UPDATED, 11:30 a.m., Oct. 4: A Miami broker is under investigation for his possible ties to an illegal campaign contribution in Miami Beach.
The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office is investigating Tony Rodriguez-Tellaheche, managing broker and co-founder of Coconut Grove-based Prestige Realty Group, because they believe he was illegally moving money from foreigners to People for Better Leaders, a political action committee with secret ties to Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco, according to the Miami Herald.
Grieco was at the time running for Miami Beach mayor and earlier this week, he withdrew his bid for re-election as a commissioner. Rodriguez-Tellaheche, who was 20th on The Real Deal’s ranking of single-family home sales last year, donated $25,000 to the PAC. He sold eight homes for a combined $30.6 million in 2016.
Grieco reportedly explained in an email how to disguise the donation by using an American bank, according to the Herald. It’s illegal for foreign nationals to contribute to elections in the U.S. Both he and Rodriguez-Tellaheche could face charges.
His attorney, Carl Kafka, said in a statement that Rodriguez-Tellaheche is not the target of the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office investigation. “He has been called as a witness and is fully cooperating with their investigation. Since this is an ongoing investigation we are prevented from commenting further,” Kafka added. [Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis