Who is Carlos Guillermo ‘Bill’ Alonso?
man who police officers say was operating the boat that struck and killed a 15-year-old girl near Key Biscayne is the owner of a company with clients such as Baptist Hospital, the Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach school boards and Miami International Airport, records show.
For decades, 78-year-old Carlos Guillermo Alonso has run Technical Systems & Equipment Corp., at
8426 NW 56th St. in Doral. The company specializes in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
Alonso, who goes by the nickname Bill, came to the United States from Cuba in the early 1960s through “Operation Pedro Pan,” an exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.
State records say Alonso and his wife, Magaly, started the company in 1979. They bought the Doral building in 1984 and registered their company with the state in 1994. The company, which remains active, has a second office in Palm Beach Gardens. Other companies that the Alonsos run are: Baruch Adonai LLC and Immanuel Properties, which owns the Doral building.
Alonso and his wife own the Coral Gables home at 11025 Tanya St., where a 42-foot, 2020 Boston Whaler boat was docked when Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agents seized the vessel Tuesday afternoon.
The Alonsos bought the 14,650-square-foot waterThe front lot in the south Gables, near Matheson Hammock Park, in 1986. In 1990, they finished building their four-bedroom, four-bathroom home, about 5,600 square feet, according to Miami-Dade property records.
They bought the lot for $121,800, according to property records. In today’s real estate market, the house would sell for $5 million or more, says a real estate agent.
The Alonsos have two adult children: a 52-yearold son, who public records say lives at the Coral Gables home, and a 54year-old daughter.
FWC investigators had been searching for the boat’s operator since last Saturday, the day Ella
Riley Adler, a freshman at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, was struck and killed by a boat while being towed behind another boat after she fell off a wake board off Key Biscayne.
They located the boat Tuesday afternoon docked behind the Alonso home. They seized the Boston Whaler and towed it to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
Alonso has been boating for 50 years and is a “very experienced boater who knows these waters,” according to his attorney, Lauren Field Krasnoff. He has never been cited for driving or boating offenses, records show.
Field Krasnoff also said in her statement to the Miami Herald that Alonso “has no knowledge whatsoever of having been involved in this accident” — and if he did, he would have stopped. The FWC said the boat that hit Ella did not stop and that Alonso
was the only person in the Whaler at the time of the crash.
Field Krasnoff said Alonso was unaware there had been an accident until officers showed up at his door, she said.
“Bill is a good man and he is absolutely devastated by the loss of this intelligent, accomplished and beautiful young woman,” Field Krasnoff said in the statement. “He has cooperated 100% with law enforcement and will continue to do so.”
The FWC said its investigation is ongoing; the agency has not charged anyone.
Ella was the granddaughter of Michael Adler, the U.S. ambassador to Belgium. Michael Adler was formerly president of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and vice chair of the Florida International University Board of Trustees. Ella was a ballerina in more than 100 performances of Miami City Ballet’s production of “The
Nutcracker” and was a member of Ransom’s dance team.
First Lady Jill Biden met with the Adlers on Tuesday.
“We are honored that the First Lady paid a shiva call to our family during this time of immense pain. We are touched by their support and love and we are proud to call the President and First Lady our friends for over 40 years,” according to a statement from the family, as reported by CBS News Miami, a Herald news partner.