"Only the best?" DeSantis put a bankrupt banker in charge of billions
In January 2023, Mike DiNapoli applied to be the head of Florida Housing Finance Corp. At the time, Governor Ron DeSantis’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier*, wrote a letter of recommendation (the only such letter) to support his candidacy for the position. In the letter, Uthmeier urged the corporation’s board chairperson, Mario Facella, to pick DiNapoli. The letter did not say why. But it did demand, “Please take this important action at your next available opportunity to meet.”
So who is this DiNapoli guy?
For years, Mike DiNapoli worked in wealth management in New York — until he forged a customer’s signature and stole money from a client, who happened to be his sister. His employer, the private investment bank UBS fired him in 2015. Mike was not just a professional loser. His expertise in financial mismanagement extended to his personal life.
As the Miami Herald reports,
Creditors were garnishing DiNapoli’s bank accounts. His nearly 10-acre equestrian estate in Ocala was in foreclosure and his homeowners association was pursuing him for past dues. In 2017, he filed for bankruptcy.
For many, this would be a career killer — especially if their career was in finance. But Napoli had two things in his favor. He knew people. And he lived in Florida. The Herald’s story goes on,
Later that year, DiNapoli found a new career working in state government, and in January, DeSantis promoted him to lead the Florida Housing Finance Corp., the state-created organization in charge of Florida’s affordable housing dollars.
It seems there are more background checks in applying for a sales job at Target than in managing millions of Florida taxpayer money. Amazingly, somebody must have raised an objection to putting a self-dealing incompetent in charge of public money. After less than six months on the job, the corporation suspended DiNapoli.
However, the paper further reports,
As of Friday, 21 days after DiNapoli was suspended, the corporation has not acknowledged his suspension or the reason for it. It’s unclear whether the DeSantis administration was aware of DiNapoli’s history. His office has not responded to any requests for comment over the last week.
It does not matter if DeSantis knew. He is the boss. I do not expect Governors to know the details of every state hire. However, they should get briefings on agency heads. And they should have a rigorous vetting process for all jobs.
Ignorance is the classic CEO defense. From Ken Lay at Enron to all the other CEOs who blame subordinates for organizational criminality, claiming to be a moron is the price they pay for trying to dodge responsibility. It is a weasel’s strategy.
Marine tradition has it that the Captain goes down with their ship, even if they are not directly responsible for its sinking — because quality leaders take responsibility for the actions of their subordinates. But there is no one quicker than conservative leaders to finger-point and blame-shift.
So far, no one is talking. On Tuesday, the Herald asked the Florida Housing Finance Corp. for DiNapoli’s resume or application. They said they had none on file. The paper also requested those documents from his previous employer, the Florida Department of Commerce. As of Friday, the Herald reported the department had ignored the request.
A reasonable person will ask how DeNapoli got his job. After all, federal and state records show,
In February 2015, American Express sued him in Marion County to recoup $10,398.50 charged to his JetBlue card. The company was allowed to garnish his bank accounts to recoup the amount until December 2022. (In 2016, American Express sued DiNapoli’s wife to recoup $5,448.95 in charges.)
In November 2015, his mortgage lender moved to foreclose on the Ocala home he and his wife bought in 2013, a nearly 10-acre property with a four-stall horse stable with tack room and feed room, according to a description on Zillow. The lender alleged he had missed the last six months of $2,656.82 payments.
In 2016, his homeowners association filed a lien on his home, alleging he owed $1,000 in dues.
Also in 2016, the New York City Athletic Club, where DiNapoli stayed while working for UBS and commuting from Florida, sued DiNapoli to recoup $10,728.43 in outstanding charges. The company was allowed to garnish his bank account, and the amount was paid back in 2017.
In May 2017, DiNapoli filed for bankruptcy, claiming he had less than $50,000 in assets and between $500,000 and $1 million in liabilities.
In 2019, after a three-year legal battle, a New York court ordered DiNapoli to pay back $1.4 million of a signing bonus UBS had given him.
Regardless, in August 2017, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity made Napoli a deputy chief. Later he was promoted to lead the Office of Small and Minority Business Capital — another example of Florida’s commitment to ignoring diversity, even in jobs catering to the minority community.
It is impossible to argue that DiNapoli was given any of his jobs on merit. A personal bankruptcy springing from medical debt or the like is understandable. And people get fired from jobs all the time. But DiNapoli is a questionable money manager with the ethics of a religious fundamentalist.
The only rational conclusion is that incapability and immorality are career assets in red states.
(*For those keeping score, Uthmeier is now the floundering DeSantis’ new campaign manager)