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Caesar DePaço

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Caesar DePaço
Honorary Consul of the Portuguese Republic in Florida
In office
3 October 2014 – 14 May 2020
Appointed byRui Machete,
Minister of Foreign Affairs[1]
Personal details
Born
César Manuel Cardoso Matos do Paço

(1965-09-21) 21 September 1965 (age 59)
Madalena, Azores, Portugal
CitizenshipPortugal
OccupationCEO of Summit Nutritionals International

César Manuel Cardoso Matos do Paço (born 21 September 1965), also known as Caesar DePaço, is a Portuguese businessman. He formerly served as the honorary consul for both Portugal and Cape Verde in the United States, in Palm Coast, Florida.[2][3] DePaço is the chief executive officer of Summit Nutritionals International, a food-industry company.[3][4] Despite his life in America, DePaço is not an American citizen.[5]

Following his tenure as the first – and only – Honorary Consul of Portugal to Florida, DePaço was appointed to the same position representing Cape Verde. In January 2021, he was dismissed following a scandal which led to the resignation of Cape Verde's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Filipe Tavares.

In January 2021, his lawyer edited the Wikipedia article about him and threatened legal action if Wikipedia did not remove information DePaço considered fraudulent; this included the mention of a one-time donation he made to CHEGA!, a right-wing political party in Portugal.[6][7]

Early life

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DePaço was born in Madalena do Pico, Azores on September 21, 1965.[8]

His father was the head of an Azorean finance department. According to DePaço, his entire childhood was spent in the Azores until he was 11 years old, when he visited the United States, to which he later emigrated in 1994.[5][9]

He currently lives with his wife, Deanna Padovani-DePaço, in New Jersey, where he founded Summit Nutritionals International and where he is known for several philanthropic activities, namely associated to the support of security forces of several US states.[10][11][12]

According to the Portuguese newspaper Expresso, DePaço has a degree in psychology and two doctorates. He was also a professor of psychology in Bangkok, Thailand, for four years.[13]

Career

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In 2019, DePaço became an official patron of FC Porto, a major Portuguese football club.[14] In 2020, DePaço became the owner and official patron of professional football club CF Canelas 2010.[15][16] In April 2020, when he announced his intention to invest in Canelas, he said one of the key goals was to move beyond the club's previous reputation for violence.[8]

Diplomatic positions

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On 3 October 2014, DePaço was appointed as Honorary Consul of the Portuguese Republic in Florida, based out of the city of Palm Coast, an invitation which surprised him.[17][18][5] At the time, this was the only Honorary Consulate, with full powers other than the granting of visas, besides another one in Connecticut.[5] He declined state aid from Portugal for the consulate, as he fully paid for the consulate's expenses, which amounted to half a million dollars a year.[5] In 2017, DePaço organized the first-ever raising of the Portuguese flag at a government building in Florida, at the Palm Coast City Hall.[19]

In May 2020, DePaço resigned from his position as Honorary Consul, citing irreconcilable differences with the Portuguese Ambassador to the United States, Domingos Fezas Vital, on matters concerning Portuguese national interest and foreign policy, stating that "I leave because I cannot compromise my principles and I will not overlook unacceptable conduct.".[20]

Allegations involving Chega

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On 11 January 2021, Portuguese news channel SIC Notícias broadcast a story asserting that DePaço had donated over ten thousand euros to Portugal's Chega party, and highlighted connections of several of its leaders to the DePaço Foundation.[21][22][23] This was controversial in Cape Verde due to Chega's opposition to immigration.[24][25] The day after the SIC story was aired, Cape Verdean Foreign Minister, who had recently appointed DePaço as Honorary Consul of Cape Verde to Florida, resigned.[26][27] DePaço was subsequently dismissed,[28] At the time he was appointed, Cape Verde already had a consul in Florida.[29]

