Broker Facing Felony Charge Back on Coral Gables Board

A Coral Gables real estate broker facing a felony stalking charge was reappointed to a city board by Mayor Vince Lago, who also works as a real estate agent.

Manny Chamizo, commercial director at One Sotheby’s International Realty, has been on the Waterway Advisory Board since 2015. Coral Gables’ mayor and commissioners voted this week to appoint their nominees to different boards. Chamizo is one of about three dozen Lago appointees.

Chamizo was charged with misdemeanor stalking in September 2021, and the state elevated it to a felony later that year. He pleaded not guilty. The charge is tied to the drama surrounding the $6 million sale of the Coral Gables office building at 3251 Ponce de Leon Boulevard.

Chamizo did not respond to requests for comment.

Chamizo’s firm, One Sotheby’s, sued All in One Investment Properties, the seller of the property, in 2020. The brokerage is seeking the commission on the sale. Lago’s former firm, RESF, joined the lawsuit last year and settled earlier this year. Lago now hangs his license with Rosa Commercial Real Estate, a Coral Gables-based firm led by Oscar de la Rosa, stepson of Hialeah Mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo.

The lawsuit illustrates how Lago and Chamizo allegedly worked together. The two arranged a deal that fell apart in 2018, and was revived the following year when the seller renegotiated with the same buyer at a higher price, allegedly without the brokers.

Trials are set for later this year in both the criminal and civil case.

In the criminal case, the sellers of the office building, Eddy and Adriana Fernandez, allege that Chamizo stalked and harassed them with threatening text messages and letters ordering them to pay the sales commission. One letter Chamizo allegedly sent included a matchbox with a single burnt match and a note reading “We can get to you.”

In a deposition, Eddy Fernandez, who was undergoing cancer treatment at the time, described text messages and emails in which Chamizo allegedly says that Fernandez’s daughter will miss him when he’s dead, and that Chamizo wants to “f*ck [Fernandez’s] wife.”

According to a copy of a police report obtained by The Real Deal, the police tied the text messages to Chamizo’s email address, and the IP address to his computer.

Chamizo’s reappointment to the waterway board marks his fourth term. Lago, through a city spokesperson, said in a statement that Chamizo “has long been a valued and dedicated member” of the board who has “contributed his expertise and knowledge towards the conservation and management of our local waterways.” Members of the board are volunteers, and aren’t paid for their service.

Lago’s statement also refers to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

“The presumption of innocence ensures that individuals are not judged based on allegations or accusations,” the mayor said.

Lago also was linked recently to developer Rishi Kapoor’s dealings in the city. Lago is an investor in a retail building where Kapoor’s Location Ventures leases space, across the street from Location Ventures’ proposed luxury condo on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. Lago has abstained from voting on issues related to Kapoor’s project, but his investment in the building was not previously known.

Rosa Commercial Real Estate brokered Kapoor’s $35.5 million purchase of the Ponce de Leon property that closed late last year, months after Lago joined the brokerage.