North Miami Beach, FL– The Mayor of North Miami Beach has been charged with illegal voting charges after allegedly continuing to vote and serve in a district he no longer lived in.
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo was taken into custody Wednesday following an investigation into a complaint filed with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust six months ago.
The three people who filed the complaint alleged that DeFillipo is living in Davie, and outside of the county he is both voting and serving in.
During a commission meeting in January DeFillipo said the accusers have him all wrong:
“I invest in properties — I buy and sell properties — so they are assuming I live in a property that I don’t. I live here in North Miami Beach. I always have.”
DeFillipo’s lawyer described the allegations as a witch hunt:
“From the beginning, this was a bought-and-paid-for, massive political witch hunt by political opponents of the mayor who want to maintain control of the City of North Miami Beach’s purse strings,” said Attorney Michael Pizzi.
DeFillipo has been charged with three felony counts of voting in a district where he didn’t live but says the situation is still under investigation and that he is hopeful he will prevail.