutors for their decision.
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In a statement and closeout memo earlier this week, Broward prosecutors said they were dropping the criminal charges.
"While these allegations raised serious concerns, a thorough review of the evidence that has been discovered through extensive follow-up investigation and depositions revealed significant weaknesses in the case," the memo read. "Witness testimony proved inconsistent and critical elements of the crimes charged cannot be supported by the evidence."
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In his statement, Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor said prosecutors "concluded there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction."
Diaz de la Portilla had been accused of accepting $245,000 in exchange for voting to approve the construction of a sports facility.
He was arrested on 14 counts, including money laundering, unlawful compensation, bribery, criminal conspiracy, official misconduct, campaign finance violations, and failing to disclose gifts.
On Friday, Ben Kuehne, an attorney representing Diaz de la Portilla, said it was a joyful day.
"This case was flawed from the start and the second point is this is an outrage that people who work for government can fabricate cases against good serving elected officials and lawyers. We will continue to investigate this matter,” said Kuehne.
Despite the criminal case being closed, Kuehne said they plan to look into an investigator who allegedly lied on the arresting document which led to his client's arrest. Kuehne and Riley’s attorneys allege it could be perjury.
Diaz de la Portilla is a former state legislator and was elected to the city commission in 2019. He was suspended by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his arrest and lost a runoff for the seat in last year's election.
