The shocking world of Miami party boy turned politician Fabian Basabe

News

By Jacquelynn Powers Maurice

July 29, 2023 | 11:00am

Rep. Fabian Basabe used to be called the male Paris Hilton. Now, he’s being called Miami’s George Santos.

The socialite turned politician’s misbehavior has made him radioactive in his hometown — where his district covers the wealthy coastal strip between Miami Beach and Aventura — since narrowly being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2022.

Sources in Tallahassee told The Post that Basabe is a “leper” in the state capital and that his Republican co-workers “walk on the other side of the street when they see him coming.”

“He’s a social climber, opportunist and a hustler,” one insider said.

Now, Basabe, 45, is facing sexual harassment allegations from two former male staffers, an intern and legislative aide, who have filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a civil lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court. The Florida House is also conducting its own investigation.

Even the Miami Herald has weighed in, with an editorial calling for Basabe to resign due to “a pattern of unacceptable behavior.”

Bon vivant Basabe, who is worth $4.3 million according to filings, has always been controversial and flamboyant, hailing back to his socialite days in Manhattan’s 2000s party scene. A dilettante who once worked at Morgan Stanley for six months before quitting because it was “boring,” mingled with the likes of Hilton, Kourtney Kardashian and Nicole Richie — and infamously dirty danced with first daughter Barbara Bush at a 2004 Fashion Week party.

Appearances on reality TV shows like “Young, Rich and Famous” (2003) and “Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive” (2005) — co-starring Kourtney Kardashian and about spoiled children of privilege getting their hands dirty on a ranch — cemented Basabe’s It boy status.

In 2005, the Washington Post described him as the male Paris Hilton.

Basabe was bankrolled by his Ecuadorian restaurateur father and American mother, allowing him to be a regular at hotspots like Bungalow 8 without working.

In 2005, he replenished his coffers by marrying his college girlfriend, La Perla lingerie heiress Martina Borgomanero. Both attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, although Basabe was “dismissed” before graduating for submitting a paper he’d purchased online. But despite becoming a family man — the couple had a son in 2008 — and moving back to Miami, Basabe’s wild and unconventional ways didn’t slow down.

He became notorious for DUIs, alleged race-baiting episodes and altercations with doormen and hospitality staff he reportedly referred to as a “peasant.”

Plus, there are the alleged biting incidents. Plural.

And although Basabe has been married for 18 years, he has been frequently linked to male partners. During a 2021 LGBTQ Democratic Caucus event in Miami Beach, called “Let’s Get Loud,” Basabe came out as gay.

Since being elected to Florida’s House of Representatives in 2022, Basabe has been accused of slapping one of his staffers in Tallahassee (a Florida House investigation found those allegations inconclusive), in addition to the recent sexual harassment charges.

Former legislative aide Nicolas Frevola, 25, alleges in a lawsuit that Basabe smacked his backside during a visit to an elementary school and stated, “I want all that butt.” Frevola also claims that Basabe slapped him in the face and made him stand in a corner.

Frevola is also suing the Florida lawmaker for defamation.

The second accuser in the suit, Jacob Cutbirth, 24, was an unpaid intern driving Basabe to his hotel in Tallahassee, Florida, when, he claims, the intoxicated politician touched, groped and and tried to kiss him.

Cutbirth further alleges that Basabe attempted to entice him to come to his hotel room for sex. Both Cutbirth and Frevola claim that Basabe showed them a naked photo of a man and subjected them to graphic conversations about sex.

The suit seeks more than $100,000 in damages.

“Rep. Basabe looks forward to defending himself in court and we believe he will be fully vindicated once these allegations are scrutinized under the rule of law,” Robert Fernandez, Basabe’s lawyer, told The Post.

In the last year, several Instagram accounts have popped up to troll Basabe, including @hd106mia which refers to his district number.

The account, which calls for Fabian to resign, has highlighted Basabe’s multiple offenses, including a 2006 arrest on charges of drunken driving, driving without a license and running a red light on the Upper West Side.

In 2008, Basabe was arrested in Los Angeles for public urination and verbal abuse to police officers, who found two license suspensions due to a prior DUI. He was released on $85,000 bail.

In classic Basabe style, in 2016 he was slapped with a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge after riding on the top of a moving car on Washington Avenue on Miami Beach, claiming he wanted to “make a fabulous entrance to Club Twist.” Charges were later dropped.

