Former North Miami Beach Mayor Pleads Guilty in Illegal Voting Case

Former North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo has pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to a 2023 case in which he was accused of voting thrice in city elections while living in a different county.

On Monday, DeFillipo pleaded guilty to two felony counts — voting as an unqualified elector and violating election residency requirements — as part of a deal brokered with prosecutors. While he originally faced up to 20 years and 60 days in prison, DeFillipo will now serve four years of probation.

In a statement to New Times, current mayor Michael Joseph thanked Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle for "helping us set things right."

"This is not a red or blue issue," Joseph said. "This is a law and order issue. After today, the people of North Miami Beach can finally turn the page on the city's history of public corruption and toward a brighter future together."

As first reported by New Times in December 2022, an ethics complaint accused DeFillipo of living in a Davie mansion far outside the North Miami Beach city limits, an alleged violation of the city charter. The controversy triggered an extended deadlock in North Miami Beach government as commissioners refused to acknowledge DeFillipo as mayor.

DeFillipo vehemently denied the allegations at the time, insisting he lived in a small North Miami Beach apartment and that he was being castigated for visiting family in the Davie home.

Meanwhile, Broward County property records showed DeFillipo purchased the single-family Davie home in the swanky Sierra Ranches community for $1.2 million in July 2022. New Times attempted to speak with DeFillipo at the house in December 2022, during which the mayor could be seen through the transparent front doors. He declined to answer the doorbell.

In June 2023, DeFillipo was arrested and charged with three counts of voting misconduct after months of scrutiny over his residency changes and whether he used a false address to vote in elections in North Miami Beach. Gov. Ron DeSantis promptly suspended him from office.

Prosecutors say DeFillipo violated Florida election law by failing to update his address in county records before submitting ballots in 2022. While he sold his family's longtime homestead residence in North Miami Beach near Greynolds Park Elementary in 2021, he proceeded to vote in three elections under that address — the primary, general, and North Miami Beach runoff elections in 2022.

Prosecutors say DeFillipo did not provide the county with an updated address until nearly a year after he sold the family home.

Under the terms of his probation, DeFillipo is required to perform 200 hours of community service and forfeit any right to hold public office.

DeFillipo's attorney, Benedict Kuehne, tells New Times that DeFillipo is "relieved" to move forward from the controversy.

"Former Mayor DeFillipo dedicated his professional life to serving the best interests of the public," Kuehne wrote in a statement. "He is relieved to put this controversy behind him. His path forward is now cleared to continue helping the community, freed from political infighting."