Uthmeier is running for a four-year term as attorney general in the November election, which will be his first. Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Uthmeier, DeSantis\u2019 former chief of staff, to attorney general in February 2025 after former Attorney General Ashley Moody was appointed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio\u2019s former seat in the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n
In February, Uthmeier\u2019s office tried to insert itself into the legal battle between Miami\u2019s Biscayne 21 condo tower and Two Roads Development after the developer donated $25,000 to the attorney general.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two Roads Development, which controls 183 of the 192 units in the tower, wanted to tear down the building to make way for luxury condos, demolishing most of the building\u2019s interior despite objections from residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A judge ordered<\/a> Two Roads to rebuild what it had destroyed, which the developer estimated would cost more than $60 million, the outlet said. Shortly after, Uthmeier\u2019s office asked the judge if the state could join the case on behalf of Two Roads Development to protect public health and safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTen days after the $25,000, for the first time ever, the attorney general now wants to intervene in our case,\u201d Glen Waldman, the attorney representing the Biscayne 21 residents, told a Miami judge last month. \u201cIs it a coincidence? Hardly.\u201d<\/p>\n During last month\u2019s hearing, Two Roads Development, led by James Harpel, said it wasn\u2019t the first time the attorney general\u2019s office tried to intervene. Last year, Uthmeier tried to step into the case at the Florida Supreme Court but wasn\u2019t able to after the justices declined to hear the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n Two weeks after that, one of Two Road Development\u2019s managing partners gave $100,000 to the Republican Party of Florida, which transferred $500,000 to Uthmeier\u2019s committee over the next month, the publication said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In March, Uthmeier received $25,000 from a trust tied to Matthew Lazenby, CEO of Whitman Family Development. The developer is suing<\/a> the Village of Bal Harbour after officials blocked the addition of a high-rise residential tower to Whitman\u2019s luxury Bal Harbour Shops. Two weeks after the donation, Uthmeier\u2019s office intervened<\/a> in the dispute, arguing a new state law prevented the village from limiting the project, the outlet said.<\/p>\n Bal Harbour Mayor Seth Salver said the intervention, which came two weeks before the village was set to consider a settlement with Whitman, didn\u2019t affect the case but spooked the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI figured there was some quid pro quo,\u201d Salver told the Tampa Bay Times. \u201cI just didn\u2019t think it would be that brazen.\u201d<\/p>\n Bal Harbour\u2019s village council rejected the settlement in April, opting to continue the two-year litigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The publication said there\u2019s no proof that the attorney general\u2019s office agreed to intervene in exchange for money. But other instances of his involvement in legal battles have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Uthmeier appeared to fast-track a pardon for Sarah Porreca, a convicted felon whose father donated $100,000 to a political committee that supports Republican candidates and the Republican Party of Florida.<\/p>\n \u2014Grace McClung<\/p>\n \tRead more \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDevelopment\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSouth Florida\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Playing hardball: Bal Harbour won\u2019t settle for scaled down Whitman Family project<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Bal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Bal-Harbour-Wont-Settle-for-Smaller-Whitman-Family-Project-200x133.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"Whitman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MIA_AG-Live-Local-Brief-200x133.jpg\")
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