DELRAY BEACH, FL — Two anonymous newsletters are back in Delray Beach inboxes, and this round is heavier than the last.
The Delray Gazette, in a July 12 email, points readers to a federal civil lawsuit it says was filed March 31, 2026, that names Mayor Thomas Carney, his brother Peter Carney, and their businesses. The Gazette says the complaint alleges the Carneys aided and abetted an alleged Ponzi scheme run by National Realty Investment Advisors.
The rival newsletter, the Delray Guzzette, responded a day later. It says the complaint is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case, that Mayor Carney is not charged with any crime, and that both Carneys have denied all allegations.
According to the July 12 Gazette email, the complaint against the Carneys claims they profited from an alleged NRIA scheme by acting as attorneys, title agents, escrow agents, closing agents, lobbyists, and intermediaries who allegedly routed funds, concealed transfers, and misled lenders. The Gazette said both defendants and their companies denied the claims in their response, and that a pre-trial conference has been set for July 22, 2026.
The Gazette described NRIA as a firm that fraudulently sold more than $600 million in securities to about 1,800 investors between 2018 and 2022, and said NRIA's "shadow CEO," Nicholas Salzano, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2024. The newsletter added that NRIA's president, Rey Grabato, remains at large, and that NRIA filed for bankruptcy in 2022. The Gazette provided a link to what it described as the court filing but did not identify the specific federal court, the case number, or the plaintiff in the newsletter text.
The Guzzette's July 13 response framed the Gazette's story as recycled and misleading. It called the lawsuit civil rather than criminal, said no criminal charges have been filed against the mayor, and repeated that the Carneys have denied all claims.
The second front in this week's newsletter fight is the ethics matter tied to a proposed 47-unit development on North Federal Highway.
The Gazette said the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics has started "initial inquiries" into whether Mayor Carney committed an ethics violation when he contacted members of the Delray Beach Planning and Zoning Board about the project, described in earlier newsletters as Ultra Luxury Townhomes. The Gazette said Peter Carney is an investor in the development. Boca Post has not independently confirmed that any ethics inquiry has been formally opened by the Commission on Ethics.
The Gazette said Commissioner Juli Casale raised the ethics question at the end of the June 2 City Commission meeting, referencing a Sun Sentinel article titled "An ethical caution flag for Delray's Mayor," and asked her colleagues whether they would agree to seek an opinion from the Commission on Ethics.
According to the Gazette, Commissioner Mollica opposed the request, Deputy Vice Mayor Markert supported it, and before Vice Mayor Burns could respond, Mayor Carney gaveled the meeting to a close. The newsletter said Carney and Markert argued after the meeting adjourned and that Carney later sent an email to residents defending his conduct.
In that email, according to the Gazette, Carney cited a 2012 Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics advisory opinion that he believed permitted him to contact five of the seven Planning and Zoning Board members. The Gazette said Carney stated his brother owns a minority interest of "less than 5%" and that he would recuse himself from any City Commission vote on the project. Boca Post reported on that 2012 opinion, RQO 12-039, on June 13, 2026.
The Guzzette countered that Casale's ethics push is politically driven. It said Casale did not raise ethics concerns about a similar townhome project across North Federal Highway and that her concern about ethics only emerged after it became clear that Peter Carney had an ownership stake. The Guzzette also said the Planning and Zoning Board unanimously approved the current project 7-0, and it argued the residential change would help prevent denser development under the state's Live Local Act.
The Guzzette also accused the Gazette of trying to clear a path for Casale to run for mayor.
The Ultra Luxury Townhomes application is on the July 14, 2026 Delray Beach City Commission agenda, according to the Gazette. The newsletter listed the property addresses as 2419, 2507, 2515, 2519, 2601, 2605, and 2613 North Federal Highway and said the applicant is asking the commission to change the approved use from commercial to residential, which would allow construction of a 47-unit townhome project.
Both newsletters continue to operate without identifying an editor, publisher, or author. The Delray Gazette lists a Delray Beach post office box. The Delray Guzzette's current email lists a Los Angeles post office box. Neither includes a masthead or staff names. The spelling of the Guzzette's name is also inconsistent in the current email, appearing as "Delray Guzette" in the sender field and address block and as "Delray Guzzette Team" in the closing signature.
The pattern in the Delray Beach newsletter feud is now familiar. One side amplifies the federal lawsuit and ethics questions and treats them as connected. The other side stresses the civil, unproven nature of the lawsuit and frames the ethics complaint as political payback tied to a possible mayoral run.
What is known from the materials reviewed is that the newsletters are giving Delray Beach residents two sharply different reads of the same set of facts. What remains unavailable from the materials provided is the underlying federal court filing, the case number, the court in which it was filed, the identity of the plaintiff, and any formal notice from the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics confirming an active inquiry.
The federal case pre-trial conference is set for July 22, 2026. The Delray Beach City Commission meeting on Ultra Luxury Townhomes is set for July 14, 2026.
Commission votes, development proposals, and major policy decisions are documented in our Delray Beach City Hall reporting.
