Former Florida senator Frank Artiles arrested in a shill-candidate scheme

Their costs include:

• Make or receive campaign contributions that exceed the limits

• Conspiracy to make or receive two or more campaign contributions that exceed the limits

• False curses related to votes or elections

According to an order obtained by Local 10 News, investigators say Artiles has offered to pay Rodriguez $ 50,000 – half during the election and half after – for Rodriguez to participate in the District 37 senate race in November, where he won a last name shared with incumbent Democratic candidate Jose Javier Rodriguez.

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Republican challenger Ileana Garcia eventually defeated Jose Javier Rodriguez by just 32 votes to that seat. Plant candidate Alex Rodriguez, a deeply indebted machine representative who actually lived two districts away from the district, got more than 6,000 votes despite not actually campaigning and having no actual political ambitions.

Frank Artiles and his co-conspirators knew they couldn’t beat Jose Javier Rodriguez in a fair election, so they faked it, Alex Rodriguez’s attorney William Barzee said in a statement. Artiles took a cynical attitude and used a vulnerable ‘friend’ with a great name to enter the race to confuse voters and steal the election. Alex Rodriguez deeply regrets allowing himself to be used in this way and hopes that by coming forward with the truth, he can help rectify these mistakes. “

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Local 10 news cameras have captured Artiles who appeared to prison with his lawyer to surrender to authorities shortly after 11am Thursday.

The warrant shows that the investigation began on Nov. 11, a day after a Local 10 News story outlined evidence that some senate candidates in the November election were factories funded with dark money.

Alex Rodriguez, 55, told investigators that Artiles, 47, contacted him via Facebook Messenger on May 15, 2020. They had known each other for over 20 years, but had not spoken to each other for about a year.

Rodriguez lived in Boca Raton, a long way from District 37 in Miami-Dade, but he still owned a house in Palmetto Bay. According to the warrant, the two met that afternoon at Artiles’ home in Palmetto Bay, where Artiles outlined the plan for Rodriguez to enter the race to confuse voters and siphon the Democratic candidate’s votes.

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The command shows SMS communication between the two.

In a later face-to-face meeting, investigators claim that Artiles instructed Rodriguez on how to fill out a form necessary to apply, with Rodriguez using his Palmetto Bay address, despite both knowing he didn’t actually live there.

The warrant also outlines multiple instances of money paid by Artiles to Rodriguez, including receipts.

In all, investigators found that $ 44,708.03 had been paid by Artiles to Rodriguez “for changing his party, qualifying as an independent candidate for Senate Seat 37, and an attempt to [siphon] votes of the sitting candidate. “

Controlling a mock candidate isn’t illegal, but funding it is.

A press conference is scheduled for 2:30 pm when Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, acting City of Miami Police Chief Ron Paper and members of the State Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Task Force will discuss the matter.

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