North Miami Beach Democrat Mayor Anthony “Tony” DeFillipo was arrested for allegations of voting from an address where he doesn’t live.
According to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, DeFillipo faces three third-degree felony counts of illegal voting.
“Each carries an up to five-year prison sentence, $5,000 in fines and five years probation,” Florida Politics reports.
“We in law enforcement take actions which violate our election laws very seriously. They are crimes. Today, we are charging Anthony DeFillipo, the present Mayor @NorthMiamiBeach, with 3 counts of Unqualified Voters Willfully Voting, 3rd degree felonies,” Rundle said.
We in law enforcement take actions which violate our election laws very seriously. They are crimes. Today, we are charging Anthony DeFillipo, the present Mayor @NorthMiamiBeach, with 3 counts of Unqualified Voters Willfully Voting, 3rd degree felonies. pic.twitter.com/pUICntyegS
— Kathy Rundle (@KathyFndzRundle) May 31, 2023
DeFillipo has denied the allegations.
BREAKING 🚨 North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo has been arrested—charges involve voting from an address where he did not live. pic.twitter.com/PkECRc0k52
— PoliticsVerse 🇺🇸 (@PoliticsVerse_) May 31, 2023
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo (D) has been charged with 3 third-degrees felonies for allegedly illegally voting in 3 elections. He's the 3rd North Miami Beach mayor to be arrested in 11 years.https://t.co/CZgPwesc8F
— RRH Elections (@RRHElections) June 2, 2023
Florida Politics provided further details:
During an afternoon press conference Wednesday, Fernandez Rundle said her office has evidence DeFillipo voted illegally three times.
She said locational data from DeFillipo’s cell phone will prove he traveled from Broward County to North Miami to cast ballots in August, October and November 2022 despite no longer being a resident of the city.
Records show DeFillipo was booked just before noon Wednesday at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond.
The Democratic Mayor has faced allegations in recent months that he does not live in North Miami Beach, a requirement for elected city officials, and instead resides in a $1.2 million Davie home he and his wife bought in July 2022.
DeFillipo has repeatedly denied the allegation he doesn’t live in North Miami Beach, insisting he’s been estranged from his family due to “marital issues” and resides in a rented, one-bedroom condo within the city’s bounds.
That explanation didn’t convince some in the city, including Commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond and a resident who filed a complaint with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, which opened an inquiry into the matter.
The complaint alleged DeFillipo lived in the town of Davie in Broward County.
The North Miami Beach city charter requires elected officials to live in the city.
“It wasn’t as if, ‘Oops, I forgot once,’ ” Rundle told the Miami Herald.
“This is three times in rapid succession.”
Miami Herald noted:
DeFillipo has repeatedly denied the allegations surrounding his residency and insisted he lives in North Miami Beach. His business is TD Managing Enterprise and property records show he has bought and sold a number of properties in recent years, including several in North Miami Beach and Davie.
In a March deposition, DeFillipo admitted to purchasing a Davie home but said it was for his family to live in, citing marital issues. He also admitted to serving on the homeowners association board for the Davie community.
DeFillipo and his wife purchased the two-story, six-bedroom home in the Sierra Ranches community for $1,226,500 in July 2022, according to Broward County property records. He testified the family moved into the home a month later.
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