David Rivera in More Trouble

Judge W. David Watkins ruled that former Florida House Rep. David Rivera improperly billed the state of Florida for travel expenses.

"Respondent (Rivera) personally authorized the travel expenses which were charged to his credit cards,'' Watkins wrote. "He also personally signed and submitted the travel reimbursement requests to the state of Florida. Finally, Respondent also personally signed the campaign account checks used to pay off his credit card balances. Respondent individually, and without the participation of anyone else, personally orchestrated this sequence of events. Thus, Respondent knowingly and intentionally received travel reimbursements from the state of Florida to which he was not entitled."

Translation: Rivera used state money to pay off his personal credit card bills. Rivera paid off travel expenses with his campaign account. Rivera then billed the state of Florida for the same travel and used that money for his personal use.

The FBI is currently investigating Rivera for unreported campaign contributions to Justin Lamar Sternad. Rivera used Ana Alliegro to hand deliver money to Sternad. This is known because Sternad has testified to a grand jury. Sternad was quoted in an FEC filing.

“The contribution was given to me, in cash, by a third party from Ana Alliegro. I later discovered that Ana Alliegro was working with David Rivera,” Sternad wrote in an amended report that the FEC posted Jan. 30.

Ana Alliegro fled to for Nicaragua. Alliegro is currently in a United States jail and has lost her passport. She has pleaded not guilty to making a false statement, conspiring and making illegal campaign contributions. Bond has been refused.

Judge Watkins has sent his ruling to the Florida's ethics commission for review. The ethics commission will likely not favor Rivera.

Sternad Names Rivera In FEC Report

Disgraced Congressman David Rivera (R) used GOP consultant Ana Alliegro to work as Democratic candidate Justin Lamar Sternad's campaign. Sternad had no political experience or financing to run a congressional campaign. Rivera used Alliegro as a money courier to Sternad's campaign. The Miami Herald reports that Sternad has admitted to Rivera fundraising the campaign mailers in a Federal Elections Commission report.

“The contribution was given to me, in cash, by a third party from Ana Alliegro. I later discovered that Ana Alliegro was working with David Rivera,” Sternad wrote in an amended report that the FEC posted Jan. 30.

Sternad has been found guilty of 15 guilty plea on counts of accepting illegal campaign contributions. His sentencing has been postponed. The Miami Herald reports that Sternad is cooperating with federal investigators. Sternad's attorney Enrique “Rick” Yabor made this statement.

“To those who think this case has gone away: You’re wrong,” said Enrique “Rick” Yabor, an attorney for Sternad, who last month amended three of his FEC reports to note the involvement of Alliegro and Rivera in his 2012 Democratic primary race for Congressional District 26, which stretches from from Key West to Calle Ocho in Miami-Dade County.

Rivera allegedly funded Sternad's Democratic campaign in the hope that Sternad could beat Joe Garcia in the primary. Rivera was at the time receiving a great deal of negative publicity involving other corruption scandals. Rivera has been the subject of investigation by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Public Corruption Unit, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

It appears the FBI is planning to use Sternad as a witness against Rivera.

Conservative Bad Girl Ana Alliegro Back In Florida

Self-professed conservitive bad girl Ana Alliegro has surfaced. Talking Points Memo had this interesting profile of Alliegro's past misdeeds.

In a story published Monday night, the newspaper offered more details of Alliegro's past legal run-ins — from driving with a suspended license, to minor shoplifting, to shooting at her ex-husband...

She is a bad girl.

Alliegro was the money lady for bogus Democratic candidate Lamar Sternad. The latter ran against Joe Garcia in the Democratic primary. Garcia later beat the scandal plagued David Rivera in the Congressional general election.

Sternad used Rapid Mail to send out attacker mailers against Garcia. The problem was Sternad's fundraising was nonexistent. Alliegro gave envelopes stuffed with cash to Rapid Mail. Sternad told a grand jury that Rivera was funding his campaign. Alliegro quickly left the United States for an extended vacation in Nicaragua.

Alliegro has returned to the United States and was greeted by federal agents at the airport.

Multiple sources say Alliegro voluntarily arrived in Miami this weekend. Her passport was taken by federal agents and she spoke with investigators Monday. She is negotiating a deal to avoid prison time.

“The deal is simple: cooperate,” said a source familiar with the case. “They want Rivera.”

Alliegro will speak to a grand jury about her involvement with Rivera and provide a timeline of events. Sternad has already pleaded guilty to $81,486 in illegal campaign contributions.

It is time for a reporter to ask Sen. Marco Rubio about his former housemate David Rivera.

