Charge dropped in slap case involving lobbyist, Miami commissioner at Gables steakhouse
The case of the slap heard around Miami ended on Tuesday when state prosecutors quietly dropped a lone charge of battery against a well-known Coral Gables lobbyist.
Six months ago, Carlos J. Gimenez, son of U.S. Congressman Carlos Gimenez, sent tongues wagging after wandering up on Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla and slapping his head with an open palm as the commissioner was seated at an outdoor table at Morton’s Steakhouse during the busy lunch hour.
Besides becoming water cooler fodder, the incident created quite the scene in Coral Gables, with Gimenez and a Miami cop spilling to the ground, patrons leaving their seats and taking pictures, and dozens of Coral Gables cops rushing to the scene.
Tuesday, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office put the incident to rest with much less fanfare, declaring it so harmless it wasn’t worth prosecuting.
“After a complete review of the case, including speaking with witnesses, reviewing discovery and researching the case law, it is clear that though the defendant did effectuate an unwanted touch upon the victim, the contact made was so de minimis that it does not warrant prosecution,” Assistant State Attorney Kristen Rodriguez wrote in the close-out memo. The dictionary definition of the Latin term reads like this: “too trivial or minor to merit consideration, especially in law.”
C.J. Gimenez’s attorney Michael Band said his client was appreciative that the charges had been dropped, but added he’d been through a long and “tortured journey.”
“Mr. Gimenez wound up spending 18 hours in jail, which was totally out of the norm. He should have gotten a notice to appear,” said Band. “I don’t think my client was treated particularly fairly. Was it because the purported victim is a sitting commissioner?”
The announcement didn’t sit very well with Diaz de la Portilla, however, who said it was clear that State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle “bowed to the demands of a high-ranking public official to protect daddy’s little boy.”
“As the victim of an unprovoked criminal attack in broad daylight, I am disturbed the state attorney has run away from her responsibility to protect crime victims,” Diaz de la Portilla said.
There was nothing particularly unusual about the sunny Wednesday afternoon in early February at Morton’s in downtown Coral Gables. That is, until C.J. Gimenez made his way down the street and noticed Diaz de la Portilla seated with friends Carlos Lago, a land use attorney and brother of Gables Mayor Vince Lago, and Humberto Hernandez, a former Miami commissioner.
Then, without much warning, Gimenez slapped Diaz de la Portilla in the head and uttered the now infamous line, “Hey p**sy, do you remember me?”
Gimenez has never offered an explanation as to why he made the statement or slapped the commissioner. The two do have history, though it remains unclear if the slap had anything to do with an incident a decade earlier involving Gimenez’s wife and Diaz de la Portilla.
In 2012, according to records from the Central Division of the Boston Municipal Court, Diaz de la Portilla and C.J. Gimenez’s wife Tania Cruz were both arrested at a Boston hotel for trespassing. The report says they both ignored requests by security to stop smoking in a hotel room and became belligerent. The misdemeanor case was dismissed prior to arraignment by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Cruz said she was in Boston with Diaz de la Portilla, courting a client. The two later did work together on Joe Carollo’s successful 2017 campaign for Miami commissioner.
After the slap, Diaz de la Portilla’s sergeant-at-arms, Stanley Paul Noel, approached Gimenez and they wrestled or fell to the ground, the larger cop on top of the government affairs attorney. Gimenez was later taken to a jail cell at the Coral Gables police station, before being booked into the Turner Guilford Knight correctional center on a battery charge.
But even his stay in the Gables jail cell became controversial when a Miami cop showed up, entered the cell, handcuffed Gimenez and tried to escort him away. The officer was stopped by a Gables cop who radioed upstairs and was told in no uncertain terms that Gimenez was to remain in Coral Gables.
“He was stopped by the chief [Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak],” said Gimenez attorney Michael Band. “But why did that occur? We don’t have any answers to that.”
Miami Police Chief Manny Morales refused comment, saying that a complaint filed by Gimenez has led to an ongoing internal affairs investigation into the sergeant-at-arms’ actions. In March Political Cortadito blogger Elaine de Valle published texts between Morales and Hudak. Hudak at first texts Morales and tells him that Miami cops wanted to take custody of Gimenez, but he shut that down.
Replied Morales: “That was a miscommunication on our side — Jr is aware — you are primary and handle all - all we get is access by detective to interview.
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 4:29 PM.
