MIAMI – North Miami Seashore Mayor Anthony DeFillipo faces allegations he no lengthier lives in the city he signifies and has given that 2018.
CBS4 attained a copy of a complaint concerning this filed on December 17th previous calendar year by a resident to Miami-Dade’s Fee on Ethics and Community Rely on. Allegations that guide us to two inquiries, where’s his key residence, and did he commit voter fraud in this earlier election?
“I motivate all of you to continue to keep your faith and know your mayor is your mayor,” reported DeFillipo at the city’s past commission conference held on December 20th.
Mayor DeFillipo maintains he life in North Miami Seaside. He offered his defense right after commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond introduced to light allegations from a resident that the mayor life outside the metropolis.
“Ought to have to know that the elected officers serving them dependent on the constitution are residents of the metropolis of North Miami Seaside,” reported Fleurimond to CBS4.
The city charter claims elected officers will have to “generally be and stay bona fide citizens” of North Miami Beach.
“My deal with has usually been in North Miami Beach,” explained DeFillipo at that assembly. “My residency has constantly been in North Miami Seaside, without having issue. And if you want to query it, the clerk is there and has all my information and facts.”
“If any elected formal does not dwell in the city, such as our mayor, it can be an computerized vacating of that seat,” stated Fleurimond.
So we went digging in voting and house information and found attainable crimson flags.
December 2021 Mayor Anthony DeFillipo bought his loved ones dwelling of 14 years in North Miami Beach front. Voting data clearly show he applied that tackle to vote 3 moments in 2022. But it seems he no more time lived there. That may well be a problem for the reason that you can only solid a vote in a precinct or district from your lawful home in which you are registered.
So we questioned law firm David Weinstein if that could be a possible criminal offense.
“Did the voter intend to vote possibly unlawfully or in a spot exactly where they should really not have been voting, casting a 2nd ballot, and all of that needs intent on the part of the person who forged their vote,” claimed Weinstein.
Combing through data, we located DeFillipo re-registered his voting tackle very last thirty day period in a distinctive North Miami Seashore precinct. It really is registered to a one-bed room 830-square-foot rental in the Japanese Shores community in precinct 124.
A further dilemma occurs: In which has the mayor been living with his loved ones of 4 due to the fact December 2021? Or did his family members transfer, and he stayed behind at Japanese Shores?
We retained exploring to obtain out.
Final 12 months, DeFillipo owned two properties in Davie. He and his wife marketed a condo in Davie in June 2022. And the images on realtor.com clearly show a property perfectly-lived in by a loved ones. We observed closets whole of clothing, what appeared to be his marriage ceremony photo, and what appeared to be him without the need of a shirt in a reflection of a photo in entrance of a microwave.
Then in July, on the net property information display his relatives acquired a 1.2 million greenback residence in a different community in Davie.
This week we went to the gate’s callbox, and a name matching his name appeared. We termed multiple quantities, sent email messages, reaching out to the mayor to clarify.
We are not alone in hunting for an explanation.
North Dade Neighbors Alliance is a non-revenue comprised of concerned neighborhood customers. The founder claimed not to be politically motivated. He informed CBS4 the group hired a regulation business to investigate the issue. The business hired Countywide Investigations.
Shots from what they say was a weeks-lengthy investigation, commencing in late November, appear to present the mayor at a household in Davie he purchased with his spouse.
“Every single and each and every time we drove by, the wife’s car was there,” explained the lead non-public investigator working the situation, Kennedy Rosario. “We did see the mayor was living there with his loved ones.”
Rosario explained they established up a stationary online video digital camera outside the house the gated neighborhood from December 6th by way of the 22nd, monitoring what they thought was the mayor’s motor vehicle getting into the community late at night time and leaving the up coming working day numerous instances.
“Plenty of times gave us the conclusion he was dwelling there,” reported Rosario.
And investigators instructed CBS4 they have nonetheless to see the mayor’s vehicle in the course of their surveillance endeavours at Japanese Shores, where by he’s registered to vote. CBS4 was not able to independently verify the private investigators’ surveillance findings.
The mayor responded to our queries in an electronic mail: “I built a crystal clear and factual general public statement as to my residency at the past commission assembly on December 20th.”
The Metropolis Clerk’s workplace presented an electronic mail from December 21st, 2021. The metropolis clerk writes the mayor desired to update his information to replicate he improved his residency to the condo at Japanese Shores.
The mayor did not explain the discrepancies when questioned for remark.