Rubio and Rivera Still Together

Alex Leary reports that Marco Rubio is still around his housemate David Rivera.

Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, among crowd at Mayflower hotel, where Ryan and Rubio will speak.

Rivera lost his U.S. House seat because of the controversy surrounding the numerous criminal investigations on him. The fact that Rubio would let Rivera be in the same building as him shows a lack of ethical judgement on his part.

Bye Bye David Rivera

Marc Caputo reports that it appears to be over for Florida's troubled Congressman David Rivera.

David Rivera is looking pretty doomed, losing to Joe Garcia 54-43% with all early ballots in. Tough to see Election Day catchup

Rivera still has to deal with a federal corruption investigation. His problems might have just begun.

Congratulations to incoming Congressman Joe Garcia.

The David Rivera Saga

Poor David Rivera couldn't get his sometime (nearly foreclosed) housemate Marco Rubio wouldn't take the time to talk about his friend to Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo. Rivera's fundraising has been lagging behind Democratic Joe Garcia. Rivera could have used a hearty endorsement from Rubio. However, Rubio, chose to walk into the rain to avoid Caputo's prying camera. Rivera has also not been seen at any South Florida campaign rallies with Mitt Romney.

In Rivera's defense, he does have interesting tastes in women. Take self-described conservative bad girl Ana Alliegro. Talking Points Memo has the highlights of her past.

We do now know a bit more about her, though, thanks to The Miami Herald. In a story published Monday night, the newspaper offered more details of Alliegro's past legal run-ins - from driving with a suspended licence, to minor shoplifting, to shooting at her ex-husband - and her role in the campaign of an upstart Democratic congressional primary candidate.

Why would a conservative bad girl like Alliegro work on a Democrat's campaign. Perhaps if that Democratic candidate was set up by Rivera, in an attempt to knock Garcia out of the race.

Rivera gave enelopes stuffed with money to Alliegro. She in turn delivered the money to Rapid Mail. Garcia's primary opponent Lamar Sternad used Rapid Mail to send out mailers attacking Garcia. Sternad did not have the level of fundraising needed to send ouyt the mailers. When questioned on how he could afford the mailers - Sternad said: "Kiss my 'lily white' ass."

Alliegro was suppose to testify to a grand jury. She disappeared. Alliegro's attorney and family are not aware of her whereabouts.

Sternad wisely did not tell the grand jury to kiss his ass.

Justin Lamar Sternad, whose failed campaign became the subject of a federal grand-jury investigation, has told the FBI that Rep. David Rivera was secretly behind his run for office, according to the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.

The most hysterical thing is that Sternad testified that Alliegro referred him by his nickname Gangster.

State Attorney Report on David Rivera

Chief Assistant State Attorney Jose J. Arrojo and Assistant State Attorney Howard R. Rosen have finished their investigation of Rep. David Rivera. No charages will be filed against Rivera. That doesn't mean that Rivera did not break the law. The report presents extremely damning evidence on how Rivera unethically abused his office for financial gain. Rivera used campaign money to live lavishly.

During the same time periodreviewed, the subject charged hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost associated with extensive state and national travel to his four personal credit card accounts Other costs associated with travel of friends, clothing, and entertainment were also charged to these credit card accounts The subject engaged multiple credit card transactions each week and made thousands of charges to his four credit card accounts during the review period. Therefore, the subject repeatedly wrote checks directly from the three campaign bank accounts to pay off the expenditures charged with owing on his personal credit cards. Alternatively, the subject wrote checks from the campaign bank accounts and deposited the checks into his personal bank account, thereafter writing checks from his personal bank account to pay off expenditures charged and owing on his credit cards.

This is stealing money. There is no two ways about it. It appears that Rivera, like his friend Marco Rubio, double-billed for travel. The State Attorney's office felt they could not prosecute Rivera for this offense based on the State v. Maloy decision.

It appears that on several occasions, the subject may have been paid for official travel as an elected representative by the state and then was also reinbursed for the same travel from his campaign accounts. Accordingly, we focused on these transactions as potential theft from the state.

The question that has never been answered is what happened to the over-billed money Rubio and Rivera received. A plane ticket needs to be bought only once. Where did the second money billed for the same plane ticket go. Rubio and Rivera have refused to give a straight answer on the double-billing question. The State Attorney's office wanted to charge Rivera under Florida's RICO laws. They felt they didn't have a strong enough case. However, state attorneys made it clear that they believed Rivera was breaking the law.

More specifically, the subject repeatedly and intentionally committed multiple instances of theft by converting funds in his campaign depositories and using them for purposes otherwise not permitted by law.

