Arnold Alex Daoud (May 19, 1943 – March 15, 2025) was an American attorney, politician and author who served as the mayor of

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, from 1985 to 1991. In 1991, Daoud was indicted for 41 counts of

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

and was convicted and served seventeen months in a federal prison.

Life and career

Alex Daoud was born on May 19, 1943, in the city of

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, where he also grew up.Nelson Gary. His grandparents were

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

and

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

immigrants from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. His mother, the youngest woman to pass the New York bar exam in the early 1920s, and his father, an antiques dealer, moved from New York to Florida during World War II. At the age of six, Daoud contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

; he was in a wheelchair for six months and later needed braces and crutches, but he eventually recovered without lifelong disability. Daoud, an attorney, was an associate in the law firm of Galbut Galbut and Menin, although he reportedly did little legal work for them, focusing on public service. He served as a Miami City Attorney, then was elected to the Miami Beach City Commission in 1979. He was re-elected to a second term in 1981 and then a third term in 1983. In 1985, he became the first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

to be elected Mayor of Miami Beach. In 1987, he won re-election by 86% of the popular vote. In 1989, he was re-elected to an unprecedented third consecutive term as Mayor of Miami Beach and became the first mayor in city history to serve five or more consecutive years. During his tenure as mayor, he promoted tourism and Miami Beach transformed from a beachfront slum to a center of partying and fashion. However, on October 29, 1991, he was indicted on federal bribery charges. He admitted to receiving bribes from developers in return for political influence and city council votes, as well as soliciting free work on his house from contractors seeking city business. He was convicted of bribery in 1992 and of other corruption crimes in 1993. He served 17 months in federal prison, followed by three years of probation. He testified against many of the people who had paid him in bribes. In 2007, he wrote a book (published by Pegasus publishing house)''Sins of South Beach: The True Story of Corruption, Violence, Murder and the Making of Miami Beach'', which "chronicles the sex, violence and corruption of his time in public office." It is an autobiographical depiction of Miami Beach in the 1980s, a "retirement ghetto" plagued by rampant crime, and its regeneration into a premier vacation and nightlife destination. He described how crime was reduced by "attitude adjustment sessions," in which police would severely beat known criminals and then dump them in Miami across the causeway. Daoud died on March 15, 2025, at the age of 81.Alex Daoud, former Miami Beach mayor marred by bribery conviction, dead at 81
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daoud, Alex 1943 births 2025 deaths American mayors of Middle Eastern descent American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes American politicians of Lebanese descent Mayors of Miami Beach, Florida Politicians from Miami Florida politicians convicted of crimes Catholics from Florida

Life and career

See also

References