His wife, Deanna Padovani-DePaço, remains as honorary consul of Cape Verde to New Jersey.[30] In an article in January 2021, the newspaper A Nação questioned the case of a husband and wife being both appointed to as consuls, writing "This is the first time Cape Verde has ever nominated a couple, husband and wife, to consulates in the same country, at once, to different states in the U.S.A".[30]

In late January 2021, DePaço's attorney Rui Barreira told Macao newspaper Ponto Final that DePaço was not dismissed from his position, but resigned on his own initiative on 12 January to avoid becoming a subject of controversy in Cabo Verde.[31] Barreira asserted that DePaço paid for the consular activities out of his own pocket.[31] He also said that DePaço's Wikipedia biographies had been the target of malicious editing.[31]

In June 2021, Portuguese-American newspaper LusoAmericano reported that DePaço was suing media outlets Sábado magazine, CMTV and SIC for what he called "attacks on his honour and image, due to the imputation of false facts," specifically that he is the "main financier of Chega," alleging that this claim had come to overshadow his career in international business in the minds of the Portuguese public.[32] DePaço said that he was never a financier of Chega, having made only one donation to the party within legal limits and otherwise uninvolved either as an activist or a party member.[32] He also filed criminal complaints against Cofina, which owns Sábado and CMTV, Cofina director Eduardo Dâmaso and journalist Alexandre Malhado as well as SIC information directors Ricardo Costa and Marta Reis and journalist Pedro Coelho.[32]

DePaço sued Wikipedia and editors.[33][34] The Wikimedia Foundation characterized this as a strategic lawsuit against public participation.[35] In December 2023, the Supreme Court of Portugal issued an order to Wikipedia demanding the removal of certain content that was deemed to be inaccurate. They also asked for the identification of the editors responsible for that content.[36] On January 25, 2024, the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) reconfirmed the decision. According to Sábado magazine, the "Conference of judges maintained a decision taken in November 2023. Editors of the businessman's page could be revealed and subject to legal action."[37]

Philanthropy

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His charitable giving has primarily centered around sponsoring or donating police dogs to local police forces.[38] In August 2024, DePaço was appointed as a Law Enforcement Liaison Officer at the Somerset County, New Jersey Sheriff’s Office.[39]

César do Paço donated €10,000 to organizations protecting and defending the endangered Iberian Wolf.[40]