The State Attorney's Office cite the statute of limitations. The truth is it is hard in Florida to convict an elected official. Florida Senate members Gary Siplin and Jim Norman are a testament to how crooked politicians thrive in this state.

David Rivera Makes CREW List

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have named Rep. David Rivera and Rep. Vern Buchanan to their most corrupt members of Congress list.

Rivera is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, IRS and FBI. Rivera failed to report a $137,000 loan he received from Millennium Marketing. This lobbying firm is run by members of Rivera's family.

Millennium Marketing, Inc. is a consulting firm that sits at the center of the investigations into Rep. Rivera’s personal and campaign finances. The company was founded as Millennium Marketing Strategies, Inc. in 2000 by Rep. Rivera’s mother, Daisy Magarino, but according to state incorporation records it dissolved the following year. Nevertheless, Rep. Rivera included income from Millennium Marketing on his state financial disclosure forms between 2002 and 2005. In 2006, records show Rep. Rivera’s godmother, Ileana Medina, created Millennium Marketing,Inc. and Ms. Magarino has been listed on state records as a company vice president since 2008

Millennium Marketing was working for Flagler Dog Track to get the Florida legislature to approve slot machines for the track. Rivera supported slot machine legislation. Rivera approached Flagler on the behave of Millennium Marketing.

Rep. Rivera initially denied working for the dog track, but later released a statement acknowledging his role. A lawyer for the dog track said it was Rep. Rivera who had firstapproached the track and asked to manage the campaign. Rep. Rivera also requested any payments be made through Millennium Marketing instead of directly to him.

The question is was the loan really a loan.

Rivera put to Miami-Dade Republican Party into debt by paying fees to the Communication Solutions. The only employee of Communication Solutions is Rivera's girlfriend Esther Nuhfer. The only client Nuhfer has ever had is Rivera. The media reported that Nuhfer has been interviewed by the FBI. The Republican Party of Florida has no rtecord of Rivera's payment to Communication Solutions.

Most Corrupt 2011: Rep. David Rivera (R-FL)

Wanted: David Rivera

The Florida Democratic Party has sent out this nifty Rep. David Rivera wanted poster. Rivera hasn't held townhall meeetings. That might have something to do with Rivera not wanting to answer questions about why he is being investigated by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Public Corruption Unit, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Rivera has another problem. His campaign is broke. According to OpenSecrets.org, his campaign has raised $110,324 and has $151,581 in debt. Rivera ran the Miami-Dade Republican Party into debt. Rivera spent $250,000 of Miami-Dade Republican Party money for Communication Solutions. Rivera's girlfriend Esther Nuhfer is the only employee of Communication Solutions. Nuhfer's only client is Rivera. Her office is a home in a residential community. I checked Google Maps for a business address for Communication Solutions in Coral Gables. There is none. An online profile of Communication Solutions shows the address to be a PO box.

PO BOX 143657 CORAL GABLES FL 33114-3657 US

Communication Solutions is what is known as a virtual company. Translation. It exists on the internet but not in the real world. This is usually how people set up bogus companies. Interesting tidbit is Nuhfer donated to the 2010 campaigns of Rivera, Sandy Adams and Rivera's former roommate Marco Rubio.

No Surprise: David Rivera Investigated by FBI & IRS

This isn't really news. There has been rumors for quite some time that the FBI and IRS are investigating Rep. David Rivera.

Federal investigators have opened a second criminal probe of U.S. Rep. David Rivera, examining undisclosed payments from a Miami gambling enterprise to a company tied to the Republican congressman, The Miami Herald has learned.

Agents with the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service have begun interviewing witnesses knowledgeable about a $1 million consulting contract between Flagler Dog Track — now known as Magic City Casino — and Millennium Marketing, a company co-owned by Rivera’s 70-year-old mother and her business partner, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The involvement of the IRS and the questions agents have asked indicate Rivera is the subject of an income-tax evasion inquiry, said a source.

The investigation goes beyond the exchange of money between Rivera and his family members through the Flagler Dog Track and Millennium Marketing. Rivera received $137,000 and did not report it. Rivera later claimed it was a loan. How many politicians receive loans from lobbying organizations run by his mother and godmother.

This is the classic shakedown job by a politician.

But Martinez told The Herald last year that it was Rivera who first approached the dog track about running the pro-slots campaign, and it was Rivera who suggested that the contract go through Millennium. Dog track officials had no contact with Medina or Magarino during the contract negotiations, Martinez said last year. Rivera signed the 2006 contract with Magic City along with Medina, records show.

