Note from the news editors: UM News Briefs are a new segment from The Miami Hurricane. News briefs provide a weekly snapshot of life at the University of Miami, in Miami and sometimes around the state, country or world. Stay up to date with UM News Briefs.
THIS WEEK AT THE U
National Voter Registration Day with GOTV
Tuesday, Sept. 19 is National Voter Registration Day.
Get Out The Vote will be tabling at Lakeside Patio from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to register students ahead of Florida’s upcoming local elections and national elections.
Last fall the organization registered over 1,000 students ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, informing and mobilizing student voters.
For more information, check out @umgotv on Instagram or visit their Engage event page at this link.
Narcan training sessions
Sandler Center, Student Health, URecovery and F Fentanyl are hosting a Naloxone (Narcan) training on Thursday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. in the North Activities Room, located on the third floor of the Shalala Student Center.
Narcan is used to treat narcotic overdose in emergency situations. The nasal spray blocks the effects of opiates on the brain and restores breathing.
Pre-registration is required to participate in the training. Register via the link in their Engage event page. All attendees will receive Narcan upon completing the training.
Two more training sessions are scheduled for the Fall Semester on Oct. 11 at 12 p.m. in the Shalala North Activities Room and on Nov. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Shalala East Ballroom.
U KNOW MIAMI
Miami Commissioner arrested on money laundering and official misconduct charges
Miami Commissioner Alejandro “Alex” Diaz de la Portilla was arrested Thursday on over a dozen charges including money laundering, bribery and official misconduct charges, authorities said.
Diaz de la Portilla and attorney William W. Riley Jr. were arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on one count of money laundering, three counts of unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior, one count of bribery and one count of criminal conspiracy.
Diaz de la Portilla is being charged with an additional four counts of official misconduct, two counts of failure to report a gift and one count of campaign contribution in excess of legal limits, according to the FDLE. Riley Jr. is also charged with failure to disclose lobbyist expenses.
Before being arrested on Thursday afternoon, the commissioner was present at a City Council meeting.
According to the FDLE, agents found evidence that Diaz de la Portilla and Riley Jr. accepted over $15,000 in payments for Diaz de la Portilla’s brother’s Miami-Dade County Court judicial campaign. The payments were not reported, as is required by Florida statutes.
Riley Jr. managed a bank account using the name of a Delaware-based corporation to launder about $245,000 in secret contributions made by a management services company in exchange for permission to build a sports complex in Miami.
Diaz de la Portilla and Riley Jr. were booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center and are expected to appear in front of a judge in first appearance bond court in Miami on Friday.
Diaz de la Portilla was being held on a $72,000 bond, while Riley Jr. was being held on a $46,000 bond.
IN CASE U MISSED IT
Hunter Biden hit with felony gun charges
Federal Prosecutors arrested Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, on Thursday in Delaware federal courts on three felony counts accusing him of lying about his drug use when buying a gun, court documents show.
According to the indictment, two of the counts carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while the third has a maximum of five years. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.
Two counts accuse Biden of allegedly completing a form indicating he was not using illegal drugs when he purchased a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018. The third count alleges that he possessed a firearm while using narcotics. The indictment says Biden certified on a federally mandated form “that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.”
Special counsel David Weiss, who headed the investigation, is overseeing the case. Weiss was appointed by Trump and was kept on as U.S. attorney for Delaware because of the unique nature of the investigation into a president’s son by the Justice Department.