Prosecutors say they used cellphone records to help track a South Florida mayor’s location as he commuted from Davie to Miami-Dade County — demonstrating he illegally voted three times in a county where he no longer lived.
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo’s cellphone locations, obtained by subpoena, shows him leaving his Davie home, then driving to vote in Miami-Dade, and returning back to Davie later each day on the days he voted, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. DeFillipo cast his ballots in August, October and November 2022 in the primary, early voting and the general election, which also was a North Miami Beach city runoff, Fernandez Rundle said.
“He was voting in a county he wasn’t living in,” Fernandez Rundle said.
DeFillipo was charged Wednesday with three election violations of an unqualified elector willfully voting, a third-degree felony, punishable by five years prison for each count. Wednesday’s announcement came after prosecutors received complaints regarding his residency while being in office in North Miami Beach. DeFillipo, 51, has been the mayor since 2018.
“Our voting laws apply to everyone,” Fernandez Rundle said. “There are no unwritten exceptions.”
DeFillipo’s attorney, Michael Pizzi, painted his client as a “mayor fighting corruption.”
“Let’s be clear, the whole investigation was initiated by a paid campaign worker for one of his political opponents and ultimately private investigators who were paid by people who wanted to maintain power and control of the city coffers and budget in North Miami Beach,” he said. “These allegations are totally unfounded.”
Pizzi said DeFillipo did in fact buy a home: “The mayor and his wife were separated at one point and the mayor’s wife moved to Davie. He visited his wife and children. But he at all times resided and voted in North Miami Beach, where he has lived for over 40 years.”
Pizzi said DeFillipo also served on the HOA in the Davie location — but as an investor of the home.
“The mayor has always lived and voted in North Miami Beach. The allegations are false and part of a politically motivated witch hunt,” he said.
Pizzi also faulted prosecutors for not allowing DeFillipo to surrender “with dignity,” instead arresting him at his North Miami Beach condo.
According to the arrest warrant, DeFillipo was arrested at his Bayview Point South apartment that investigators said he purchased in 2004 before he was married.
Fernandez Rundle said her office “got complaints,” which is what led to the investigation. She said investigators “asked for cooperation. Unfortunately it was not forthcoming.”
Fernandez Rundle said DeFillipo bought a home with his wife in North Miami Beach on Northeast 177th Street in 2007. She said they lived there for 14 years before selling their home Dec. 27, 2021. She said DeFillipo and his family moved to Davie in July 2022. Broward property records show the two-story home was purchased for more than $1.2 million.
According to the arrest warrant, DeFillipo said in a deposition he had moved out of that North Miami Beach home that he shared with his wife and temporarily moved into his mother’s North Miami Beach home until moving back to Bayview Point South.
But Fernandez Rundle said cellphone data tracked him at the Davie home in the morning, then the polling location he votes in Miami-Dade, returning to Davie each evening the days he voted.
“He goes back home,” she said.
North Miami Beach spokesman David Jeannot said in a prepared statement Wednesday that the city would “work towards a more transparent and accountable city government.”
“To rebuild trust in this community is no small feat however, we are focused on earning your confidence back,” he said. “NMB is a resilient community, and together we will emerge stronger from this.”
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at . Follow on Twitter @LisaHuriash