Rivera then set-up family members to run Millennium Marketing. The loan looks like a secret funneling of money. Flagler Dog Track got its casino slot machines. The Rivera family got paid off for pushing slot machine legislation through the Florida legislature.

Esther Nurfer was interviewed by the FBI. Rivera made $150,000 and $250,000 payments to Nurfer's consulting firm Communication Solutions. The funny thing is the Republican Party of Florida have no record of these transactions. Nurfer is Rivera's girlfriend.

Luis Garcia Announces Congressional Campaign

Congressman David Rivera raised only $35,500 last quarter. Rivera is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Rivera received an unreported $137,000 from Millennium Marketing. When the payment was discovered Rivera said it was a loan. Millennium Marketing received $510,000 from Flagler Dog Track. Millennium was run by an aide of Rivera's. The Flagler Dog Track is owned by the Havenick family. At the time Millennium was involved with the Flagler Dog Track. The latter was lobbying the Florida legislature. Rivera was a member of the Florida House during this time.

Democratic state Rep. Luis Garcia announced he will run for Rivera's seat. The 25th district is predominantly Cuban and Republican. Garcia is a former Miami Beach fire chief.

Despite all of Rivera's political scandals, the 25th district is a hard seat for Democrats. On paper, Garcia is the right candidate to run against Rivera. He is Cuban, experienced, been elected to the Florida legislature and has a solid background in public service. Garcia's problem is The Republican Cuban machine knows how to turn out voters on election day. A strong Democratic turnout is a must if he has any chance of winning. Rivera will get his voters to come out. Garcia needs to court younger Cuban voters that aren't obsessed with overthrowing Castro. The older Cuban voters will vote for Rivera because he is a Republican.

I wouldn't be surprised if the DCCC writes off this race.

The Fiscal Conservatism of David Rivera

It seems David Rivera wasn't a fiscal conservative when it came to managing the finances of the Miami-Dade Republican Party.

"We have expenditures that are unsustainable," the party's chairman, state Rep. Erik Freen of Miami, said Wednesday night to the members of the local GOP, also known as the Republican Executive Committee.

Fresen took over for Rivera last December. The Miami-Dade Republican Party's fiscal year ended with $12.66. As chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, Rivera paid Communication Solutions $250,000. The Miami-Dade Republican Party could find no record of the transaction. Communication Solutions is run by Rivera's girlfriend Esther Nuhfer.

Fresen was forced to hold the party's Lincoln Day Dinner to bring in contributions. At the time of this post, the Miami-Dade Republican Party has $1,097.11 in the bank.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has been heading an investigation on Rivera. The investigation centers on a $510,000 payment Flagler Dog Track made to Millennium Marketing, which is owned by Rivera's mother and godmother. This was around the time Flagler was lobbying the Florida legislature for slot machines. Rivera received $137,000 from Millennium Marketing. Rivera did not disclose the money. After the money was discovered, Rivera claimed it was a loan.

I need a scorecard to keep up with Rivera's scandals.

David Rivera Update

David Rivera had an amazingly awkward interview with the Naples Daily News about his ethics problems. No member of Congress likes to be asked about being investigated by several different law enforcement agencies.







In related news: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and his staff went out of their way to avoid Rivera during a recent visit to Miami.

The David Rivera & Esther Nuhfer Connection

The Miami Herald reports that David Rivera paid $250,000 to the political consulting firm Communication Solutions for a state senate campaign he later dropped out of. (Rivera would eventually run for Congress.) Rivera paid Communication Solutions $150,000 for radio ads and GOTV efforts. However, the Miami-Dade Republican Party has no record of the payments. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating Rivera's payments to Communication Solutions.

Esther Nuhfer started Communication Solutions in 2004. Blogger Joy-Ann Reid reports that Rivera and Nuhfer are dating. Below is a picture of Rivera and Nuhfer at a Miami Dade College black tie event.



The Miami Herald's reporting indicates that Nuhler acted very girlfriendish when lobbying in Tallahassee.

During the legislative session, Nuhfer was a constant presence in Rivera’s office: She often could be found sitting at or near his desk, using the telephone or typing on her laptop next to Rivera’s legislative aide, Alina Garcia, who was Nuhfer’s roommate in Tallahassee.

Rivera and Nuhfer also traveled together outside the state, according to sources close to the criminal investigation. Through his campaign, Rivera said any trips with Nuhfer were for “fundraising activities and events.” In December, Rivera accompanied Nuhfer to a black-tie gala for Miami Dade College.

Another odd piece of information is that in 2008, Nuhfer only registered to lobby the Florida House. It is unheard of for lobbyists to register to lobby the House and not the Senate. At the time, Rivera was a member of the Florida House. Where the plot thickens is during 2008 Nuhfer was a consulting for two of Rivera's political action committees. Her firm received $44,000 the the consulting work.

