FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - In a 2025 version of a “cat fight,” the 72-year-old mayor of Fort Lauderdale was attacked by his 34-year-old “fiancé” on November 2, court testimony revealed this week.
Daniel Curran is accused of attacking Mayor Dean Trantalis, a Democrat, outside his home and dragging him across the street while Curran was attempting to “reconnect” with Trantalis, to whom he was “engaged.”
The two, who only started their relationship in March, got engaged in July, with the relationship going sour when Trantalis filed a domestic violence injunction against Curran in September, The New York Post reported.
On Nov. 1, a brawl broke out between the two starstruck lovers when Curran pushed Trantalis, sparking a fight between the two. Curran grabbed Trantalis and took him to the ground, then dragged him 15 feet across the street, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
As a result of the attack, Trantalis suffered injuries to his leg, knee, and wrist. Curran was arrested last Wednesday after he returned to Trantalis’ home in violation of the court injunction. He was charged with battery on a person 65 or older and contempt of court (violating an injunction), court records showed.
The domestic violence injunction alleged that Curran had thrown things, pulled knives on him, and kicked furniture while demanding that Trantalis leave his home, NBC South Florida reported.
“I truly fear deadly physical harm,” Trantalis wrote.
The injunction was scheduled to expire on Dec. 3.
“I was able to secure an injunction for domestic violence a couple of months ago. I thought maybe there was some way to rehabilitate Danny by trying to reconnect and hopefully steer him into counseling and mental health treatment, and I failed at that,” Trantalis said.
“At the end — this past weekend, he threw me to the ground. He’s committed everything that’s in the information about the violent acts against me. And then I realized that there was no hope for this relationship,” Trantalis continued.
Trantalis called the 38-year age difference and their quick engagement “a very complicated situation.”
During the court hearing, Trantalis requested a no-contact order against Curran, who can only return to the home with police presence to retrieve his belongings.
Curran was given a $6,000 bond and granted Trantalis’ no-contact order request. He is also prohibited from having firearms, weapons, or ammunition.
Curran, who gives all appearances of having a few screws loose, ran out of jail Friday after bonding out and was screaming his love for Trantalis.
“I love him!” he told WSVN. “No matter what. I always have and will love him.”
Over the past week or so, Curran has been flooding his Instagram account with posts featuring him and his septuagenarian ex-lover.
In an older post, published on Sept. 3, Curran, who called himself the “First Gentleman” of Fort Lauderdale, announced their engagement as the two stood in front of the Eiffel Tower, captioned, “wishes come true #engaged.”
Trantalis, the first openly gay mayor of Fort Lauderdale, has been serving since 2018. He is term-limited and thus cannot run for reelection in 2028. Trantalis previously served as a city commissioner in Fort Lauderdale for 5 years.
He has been admitted to the bar in both Connecticut (where he hails from) and Florida since 1980, and he runs his own general law practice specializing in real estate, probate, estate planning, bankruptcy, and corporate matters, according to the city’s website.
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