South Florida commissioner spent stolen law-firm funds at hotels, sex-toy shop, cops say

An El Portal city commissioner was arrested Thursday on allegations that he embezzled money from a law firm for stays in hotels, rides all over town and purchases at a Hialeah sex-toy shop called the Caliente Adult Superstore.

Law enforcement arrested Harold Mathis Jr. on over 60 felony counts, including grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, forgery and petty theft.

The allegations don’t relate to his position as an El Portal commissioner, but for his work as a paralegal for the Miami criminal defense firm Ratzan & Faccidomo.

“We thought of him like part of the firm’s family,” said the firm’s partner, defense attorney Jude Faccidomo. “We just hope he knows a really, really good criminal defense lawyer.”

Prosecutors say Mathis, 46, used the firm’s credit card for purchases at Caliente and Sensation Video, as well as stays at Hotel Gaythering, Cowshed Spa, Hotel Aladdin and the Estancia Hotel. Some of the stays were only for a few hours.

“Additional charges included Royal Caribbean cruises, airline tickets, bar, grocery stores, and late night to early morning Uber and Lyft rides,” according to an arrest warrant.

It was unclear Thursday if Mathis had an attorney. He remained jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday afternoon.

Mathis is also accused of stealing $1,900 from a client who had made payments to the firm in cash, prosecutors said. He is believed to have stolen at least $50,000 from the firm.

The investigation was spearheaded by the State Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Task Force.

Mathis had been a paralegal for the firm for more than six years.

Mathis became a councilman in 2006. He was appointed to fill the vacancy created when former mayor Audrey Edmonson resigned to accept a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission. He served until 2012, taking a two-year break before winning election in 2014.

El Portal’s mayor and city manager did not return requests for comment Thursday.

The investigation began when lawyers in the firm, back in March, confronted Mathis about his poor job performance. He left the office and quit.

Later, as Mathis was clearing out his desk, lawyer Mycki Ratzan noticed a Capital One credit card statement with a portion cut out of it, according to an arrest warrant.

When she confronted him, Mathis “sobbed and confessed that he had used the law firm’s Capitol One credit card for personal use and concealed his activity by altering the monthly statements,” the warrant said.

He paid back $1,400 and even offered to deed over his home. But he made no more payments and the offer to turn over the house never materialized, according to an arrest warrant by State Attorney’s Investigator Robert Fielder and prosecutor Kerrie Crockett.

The investigation revealed that Mathis had misused the credit card — and presented doctored paper statements to his bosses — for more than two years. He also improperly listed himself as the account’s authorized manager, which is why neither Faccidomo or Ratzan were ever alerted to the growing credit card balance, the warrant said.

At least 20 checks cut by Mathis also had forged signatures, prosecutors said.

Miami Herald staff writer Aaron Leibowitz contributed to this report.

This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 9:57 AM.