Dade candidate drops request to seal records in perjury case
Miami-Dade County Commission candidate Sophia Lacayo is backing off her effort to seal the records from a perjury charge tied to a prior run for office. Lacayo’s lawyer, Susy Ribero-Ayala, said Friday the candidate decided to cancel next week’s court hearing on sealing her 2020 perjury case. Prosecutors charged her with lying about living in Sweetwater ahead of winning a seat on the city commission in 2019.
Prosecutors this week objected to sealing Lacayo’s perjury case, saying the public has a right to know about a candidate’s past offenses while in office.
The Miami Herald first reported on Lacayo’s petition to Miami-Dade County Court on Thursday.
“She doesn’t want to make an issue out of it,” Ribero-Ayala said in an interview. “It’s a very routine matter. I’m surprised the State Attorney even responded to this.”
Lacayo is running to be Miami-Dade’s District 12 commissioner and succeed term-limited Jose “Pepe” Diaz. The other candidate in the Aug. 23 election is Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez.
Lacayo resigned her Sweetwater seat after a year in office. Police determined she lied about an address that she used to meet the city’s two-year residency requirement for commission candidates. As part of her plea deal with prosecutors in 2020, Lacayo agreed to resign her seat and accept probation for a year.
Ribero-Ayala said she began the paperwork needed to seal the case last year, once Lacayo’s probation expired. While the request isn’t withdrawn, RiberoAyala said she’s asking a judge to cancel the July 7 hearing in Miami-Dade County Court with no plans to reschedule.
“Is this going to make a significant difference to voters? I don’t think so,” Ribero-Ayala said. “If it does make a difference, she wants to be an open book.”