References

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  1. ^ Despacho n.º 12562/2014 (Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros – Direção-Geral dos Assuntos Consulares e das Comunidades Portuguesas) Archived 17 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine – Diário da República n.º 198/2014, Série II de 2014-10-14
  2. ^ "Diário de Noticias – Caesar de Paco". Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Consulates in the US – Embassy of Portugal". www.embassyportugal-us.org. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Summit Nutritionals International®". Summit Nutritionals. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Uma vida entre os negócios e a ajuda aos portugueses". www.dn.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  6. ^ Renascença (26 January 2021). "Wikipédia pressionada a "limpar currículo" de empresário apoiante do Chega – Renascença". Rádio Renascença (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Ex-cônsul que quer apagar ligações ao Chega em guerra com a Wikipédia". www.cm-tv.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Cônsul milionário em Palm Peach quer investir no Canelas". Bancada. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  9. ^ Rendeiro, Carolina (10 June 2020). ""Caesar DePaço resigned as consul honorarium in Palm Coast, claiming incompatibility with the Portuguese ambassador in Washington"" (PDF). Portuguese Times. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  10. ^ "OBPD adds new K-9 thanks to a donor | Ormond Beach Observer". Ormond Beach Observer. 30 August 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  11. ^ Mano, Henrique (25 October 2022). "EUA: Empresário português faz mais um donativo de $10 mil para causa ligada à segurança pública". LusoAmericano. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  12. ^ Mano, Henrique (10 January 2023). "NEW JERSEY | Empresário Caesar DePaço e esposa reconhecidos no estado de Utah". LusoAmericano. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  13. ^ Mateus, Cátia (25 April 2014). "The Portuguese who profited from mad cow disease" (PDF). Portugal Global. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  14. ^ "FC Porto – Boxe Azul e Branco Tem Novo Patrocinador". March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. ^ LusoAmericano – Rescaldo da Breve mas Frutuosa Visita do Cônsul Caesar DePaço a Portugal
  16. ^ "ZeroZero – FC Canelas 2020". Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Portuguese Consulate in Palm Coast – Palm Coast – Palm Coast Observer". 12 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  18. ^ "Message from the Consul". Archived from the original on 29 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Palm Coast Observer – Palm Coast City Hall becomes First in Florida to Raise Portuguese Flag". 11 June 2017. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Flagler Live – Caesar DePaço, Portugal's Honorary Consul in Palm Coast Since 2014, Resigns Indignantly". 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  21. ^ Carvalho, Miguel (12 January 2021). "Os empresários e as redes que apoiam Ventura" [The businessmen and networks that support Ventura]. Visão (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  22. ^ Coelho, Pedro (11 January 2021). "Grande Reportagem SIC – "A Grande Ilusão: cifrões e outros demónios"". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  23. ^ Carvalho, Miguel (21 May 2020). "Chega, SA: por dentro do Reino de "Deus" Ventura". Visão (in Portuguese). No. 1420. pp. 29–39.
  24. ^ "O Embaixador Político, o Cônsul Honorário e as desculpas de mau pagador – Entrelinhas". santiagomagazine.cv (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  25. ^ "O pior da extrema-direita em Portugal". A Nação (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021 – via PressReader.
  26. ^ "Luís Filipe Tavares pede demissão" [Luís Filipe Tavares resigns]. A Nação (in Portuguese). 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Cabo Verde: Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros demite-se depois de polémica com cônsul ligado ao Chega" [Cape Verde: Foreign Minister resigns over controversy with consul with links to Chega]. Observador (in Portuguese). 12 January 2021. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Governo vai exonerar Caesar DePaço como Consul na Florida – Política – Início". santiagomagazine.cv (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  29. ^ Almeida, Daniel (24 January 2021), "Cônsules-honorários: Cabo Verde tinha dois representantes para o mesmo território nos EUA", A Nação (in Portuguese), archived from the original on 24 January 2021, retrieved 27 February 2021
  30. ^ a b Almeida, Daniel (17 January 2021). "Diplomacia: Cabo Verde apanhado em relações perigosas com a extrema-direita portuguesa" [Diplomacy: Cape Verde caught in dangerous relations with the Portuguese extreme-right]. A Nação (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  31. ^ a b c "Caesar DePaço pediu exoneração do cargo de cônsul honorário de Cabo Verde". Ponto Final (in Portuguese). 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  32. ^ a b c "Businessman Caesar DePaço is suing Portuguese media". LusoAmericano. 7 June 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  33. ^ jaime (5 May 2021). "PUBLIC CLARIFICATION NOTICE OF CÉSAR De PAÇO • Caesar DePaço". Caesar DePaço. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Nota pública de esclarecimento de César do Paço". ionline (in Portuguese). 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  35. ^ Rogers, Jacob; Choudhary, Kabir (27 July 2023). "High stakes for the Wikimedia projects in Portugal: Fighting a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP)". Diff. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Supremo Tribunal obriga 'Wikipédia' a remover referências a César do Paço". www.cmjornal.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  37. ^ "Wikipédia volta a perder contra César do Paço". www.sabado.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  38. ^ "N.J. couple treks around U.S. donating K-9 dogs (photos)". 24 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  39. ^ Mano, Henrique (20 August 2024). "EUA. Empresário português passa a oficial de ligação das forças de segurança". LusoAmericano. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  40. ^ "LusoAmericano - Empresário português dos EUA abraça causa da defesa do lobo ibérico com donativo inicial de 10 mil euros". 7 August 2024. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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