North Miami Beach Democrat Mayor Anthony DeFillipo was arrested this past week and charged with three counts of illegal voting and is facing a possible fifteen years in prison for voting three times in a precinct in which he no longer lives. Each count carries a five-year prison sentence, $5,000 in fines, and five years probation, Florida Politics reported. State Attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida Katherine Fernandez Rundle provided details on the charges DeFillipo is facing.
Rundle explained that DeFillipo moved from his Miami-Dade home to Davie. But he continued to vote in his previous precinct, which of course is illegal. But what are the laws for Democrats? It’s merely an inconvenience. DeFillipo cast ballots in August, October, and November 2022.
Kathy Rundle said:
“We in law enforcement take actions that violate our election laws very seriously. They are crimes. Today, we are charging Anthony DeFillipo, the present Mayor North Miami Beach, with 3 counts of Unqualified Voters Willfully Voting, 3rd degree felonies.”
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
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Florida Politics reported:
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.
He also admitted to being president of the homeowners association governing his Davie property, a post he resigned from on Jan. 19.
Two days before he stepped down from the HOA, DeFillipo tried unsuccessfully to change the city charter to reduce the Commission quorum after three City Commissioners — Fleurimond, Daniela Jean and Michael Joseph — refused to recognize him as Mayor, saying he’d broken city rules, and began boycotting meetings.
The turmoil this month trailed other instances of unrest at City Hall, including the March 16 resignation of City Attorney Hans Ottinot, who complained he and his firm been targets of “unfair political attacks because of our adherence to the law,” and a 6-1 vote six days later to fire then-City Manager Arthur Sorey III without cause.
Speaking during an afternoon news conference, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle detailed the three third-degree felony counts her office has filed against the mayor.
“We believe the evidence shows (DeFillipo) voted illegally three times,” she said.
According to Fernandez Rundle, the mayor moved from his Miami-Dade home to relocate to a new residence in Davie. Despite that, she said DeFillipo still cast ballots on August, October and November 2022 in elections for a district he was no longer legally qualified to vote in.
“Our voting laws apply to everyone,” she said. “There are no unwritten exceptions.”
DeFillipo has faced questions in recent months over his residency.
In a 184-page deposition obtained two months ago by CBS News Miami, the mayor admitted to owning multiple homes in Davie with his wife.
But DeFillipo has denied ever permanently residing at any of his properties, insisting that he has always been a resident of North Miami Beach.