The same year, the Miami Herald reported allegations that Basabe bit an employee at The Standard Hotel on Miami Beach after being upset that he was seated next to “randoms” at a dinner party, resulting in a “massive bloody welt and bruise on [the Standard employee’s] shoulder.”

Police were called, but no charges were filed. A representative for The Standard, which has changed ownership since the incident, would not comment.

There was another purported biting incident at the swanky Faena hotel bar in 2017. The Miami Herald detailed Basabe’s altercation with the hotel’s staff, allegedly resulting in him biting a waitress on her “left arm, bicep area.” According to the Herald, “when police arrived, they said they saw no physical evidence of a bite and the waitress didn’t want to press charges. They issued Basabe a trespass warning.”

Word has it that Basabe was banned from Faena after this, although the hotel wouldn’t comment. Sources close to Basabe say the story is made up.

Then there’s strong arm robbery. In 2020, Basabe threw a neighbor’s phone into the Biscayne Bay in a dispute over Covid-related restrictions at his condo’s pool. Basabe claims the neighbor was trying to film his underage son.

A warrant for his arrest was issued but Basabe left the state, leading US Marshalls to arrest him in Charleston, SC, for the outstanding warrant, with the Fugitive Task Force said to have surrounded his boat at gunpoint. The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor and Basabe paid a fine.

Another sticky situation involved Basabe and his cousin, Paolo Aliatis. According to a lawsuit filed by Aliatis, in 2021, he had five classic Land Rovers shipped from the United Kingdom to Florida with the understanding that Basabe would sell them and the two would share the profits.

In his ongoing lawsuit, Aliatas alleges that Basabe commandeered one car for his personal use and undersold several others. Another two are reportedly sitting in a California storage facility.

And then there are the repeated racism claims. The Miami Herald reported that in 2005 Basabe was overheard calling black bouncers “negroes” at the Hamptons hotspot the Star Room.

According to the Herald, Basabe admitted to using the term and apologized the next day.

In 2019, during Miami’s glitzy Art Basel festivities, Page Six reported that Basabe called publicist Tayo Otiti the n-word after she wouldn’t let him into a crowded party at the Bass Museum. Otiti also claimed that Basabe labeled her a “peasant,” “whore” and “bitch.”

Basabe previously denied the allegations to Page Six. Attempts to reach Otiti for comment were not successful.

To some Miamians, perhaps the biggest crime is Basabe’s voting record.

The supposed “moderate” Republican is accused of turning his back on his constituents and the gay community in order to curry political favor with Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans, supporting the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the six-week abortion ban and a bill, aimed at drag shows, making it a crime to host a live performance with “risqué content” in which anyone under the age of 18 attends.

Erin Newberg, a lifestyle editor who runs in the same Miami circles as Fabian, dubbed Basabe “Miami’s George Santos” on Instagram last January.

“Fabian called me before he ran asking for my support,” Newberg recalled. “He promised to be progressive, to be the new face of the Republican party, to support the gay community. It was all lies. Everything he voted for in Tallahassee [the state capital] is against his own community, and the lies reminded me of George Santos. They are two liars with cockamamie stories.”

Aaron Bos-Lun, a Miami-based LGBTQ activist and Deputy Executive Director of Men4Choice, also sees Basabe as a “total fraud.”

Based on Basabe’s privilege and checkered past, Bos-Lun is not too surprised. “What in his life has prepared him to be an independent voice?” Bos-Lun said. “As a first time Representative with no political experience, he voted the entire session in lockstep with DeSantis — even on pro-choice issues and the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.”

Subsequently, Basabe was booed during a Gay Pride parade on Miami Beach.

Defenders claim he is working harder than he has ever had to in his charmed life because he wants to make a difference, and that he’s tried to make compromises with his Democratic counterparts with no luck.

Basabe is up for reelection in 2024, after previously winning his seat by just 242 votes.

Joe Saunders, his Democratic opponent, has already raised $110,000 in 90 days.

However, Basabe, like Santos, doesn’t seem too worried by all the negative press and lawsuits.

“While recollections of my past will vary, I am thankful for the privilege I have earned to serve in the State Legislature,” Basabe’s said in a statement. “I appreciate I am a major target for the opposition, but only hope people find some level of comfort in disparaging my past. The great state of Florida is no place for hate.”