Ex-mayor voted in favor of Dezer family while his wife worked for them

George Vallejo, who recently resigned as mayor of North Miami Beach, told prosecutors that his wife secretly worked for the Dezer family while he voted on issues involving their real estate investments, Miami New Times reported.

Vallejo, 51, resigned as the city’s mayor after pleading guilty in April to using campaign donations to pay for personal expenses. He was sentenced to three months of house arrest plus probation.

In a previously undisclosed deposition obtained by Miami New Times, Vallejo also admitted that he and his wife created two limited liability companies that took undisclosed payments from the Dezer family totaling at least $5,000 a month.

In the April 5 deposition, Vallejo told investigators with the office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Rundle that the Dezer family employed his wife at their Dezer Auto Museum.

The wealthy Dezer family, led by Michael Dezer and his son Gil, developed several condo buildings in Sunny Isles Beach including Trump Grande, Trump Towers and Porsche Design Tower.

Vallejo, whose term as mayor of North Miami Beach began in 2011, joined with other commissioners in unanimously approving zoning changes in 2015 for the Intracoastal Mall that benefited the Dezer family, which plans to redevelop the property.

The former mayor told investigators that his wife was an employee of the Dezer family when the zoning changes were approved and was still working for the Dezers as of April 5. [Miami New Times] – Mike Seemuth