North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo Arrested on Voting Irregularities Charges – NBC 6 South Florida
North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo has been arrested and is facing charges involving voting irregularities, officials said.
DeFillipo was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Miami-Dade jail on three counts of violating the election code/unqualified voter, records showed.
His bond was set at $5,000.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office confirmed he’s facing charges and have scheduled a Wednesday afternoon news conference to release more details.
The mayor, in an exclusive interview with NBC6 earlier this year, admitted to using an old address within city limits to vote, calling it an honest mistake.
“I totally forgot, it was an oversight and I had it fixed immediately when I noticed,” DeFillipo told NBC6. “We’re human, we make mistakes.”
DeFillipo and the North Miami Beach commission have been embroiled in controversy dating back to last year.
In December, a resident and a commissioner’s former campaign worker filed a complaint with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust claiming the mayor lived in Davie with his family and not in North Miami Beach as required by the city charter.
Some commissioners began refusing to attend city meetings, arguing the mayor didn’t have the authority to preside over the meetings.
In January, the mayor’s attorney filed a lawsuit seeking to lower the number of commissioners needed to attend meetings. The city countersued over the mayor’s residency with an outside law firm.
Under oath, DeFillipo cited “marital issues” and concerns over crime for his family’s move. His wife and children live in a $1.2 million home in Davie. The mayor insisted he’s always lived in the city, first with his mother, then in his one-bedroom condo.
In March, the Miami-Dade State Attorney confirmed to NBC 6 they were reviewing the situation in the city. Legal experts told NBC 6 the only state law possibly in question was how the mayor voted three times in 2022 from his old home he sold in 2021.
