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Michael Grieco

For the member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, see Michael L. Grieco.

Michael Christopher Grieco (born September 21, 1975) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat, Grieco served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2018 to 2022, representing the 113th district.

Michael Grieco
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 113th district
In office
November 6, 2018 – November 8, 2022
Preceded byDavid Richardson
Succeeded byFabián Basabe (redistricting)
Member of the
Miami Beach City Commission
from the 2nd district
In office
November 20, 2013 – October 24, 2017
Preceded byJorge Exposito
Succeeded byMark Samuelian
Personal details
Born
Michael Christopher Grieco

(1975-09-21) September 21, 1975 (age 49)
New York City, New York
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseChristine Klingspor
Children2
Alma materAmerican University (BA)
University of Miami (JD)

Early life and education

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Grieco was born in New York City on September 21, 1975, and was raised on Long Island. He attended American University in Washington, D.C., receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1997. In the same year, Grieco moved to Florida in order to attend the University of Miami, where he received a juris doctor degree in 1999.[1][2]

Early career

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After having been accepted into the Florida Bar, Grieco began his career as an assistant state attorney of Miami-Dade County, serving under Katherine Fernandez Rundle.[3][4]

In 2006, Grieco moved to Miami Beach and began his own private practice as a criminal defense attorney, founding the law firm Michael Grieco Law Center.

Political career

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Miami Beach city commissioner

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In 2013, Grieco ran for the Miami Beach city commission, running in District 2 against incumbent Jorge Exposito. In the nonpartisan primary held on November 5, 2013, Grieco received 35% of the vote, placing second behind Exposito, who received 45% of the vote.[5] However, since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election was held on November 19, 2013, in which Grieco narrowly defeated Exposito, receiving 54% of the vote to Exposito's 46%.[6][7]

Campaign for Miami Beach mayor, 2017

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In 2017, Grieco ran for mayor of Miami Beach to replace term-limited mayor Philip Levine. Greico was an early frontrunner, alongside former state senator Dan Gelber.[8] However, on June 6, 2017, the Miami Herald reported that a political action committee named People for Better Leaders raised over $200,000 for the mayoral election.[4] Grieco initially denied any association with the PAC, and called the Miami Herald investigation fake news; when confronted by reporters, Grieco vehemently stated, "You can look right into my soul," while denying the allegations.[9] However, the PAC was found to be tied to him via his handwriting on documents, and a string of donors, including high-profile Miami Beach vendors, developers, and lobbyists, who testified that Grieco solicited their donations.[3][4] The PAC was founded and led by Brian Abraham, a Coral Gables strip club manager, and Brian George, a bankrupted accountant, both associates of Grieco. Rundle, the Miami-Dade state attorney, began a criminal corruption probe regarding Grieco's association with the PAC.[3][10]

In late July 2017, Grieco dropped out of the mayoral election, opting instead to run for re-election to the city commission.[8] However, on September 25, Grieco dropped his bid for re-election as well.[11] During the investigation, prosecutors discovered that one of the people who donated to Grieco's PAC was Petter Hagland, a Norwegian millionaire who donated $25,000 to the PAC. The donation, made in the name of Tony Rodriguez-Tellaheche, a Miami Beach realtor and Grieco associate, violated both Florida law, which makes it illegal to donate money to a political campaign in another person's name, and federal campaign finance law, which disallows foreign nationals from financially contributing to American elections.[12]

On October 27, 2017, Grieco resigned from the Miami Beach city commission.[13] Later that day, he appeared in court and pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of violating campaign finance law. Judge Samuel Slom sentenced Grieco to 1 year of probation, barred him from holding elected office during his probation period, and ordered him to pay a fine of $6,000.[14] On May 1, 2018, Grieco's probation was terminated 6 months early.[3]

Florida state representative

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On May 4, 2018, just three days after the end of his probation, Grieco announced his candidacy for the 113th district in the Florida House of Representatives, seeking to replace retiring Democrat David Richardson.[15] Grieco easily defeated Republican J. P. Parker, a lawyer, in the general election receiving 62% of the vote to Parker's 38.[16]

In May 2020, allegations arose that while serving as the defense attorney for Quinton Dunbar, a Seattle Seahawks cornerback, regarding an armed robbery charge, Grieco allegedly paid off the victims and witnesses.[17][18] Grieco denied these allegations, and the Miramar Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began an investigation regarding the alleged witness tampering. Both agencies found no clear evidence that Grieco had paid off the victims.[19] However, in July 2020, the Florida Bar opened an investigation into Grieco regarding both the witness tampering allegations and the previous campaign finance charge, which could lead to Grieco being disbarred.[19][20]

