Police made yet another arrest Friday in the ongoing saga of the Hammocks Homeowners Association.
In January of 2022, we heard stories of angry residents, fed up with their high HOA fees. Now, nearly two years later, police arrested 32-year-old Kevin Leonardo Alzate.
Alzate was arrested and charged with perjury by contradictory statements, fabricating physical evidence, and resisting an officer without violence.
"So every day that he was facilitating us not getting those records the thievery was continuing,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
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Alzate is the cousin of former Hammocks HOA president Marglli Gallego.
Gallego and four others were arrested in November 2022 for financial crimes. They were past or present board members at the time of their arrests.
The group is accused of turning the Homeowners Association into a criminal enterprise — some stealing millions of dollars from the association in a scheme dating back years.
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According to Fernandez Rundle, Alzate was a roadblock in her office’s investigation.
She says he was an “integral part” of a scheme to create “several years of legal delays.”
“In this particular case, he can’t have it both ways," Fernandez Rundle said. "He has affidavits that say one thing and then he goes to court that says another thing. So which one is true? They are conflicting. He certainly was the reason that no one could get to the records for a long time.”
The Hammocks Community Association oversees 40 communities in West Kendall and over 6,500 units.
Prior to the arrests, residents showed their frustration with steep increases in HOA fees.
“We just actually wanted them out,” one resident said.
The scandal led to the creation of a new state law meant to protect homeowners.
As for Alzate, he was also accused of providing notarized affidavits demanding money from law enforcement.
“He went to court, the lawyers went to court and all said to the judge that one time he was the custodian and another time he was not," said Fernandez Rundle. "You know what that is insulting to the court and that is insulting to the judicial process.”
Alzate is still in jail at this time.
