S
tate prosecutors dropped high-profile public corruption charges against former Miami city commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla and lobbyist William "Bill" Riley Jr., citing unreliable witnesses, shoddy circumstantial evidence, and investigators misinterpreting campaign finance laws. The case centered on $245,000 in campaign donations from David and Leila Centner to committees controlled by Diaz de la Portilla, which prosecutors initially alleged was payola for a scuttled no-bid deal giving the Centners authority to build a youth sports complex.

    However, Broward assistant state attorneys Kayla Bramnick and Julio Gonzalez Jr. determined the contributions were lawful and that there was no evidence of corrupt intent or quid pro quo arrangements. Diaz de la Portilla's defense attorney Ben Kuehne said the decision was "a day of complete vindication" for his client.

    A key witness, Jason Walker, a former city bureaucrat, recanted his initial statement that Diaz de la Portilla derailed a mixed-use project to steer a deal with the Centners. Instead, Walker claimed the project stalled due to other reasons unrelated to Diaz de la Portilla.

    The close-out memo also criticized investigators for misinterpreting laws and relying on unverified information. Bank records showed the Centners' donations were made through an entity managed by Riley solely for logistical purposes, not to conceal transactions. Prosecutors chastised investigators for lacking familiarity with relevant laws and failing to independently verify key allegations.