Caesar DePaço

César Manuel Cardoso Matos do Paço (born 21 September 1965), also known as Caesar DePaço, is a Portuguese businessman, philanthropist, and former honorary consul for both Portugal and Cape Verde in the United States of America, in Palm Coast, Florida. DePaço is the chief executive officer of Summit Nutritionals International, a food-industry company located in both the United States and Portugal. Despite his life in America, DePaço never applied for American citizenship, as he describes himself as being very patriotic to Portugal. He once donated money to CHEGA!, a right-wing political party in Portugal.

In 2019, DePaço became an official patron of FC Porto, a major Portuguese football club. In 2020, DePaço became the owner and official patron of professional football club CF Canelas 2010. 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.

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 his one-time donation to CHEGA!.

Early life
DePaço was born in Madalena do Pico, Azores on September 21, 1965.

His father was the head of an Azorean finance department and, 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.

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.

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.

Diplomatic positions
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. At the time, this was the only Honorary Consulate, with full powers other than the granting of visas, besides another one in Connecticut. In his position as honorary consul, he used to see more than 30 people a day and was described as a discreet man, known for having 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. In 2017, DePaço organized the first-ever raising of the Portuguese flag at a government building in Florida, at the Palm Coast City Hall.

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.".

Allegations involving Chega
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. This was controversial in Cape Verde due to Chega's opposition to immigration. 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. DePaço was subsequently dismissed, At the time he was appointed, Cape Verde already had a consul in Florida.

His wife, Deanna Padovani-DePaço, remains as honorary consul of Cape Verde to New Jersey. In an article in January 2021, 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".

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. Barreira asserted that DePaço paid for the consular activities out of his own pocket. He also said that DePaço's Wikipedia biographies had been the target of malicious editing.

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. 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. 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.

DePaço sued Wikipedia and editors. The Wikimedia Foundation characterized this as a strategic lawsuit against public participation. In December 2023, the Supreme Court of Portugal issued an order to Wikipedia demanding the removal of certain content that is deemed to be inaccurate. In addition, they also asked for the identification of the editors responsible for that content. 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."

Philanthropy
DePaço has been recognized, primarily across the United States, but also in Europe, for his philanthropic work involving law enforcement in the United States, Portugal, and France. His work has primarily centered around sponsoring or donating K-9 dogs to local police forces across the United States and Europe, including the National Republican Guard of Portugal and the Police Nationale of France. Following the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, DePaço donated a dog to the French National Police.