In a stunning reversal, state prosecutors are abandoning the public corruption case against ex-Miami commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla.
On Wednesday morning, Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor announced his office was dropping criminal charges against Diaz de la Portilla and William “Bill” Riley Jr., an attorney and lobbyist who previously represented David and Leila Centner, owners of Miami-based Centner Academy.
The Miami Beach power couple, who are also big commercial real estate investors, made campaign contributions to political committees controlled by the Republican politician that played a central role in the high-profile case.
“After a substantial follow-up investigation and extensive depositions of witnesses, we have concluded that there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction,” Pryor said in a statement. “When the arrests were made, I promised that our prosecutors would pursue justice in this matter and that is what we have done.”
In a close-out memo, the assistant state attorneys handling the case determined the Centners’ contributions “were lawful and transparently documented” and that there “was no evidence of corrupt intent, falsification or quid pro quo arrangements.”
Diaz de la Portilla, Riley and their attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In an emailed statement, the Centners said they are not surprised by the state attorney’s office’s decision. “We are grateful that it puts an end to this chapter,” the statement said.
In September of last year, Diaz de la Portilla and Riley were charged with multiple felonies including bribery, money laundering, criminal conspiracy, and accepting a campaign contribution in excess of legal limits. A joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Miami-Dade Commission on Public Trust allegedly uncovered Diaz de la Portilla masterminded a scheme to award a no-bid deal to give the Centners control of a city-owned park in exchange for political donations laundered through an entity controlled by Riley, according to an arrest affidavit.
The Centners, whose controversial positions on vaccines garnered them national headlines, have maintained they committed no wrongdoing. They cooperated with the criminal probe, serving as key witnesses.
Riley allegedly funneled $245,000 he received from the Centners into a pair of political committees chaired by Diaz de la Portilla, the arrest affidavit states. Diaz de la Portilla spearheaded a plan to award a trust managed by the Centners the use of Biscayne Park, a city-owned site in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District adjacent to one of the couple’s schools. The Centners had planned to develop a $10 million youth sports complex at Biscayne Park, which would remain open to the public.
In March, during a city commission meeting to reconsider their deal, the Centners backed out of the licensing agreement due to the public backlash directed at them over their connection to the Diaz de la Portilla public corruption case.
“We have been defamed, trolled and attacked for doing a good thing,” David Centner said at the time. “No one here will even look me in the eye….We are pulling out….We are into improving the park, but we are not interested in spending $10 million in a domed sports park.”
The dismissal of charges provides some swift vindication for Diaz de la Portilla, who was removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis. However, it’s unlikely he will get his seat back. He lost reelection in a run-off in November of last year to his successor, Miami commissioner Miguel Gabela.
Pryor’s office took over prosecuting the case from Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, who had a conflict due to her relationship with Riley Jr.’s father.