Attorney for suspended Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla enters not guilty plea
MIAMI -- An attorney representing suspended Miami City Commissioner Alejandro "Alex" Diaz de la Portilla entered a plea of not guilty in court Friday.
Last month, agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Thursday arrested De la Portilla on criminal charges of money laundering and bribery that were apparently related to accepting campaign contributions but failing to disclose them, investigators said.
Diaz de la Portilla, 58, is facing a host of criminal charges, including one count of money laundering, three counts of unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior, one count of bribery, one count of criminal conspiracy, four counts of official misconduct, one count of campaign contribution in excess of legal limits and two counts of failure to report a gift, the FDLE said.
The FDLE determined that Diaz de la Portilla also operated and controlled two political committees used not only to support his brother's campaign but also for personal expenditures.
The investigation was assigned to the Broward State Attorney's Office after the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office requested the investigation be reassigned to avoid any possible conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety, Broward officials said.
