DeFillipo has been below intense public scrutiny since December, when a resident filed a criticism towards him with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, alleging that he lives in Davie — about 15 miles away from North Miami Beach — in violation of the town constitution.
This week, North Miami Beach metropolis legal professional Hans Ottinot obtained and concurred with a 21-page authorized opinion (hooked up under) from a third-party lawyer who decided DeFillipo has forfeited his seat as mayor by shifting outdoors the town limits.
The opinion, requested by Vice Mayor Michael Joseph and Commissioner McKenzie Fleurimond, cites a personal investigation by a group group that discovered DeFillipo’s title was registered within the entry field to the Davie house. The probe turned up images and video allegedly exhibiting that the mayor lives primarily at that residence.
“Because the publicly obtainable information would lead an affordable particular person to objectively conclude that DeFillipo didn’t adjust to… the North Miami Beach Code of Ordinances’ requirement to repeatedly preserve a ‘bona fide’ residence in North Miami Beach, an ‘automated emptiness’ of the workplace of mayor has occurred by operation of legislation,” reads the opinion issued by legal professional Luis Suarez.
DeFillipo and his counsel insist he is not going wherever.
“This is politically contrived nonsense,” DeFillipo’s legal professional, Michael Pizzi, tells New Times. “The mayor lives within the metropolis and goes to maintain dwelling within the metropolis because the mayor.”
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo bought this Davie house in the summertime of 2022.
Photo by Alex DeLuca
Broward County property information present DeFillipo purchased the single-family Davie house for $1.2 million in July 2022. Located within the swanky Sierra Ranches group, the home’s entrance yard was adorned with outsized sweet canes and a sleigh with reindeer statues throughout the Christmas season. Ornamental crops and a basketball hoop additionally sat outdoors the two-story residence final month.
In late December, New Times tried to make contact with DeFillipo on the home. The mayor could possibly be seen by way of the clear entrance doorways however he declined to reply the doorbell.
During a January 17 metropolis fee assembly, Ottinot declared the gathering unlawful and left after refusing to acknowledge DeFillipo as mayor. Fleurimond and Joseph selected to not attend, questioning whether or not DeFillipo had authority to preside over the assembly; Commissioner Daniela Jean was absent as effectively.
With solely three of the six metropolis commissioners current, and thus no quorum, almost two hours of public remark from residents ensued, throughout which many known as out the town for being dysfunctional.
Commissioner Fleurimond tells New Times the mayor has squandered the chance to supply definitive proof that he’s nonetheless residing in North Miami Beach. He says he’s hoping for a better authority such because the governor’s workplace or state legal professional to step in, as metropolis authorities is at a standstill.
“Mr. DeFillipo, go search help from a court docket, and we’ll be pleased to listen to it,” Fleurimond says in a telephone interview. “But within the meantime, permit us to perform with the six [city officials] that aren’t in query, in order that we are able to go forward and maintain metropolis enterprise till such time as we obtain a response from you.”
DeFillipo tried to terminate Ottinot from his submit as metropolis legal professional throughout a December 20 metropolis fee assembly. But as a result of the mayor’s opponents on the fee refused to take part, there weren’t sufficient members on the dais to hold out a vote to fireside Ottinot.Â
Tense and chaotic begin to tonight’s North Miami Beach fee assembly when City Attorney Hans Ottinot storms out, refusing to acknowledge Mayor Anthony DeFillipo as mayor. @wsvn pic.twitter.com/C2IV7agorj
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) January 17, 2023
According to Chapter 7 of the town code, a candidate for mayor or metropolis fee should “be a bona fide resident of the City of North Miami Beach and categorical an intent to stay completely a bona fide resident of the town throughout your complete time period of workplace.” The constitution defines “bona fide residence” as “a everlasting, fastened place of domicile throughout the City of North Miami Beach, to the exclusion of all different locations.”
“Should any elected official of the City of North Miami Beach, throughout his time period of workplace, change his bona fide residence from inside to with out the City of North Miami Beach, his seat… shall be routinely vacated and forfeited,” the constitution reads.
DeFillipo served on the town fee for 5 years earlier than changing into mayor in 2018. When he ran for commissioner in 2013, his main residence was a single-family home not removed from Greynolds Park Elementary School. Records present DeFillipo bought that house in December 2021, and a monetary report filed with the town this previous summer time lists the mayor’s new residence as a apartment on NE one hundred and seventieth Street in North Miami Beach.
The current authorized opinion additionally investigated allegations that DeFillipo repeatedly voted in native elections whereas sustaining a voter registration with the tackle of his prior house, although he bought it the earlier yr.
Records from the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, present DeFillipo lately forged ballots in North Miami Beach, together with within the 2022 main and basic elections.
The opinion says that based mostly on the restricted proof obtainable, it is too early to find out whether or not the mayor’s failure to replace his voter registration was accomplished willfully –– nonetheless, it says DeFillipo could possibly be faraway from workplace by the governor if enough proof exists that he did knowingly submit false voter info.
The mayor filed for an emergency injunction in county court docket this week, calling for a right away assembly with a minimum of 4 commissioners to conduct metropolis enterprise. A listening to within the matter is scheduled for January 31.
Joseph has a historical past of battle with DeFillipo relationship again to 2019, when the mayor made a controversial remark concerning the firing of a metropolis clerk. DeFillipo stated on social media that commissioners ousted the clerk so they may “put in an individual they may management, of their very own heritage,” a not-so-subtle reference to Joseph and different commissioners’ Haitian American background.
Joseph discovered the remark to be racially charged and offensive, and he moved to reprimand DeFillipo.