Disgraced ex-senator charged with conspiracy in suspected Florida election fraud

In November, stories got here out of tremendous duper shady stuff happening in Florida with newly shaped political motion committees and enormous portions of cash, Republican operatives, and assist for shadowy third-party candidates in tight races. On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Instances reported that Artiles’ Palmetto Bay home was raided by authorities in reference to a state investigation into these election fraud actions that probably had an actual impact on Florida elections. Artiles was linked with the thirty seventh District race again in December when a report got here out within the Miami Herald saying Artiles boasted about serving to to repair the leads to that election on election night time. This got here alongside stories that the third-party candidate had put a false deal with on his registration and had been in monetary straits for a while.

A number of the extra obvious flags on this case included stories of a “mysterious” firm referred to as Proclivity, Inc., which had donated a complete of $550,000 to 2 separate Florida political motion committees only one month earlier than Election Day. Proclivity was registered in Delaware in 2019 by a person named “Richard Alexander” who nobody was in a position to find; a paper path appeared to solely result in a mailbox in an Atlanta strip mall UPS retailer.

The Florida PACs in query additionally obtained this payload simply at some point after each PACs have been registered on Oct. 2, 2020. “Our Florida PC” and “The Fact PC” obtained $370,000 and $180,000 respectively. The 2 PACs, supposedly run by two very younger ladies nobody had ever heard of earlier than, additionally appeared to throw this cash for promoting assist into three mysterious third-party candidates with related Democratic platforms in three totally different native races. The one connection the 2 ladies who ran the PACs appeared to have had with politics was by means of a younger Republican political strategist named Alex Alvarado.

Alex Rodriguez’s loss was Ileana Garcia’s win. Reporters fanned out trying to find Alex Rodriguez and different candidates and have been on the receiving finish of some unusual conduct from candidates like Rodriguez, who at first mentioned he wasn’t who he was earlier than later admitting he was certainly the man who ran for workplace. Different third-party candidates with connections to those PACs had equally doubtful responses to reporters’ questions. Some, like Rodriguez, had worrisome authorized histories like pleading responsible to 2 counts of “felony grand theft” again in 2012.

Artiles’ title got here into the dialog a month later after the Herald did a report concerning the former state senator. In accordance with sources, Artiles had “outlined the early phases of his so-called ‘siphoning technique’ in the summertime of 2018 with a buddy.”

Artiles resigned in shame after a “alcohol-fueled tirade towards Sen. Audrey Gibson” revealed how a lot of a misogynistic, racist dirtbag he’s. That got here on high of an investigation into his marketing campaign’s very questionable use of funds to rent a Playboy journal mannequin and a Hooters “calendar woman” as marketing campaign “consultants.” To place his total political profession into stark focus, Artiles’ large factor was railing towards transgender loos. The Herald says that Artiles is now a lobbyist within the Sunshine State. Hopefully, Artiles will obtain the complete investigation, trial, and justice he appears to so clearly deserve.

Jose Javier Rodriguez’s election legal professional Juan Carlos Planas informed reporters: “In our investigation, we understand Alex Rodriguez was somebody who owed cash to many individuals on the town.“ However sadly, Planas defined, there isn’t sufficient recourse right here to overturn an election. “On the finish of the day, Jose Javier Rodriguez misplaced the election, however the victims listed below are the voters within the district who weren’t made totally conscious as to who was financing a third-party candidate.” 

For the reason that fraudulent votes can’t simply be given over to 1 candidate or the opposite, it doesn’t change the outcomes of what number of votes Garcia obtained versus what number of Jose Javier Rodriguez obtained. The one means this might be mounted can be for the district to carry one other vote—one thing that’s unlikely to occur. As an alternative, extra marketing campaign finance controls and a few sort of significant oversight on this type of exercise earlier than elections should happen.