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Commissioners Marlon Bolton and Elvin Villalobos.
Tamarac Commissioner Elvin Villalobos said Monday he is seeking legal counsel to file suit against fellow commissioner Marlon Bolton for “malicious” defamation in articles published on the Tamarac Post, a news website allegedly linked to Bolton.
He says the website, which is linked to Bolton and several of his political allies through government records and digital evidence, posted numerous false and misleading claims about Villalobos, as well as digitally altered images of the commissioner.
In one of the doctored photos, Villalobos is seen drinking from a whiskey bottle, in another he is wearing women’s earrings and in a third his face is covered in clown makeup.
“The proliferation of manipulated images online has become a serious problem as these distortions mislead the public and compromise the integrity of information,” Villalobos said in a press release Monday. “I strongly condemn such misinformation as it undermines our community’s fundamental trust in shared information. I encourage everyone to view online content with discernment and question the authenticity of the images they find online, especially when they come from problematic sources (like Tamarac Post).”
Bolton has repeatedly sent the site’s articles in email newsletters to thousands of Tamarac residents. Although he advertises on the site, he did not respond to an email seeking comment on this story.
Villalobos said he was addressing the Tamarac Post’s coverage of him “head-on” to “clear the air and clear up the misinformation about my character” and to “underscore his commitment to ethical service and clear up several misconceptions” created by the Tamarac Post’s stories.
Villalobos said the articles on the website raised questions about his ethics by using “malicious” disinformation and demonstrably false claims.
He said he contacted lawyers over the weekend to file a defamation suit against Tamarac Post, its representatives named in state business filings and Bolton, who Villalobos said maintains the site and writes its articles.
According to Red Broward, Tamarac Post Media LLC was founded in July 2020 by Anthony Bonamy, a political ally of Bolton whose LinkedIn page lists him as the small business development manager for Miami-Dade County. A May press release from the Miami-Dade Office of Innovation and Economic Development lists Bonamy as a county employee and media liaison for the office.
When Red Broward asked Bonamy in 2021 why his company was behind the formation of Tamarac Post as an LLC, he claimed he did not “operate” the website but admitted to owning its domain, Red Broward reported.
According to Red Broward, Bonamy claimed he did not know who was posting articles on the Tamarac Post and said his wife would take over posting duties in May 2021.
This month, Tamarac Post Media LLC officially notified the state that it had a new chief operating officer, a Tamarac-based company called One Millennial Media LLC, according to business records obtained by RedBroward and the state.
One Millennial Media (OMM) was founded in 2020 and is currently run by Bonamy’s wife, Violene Vil, records show. Vil’s LinkedIn page identifies her as the communications manager for the National Haitian-American Elected Officials Network.
“Communications specialist Violene Vil is the youngest in her family to start an independent company,” the site says. “OMM is the pinnacle of public relations” in the region.
Vil did not respond to an email seeking comment on this article.
Tamarac Talk has requested information from the state regarding advertising revenue or other income reported by OMM because Tamarac Post solicits paid advertisements on its website.
Will Butler, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Revenue, said taxpayer information is confidential under Florida state law.
Ben Wilcox, research director at government watchdog group Integrity Florida, said Bolton should disclose any interest in Tamarac Post.
“Whether you were involved in its creation or can influence the alleged messages that are published on the site, disclosing your interests would be an ethical approach,” Wilcox said. “But that would likely defeat his political goals.”
Wilcox said he was used to seeing misleading information in political ads, but had never seen a supposed news channel created primarily to attack political opponents.
“This really seems to be reaching a new dimension: creating your own fake (online) newspaper and then basically attacking the enemy under a false flag.”
In previous Tamarac Post articles, Villalobos was accused of a number of offenses, including misusing city resources and improperly spending taxpayer money during a lobbyist dinner in Washington, DC in March 2023. Villalobos said the allegations were false.
A report from the Broward Inspector General’s Office uncovered possible violations of Broward County’s ethics law stemming from the dinner, which was attended by Tamarac’s federal lobbyist, City Manager Levent Sucuoglu and four city commission members, including Bolton and Villalobos.
The OIG report, which did not accuse either commissioner of wrongdoing, aimed to “remind all Broward elected officials to be aware of the gifts they may receive so as not to violate the gift prohibitions in the Code of Ethics,” the report said.
Villalobos said Bolton also filed a complaint against him with the Florida Ethics Commission, alleging that he pressured Tamarac officials to purchase an electric vehicle for his personal use.
In fact, Villalobos said, “the decision to use a city vehicle was proposed by the commission during a workshop and commission meeting to save taxpayer money and eliminate the $700 car allowance” that commission members receive each month.
“For nearly a year, I did not claim the car allowance,” Villalobos said in his press release. “I claimed the mileage allowance under the IRS reimbursement guidelines, which required an approval process by (Tamarac’s) financial auditor, finance director and city manager.”
Villalobos said that as part of his efforts to promote environmentally friendly initiatives, Sucuoglu purchased two vehicles as “fleet vehicles” for use by commissioners and city employees.
“I didn’t specify a specific make or model of vehicle,” he said. “I used the city car for two weeks and then returned it.”
Villalobos said another Tamarac Post article contained inaccurate claims about a civil lawsuit involving about $8,000 Villalobos owes to American Express, which he said arose “due to a misunderstanding regarding payment terms and misdirected invoices.”
“I am actively working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” he said.
The commissioner said the Tamarac Post also falsely reported that Villalobos had been evicted from his office in King’s Point Plaza.
“While it is true that the termination of my office lease at King’s Point Plaza was classified as an ‘eviction’ in a legal filing, it is important to clarify the circumstances of this matter,” the press release states. “The landlord and I have reached a mutual agreement that allows me to be released from the lease without incurring any additional fees or costs. Both parties have reached a professional and amicable resolution, and I am happy to continue to support both the owner of the Plaza and the businesses located there.”
Villalobos has been a commissioner for Tamarac’s District 3 since 2020. The father of two is running for re-election, with challenger Krystal Patterson trying to oust him from office.
Tamarac Mayor Michelle Gomez, who said she was also the subject of articles in the Tamarac Post containing false or misleading claims, claimed the stories about Villalobos were published “with the intent to harm his reputation” and impact his job.
“This is misinformation and disinformation,” said Gomez, who is also a lawyer. “It’s ridiculous and a pure attempt to hurt someone.”
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Author profile
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Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a contributing editor at The Miami Times, Rio Grande SUN, New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press and Bronx Justice News.