Grieco ran for re-election in 2020, and won a second term unopposed.[21]

Campaign for State Senate

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On November 14, Grieco filed to run for Senate District 37 likely going against incumbent Ileana Garcia. The district will shrink to cover only a portion of Miami-Dade County’s coast, including parts of Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Sweetwater and West Miami.[22] On June 1, Grieco posted on social media that he was dropping out of the race for SD-37 citing a lack of funds from various organizations and a reluctance from these groups to back his campaign. Grieco also stated he would not run for another term for his house seat.[23][24]

Campaign for Miami Beach mayor, 2023

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In 2023, Grieco made a second attempt to become the Mayor of Miami Beach, after his first run in 2017.[25] However, he was unsuccessful in the mayoral race, receiving about 20% of the vote.[26] During his campaign, Grieco faced criticism for his past campaign finance scandal and a 90-day suspension recommendation for his law license.[27] Furthermore, Grieco's campaign was also affected by the revelation of a recent incident in 2023 where he left a loaded gun unattended at a local park,[28] as well as a 2020 incident where his gun went missing from a rental car.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "MICHAEL GRIECO". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  2. ^ "Florida Representative Michael Grieco (D) | LobbyTools". Lobby Tools. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  3. ^ a b c d Bobrowsky, Meghan (August 6, 2020). "Miami Beach Rep. Michael Grieco hit with Bar complaint in wake of Herald investigation". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Flechas, Joey (September 26, 2017). "He says he quit Beach election for family. It was actually a criminal investigation". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "Dade - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  6. ^ "OFFICIAL RUN-OFF ELECTION" (PDF). Miami-Dade County. November 22, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Miami Beach History of Mayors and Council Members" (PDF). Miami Beach City Government. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Flechas, Joey (July 31, 2017). "Blaming 'mudslinging,' Grieco drops bid for Beach mayor". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  9. ^ ""BEST QUOTE 'You Can Look Right Into My Soul' — Michael Grieco"". Miami New Times. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  10. ^ Batchelor, Amanda (2017-10-24). "Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco resigns amid campaign financial scandal". WPLG. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  11. ^ Flechas, Joey (September 25, 2017). "With corruption probe looming, Michael Grieco drops Miami Beach re-election bid". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Nehamas, Nicholas (October 10, 2017). "Who gave foreign money to Beach PAC? Prosecutors are asking this Norwegian millionaire". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  13. ^ Flechas, Joey (October 23, 2017). "Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco will resign as he faces criminal charge". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  14. ^ D'Oench, Peter (2017-10-24). "Grieco Resigns As Miami Beach Commissioner, Accepts Plea Deal". WFOR-TV. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  15. ^ Smiley, David (May 4, 2018). "What better way for a Florida politician to celebrate ending probation than a campaign?". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "Election Night Reporting". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  17. ^ "Quinton Dunbar's former attorney Michael Grieco being investigated by Florida Bar". NBC Sports. July 14, 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  18. ^ Dunleavy, Ryan (2020-11-16). "Lawyer for DeAndre Baker accusers arrested for alleged extortion attempt". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  19. ^ a b Bobrowsky, Meghan (July 14, 2020). "Florida lawmaker's ties to NFL robbery case sparks investigation". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  20. ^ Lean, Rachel (August 4, 2020). "Miami Lawyer in Hot Water With Florida Bar". Law.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  21. ^ "Michael Grieco". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  22. ^ "'We're going to shoot our shot': Michael Grieco files for remapped SD 37". Floridapolitics.com. 15 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Michael Grieco drops out of SD 36 race, won't run for re-election in the House". Floridapolitics.com. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Today I am announcing that I will no longer seek the Democratic nomination for Florida State Senate District 36. This difficult decision comes after consultation with my family, close friends and campaign team". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Meet the candidates running for Miami Beach Mayor". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Miami Beach mayoral race is heading to a runoff. Here are the results". www.miamiherald.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  27. ^ "Ex-Florida representative may have law license suspended amid campaign finance investigation". www.tampabay.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Loaded gun found in park belongs to Miami Beach mayoral candidate, public safety champion". www.nbcmiami.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Miami Beach mayoral candidate Grieco had earlier missing-gun episode in 2020". www.miamiherald.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
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