Corruption Charges Dropped Against Ex-Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla

In September 2023, the former commissioner was arrested on charges bribery and money laundering.

November 20, 2024

Image: screenshot of alex diaz de la portilla in a suit

In September 2023, ex-Miami commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla was arrested on corruption charges. Screenshot via City of Miami Commission meeting

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More than a year after ex-Miami commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla and lobbyist William Riley Jr. were arrested in an alleged bribery scheme connected to a downtown project backed by Miami's favorite anti-vax couple, David and Leila Centner, prosecutors have dropped the criminal charges against them.

In September 2023, Díaz de la Portilla and Riley were arrested and accused of funneling thousands of dollars from the Centners into political committees controlled by the commissioner in exchange for pushing through a $10 million sports facility for the couple's school, the Centner Academy.

Both men faced felony charges of bribery, money laundering, and unlawful compensation. In the wake of the corruption charges, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Díaz de la Portilla from his commission seat. The former commissioner pleaded not guilty in the case and steadfastly maintained his innocence. Riley likewise entered a not-guilty plea.

On Wednesday (November 20), Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor, who took over the case after the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office requested the investigation be reassigned to avoid a conflict of interest, announced that the charges would be dropped.

"After a substantial follow-up investigation and extensive depositions of witnesses, we have concluded that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction," Pryor wrote in a statement. "When the arrests were made, I promised that our prosecutors would pursue justice in this matter, and that is what we have done."

Riley had sought to upzone and amend land-use designations for properties abutting the Centner Academy campus in Miami's Design District.

As New Times previously reported, the lobbyist lined up lucrative zoning changes for the Centners while appearing to be intoxicated during a July 2021 presentation to the Miami Planning, Zoning, and Appeals Board (PZAB)

A resurfaced video of the 2021 PZAB meeting appeared to show Riley slurring and stumbling over his sentences while presenting the rezoning proposal on behalf of the Centners.

Alex DeLuca is a Miami New Times staff writer who focuses on news, crime, and public safety, education, and cannabis. Prior to joining New Times in June 2020, Alex worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel and freelanced for The Appeal. She holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.

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