In the wake of his arrest on public corruption charges, Alex Diaz de la Portilla could soon lose the home near Miami’s Little Havana where he and his two brothers grew up — and where his parents allegedly still live.
It’s a foreclosure saga that has dragged on for more than a decade.
Diaz de la Portilla, who was suspended from his Miami City Commission seat by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week, allegedly owes mortgage payments plus late fees, interest and attorney fees totaling about $630,000 to Wells Fargo, as trustee for Merrill Lynch, according to court records.
The debt is secured by a five-bedroom house at 1519 Southwest 19th Street in Miami’s Shenandoah neighborhood that Diaz de la Portilla’s parents originally bought in 1974 for $54,000. After four previous sale cancellations, the property is scheduled to be sold in a courthouse auction on Nov. 15, court records show.
The house has a market value of $862,000 according to Diaz de la Portilla’s 2022 statement of financial interests, the most recent available.
Diaz de la Portilla and his siblings, Renier and Miguel, are a famous political dynasty in Miami-Dade County. The trio have held county and state elected offices throughout their adult lives. Before his stint as a city commissioner, Alex Diaz de la Portilla served in the Florida Legislature from 1994 until 2010 as a state representative and state senator, serving as senate majority leader during his last two years in Tallahassee.
Last Thursday, Diaz de la Portilla was charged with felony counts of bribery, money laundering, criminal conspiracy, official misconduct and other charges. Investigators and prosecutors allege Diaz de la Portilla accepted illegal payments and illegal campaign contributions from William Riley Jr., a land use attorney and lobbyist for David and Leila Centner, the controversial anti-vax couple that founded Miami-based private school Centner Academy.
In exchange for the contributions, Diaz de la Portilla allegedly spearheaded the successful passage of a no-bid deal giving the Centners partial exclusive use of a city-owned park to build a $10 million recreational center, an arrest affidavit states.
Meanwhile, Diaz de la Portilla could be running out of time to save his childhood home after more than a decade of allegedly not making mortgage payments, court records show.
Diaz de la Portilla, his criminal defense lawyer Benedict Kuehne and his foreclosure attorney Jonathan Kline did not respond to requests for comment.
Here is a timeline of Diaz de la Portilla’s foreclosure saga gathered from court records:
2001: Diaz de la Portilla buys the family homestead for $92,000.
2005: Diaz de la Portilla marries Claudia Davant, and adds her to the property deed as a joint owner. The same year, the couple takes out a mortgage for $384,300.
2011: One year after he leaves his state senate seat due to term limits, Diaz de la Portilla and Davant get divorced, but both their names remain on the mortgage and the deed. Wells Fargo, as trustee for Merill Lynch, buys the mortgage and files first foreclosure complaint against Diaz de la Portilla and Davant.
2014: Foreclosure lawsuit is dismissed after Diaz de la Portilla, Davant and Wells Fargo reach a private settlement agreement.
2017: Wells Fargo files second foreclosure lawsuit against Diaz de la Portilla and Davant. The former couple haven’t made mortgage payments since 2012, the complaint states. At the time, they allegedly owe $359,798.
2019: In January, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Carlos Guzman issues a final judgment in favor of Wells Fargo for $628,545, with an annual interest rate of 6 percent if it is not paid. In July, the first auction is canceled after Diaz de la Portilla files a motion seeking to cancel the final judgment and alleges that Wells Fargo’s lawyers committed fraud by tacking on nearly $10,000 in allegedly unjustified attorney fees.
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2022: In April, Diaz de la Portilla’s lawyer files a motion to disqualify Guzman from the case by alleging the judge shows favoritism to foreclosure attorneys representing big banks that are allegedly committing fraud against mortgage customers. Guzman denies the motion. In July, Guzman also denies Diaz de la Portilla’s motion to vacate the final judgment. Two dates for public auction are canceled, pending an appeal by Diaz de la Portilla.
2023: In April, the Third District of Appeal dismisses Diaz de la Portilla’s petition to overturn Guzman’s ruling. In August, Guzman sets a new auction date for Nov. 15. Kline, Diaz de la Portilla’s foreclosure counsel, is denied a request to give his client more time “to redeem and gather the funds,” according to Miami blog Political Cortadito. Kline also informs the judge that Diaz de la Portilla’s elderly parents still reside in the home.