Ryan J. Reilly of Talking Points Memo attempted to ask Rivera why the Miami-Dade Republican Party can not account for the $150,000 paid to Communication Solutions. The response he got was absolutely bizarre. Reilly was contacted by an anonymous person using a Comcat email address. The person would not reveal to Reilly his or her identity.

Whoever the anonymous e-mailer handling inquires from reporters is, they've had a lot of work on their hands. News broke recently that the Miami-Dade Republican Party paid Esther Nuhfer, a political consultant with close ties to Rivera, $150,000 ahead of the 2010 election. Investigators are reportedly looking into the relationship between Rivera and Nuhfer, who is mostly known for her work as a lobbyist.

The e-mailer said that the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County "is fully aware of the details associated with every expenditure" and disputed that there was money unaccounted for.

We will see about that.

David Rivera: U.S. Congressman

In very depressing news, Joe Garcia concedes to David Rivera.

Garcia's problem was he had to do more than bring up Rivera's negatives. Garcia had to give voters of the 25th district a reason to vote for him. Garcia never articulated his message.

Nate Silver Projects David Rivera Victory

Nate Silver of The New York Times is giving David Rivera a 78.9 chance of winning Congressional district 25. Silver is a smart statistician. My take is he is basing his findings on the district being traditionally Republican and GOP voter turnout. Those factors help Rivera.

Polls have shown the race to be a toss up. The conservative Sunshine State News shows Garcia leading Rivera 44 percent to 43 percent. The Sunshine State News polls are unreliable and Republican-leaning. I'm not are what to make of SSN having Garcia up by one.

This and several other progressive blogs have documented the serious ethical lapses committed by Rivera. The Repubican candidate has faced allegations of domestic violence and road rage. Rivera falsely listed doing work for U.S. Agency for International Development on his disclosure form. USAID has no record of Rivera working for the organization. Rivera's personal conduct makes him unfit for public office.

I really hope Nate Silver is wrong about this race. Other ethically-challenged Republicans, such as Marco Rubio and Jim Norman, are going to be elected. A Rivera victory would signal that Florida Republicans can do whatever they want and face no consequences for their actions.

Rivera Robo Calls

The David Rivera campaign says it is not sending out early morning and late night robo calls. The problem with this message is that the robocalls use David Rivera's voice and say, "Paid for by David Rivera for Congress." Oops.

The campaign says it has heard about calls made to voters -- especially older voters -- using a recording of Rivera's voice, but are made at "inappropriate hours, including late at night and very early in the morning," said Leslie Veiga, Rivera’s communications director. "These calls are inconsiderate and are not originating from our campaign."

Here is the robo call message.

"Hello, I'm David Rivera, your candidate for Congress. I'm calling to ask you for your vote. I'll fight against Washington's wasteful spending and tax increases. For more information about my candidacy visit www.davidrivera.org or call 305-500-7844. Thank you. Paid for by David Rivera for Congress."

I blame the calls on a robo cyborg from the future trying to stop David Rivera from getting elected before he builds Skynet.

All kidding aside, the phone number is to Rivera's campaign address. I wished the Miami Herald reported where the robo calls came from. Considering all the controversies Rivera is in the robo calls are the least of their problems. However, it does seem that Rivera's campaign is becoming disorganized.

Rubio Has Friends In Low Places

Joy-Ann Reid has a lengthy post on Marco Rubio's rise to power in Florida politics and the role Jeb Bush played as his mentor. Reid details how Bush used political leverage to get the Florida Republican establishment. I think the bigger factor was Jim Greer's heavy-handed method of clearing the field for Crist and Bill McCollum. Neither are the Florida GOP's Senante and gubernatorial nominees. I agree with Reid that Bush has played a huge role in Rubio's career. However, the Tea Party wave and Greer's missteps played the major role. If this was 2008 Rubio would have lost the nomination to Crist and Rick Scott would be laughed out of the governor's race.

Reid does accurately name Rubio surrogates. Rubio's cronies reads like a Hall of Shame. Ralph Arza was arrested for leaving a threatening phone message to Gus Barreiro. Arza's message was more fit for an NWA album than from the mouth of an elected official.

You're nothing but a bitch.
You're a bitch.
You're nothing but a bitch.
God bless you, bitch.
Hey, bitch:
You ain't nothing but a bitch.
You ain't nothing but a bitch.
Brother,
My nigger.

Longtime Rubio friend David Rivera has been investigated by the media for domestic violence allegations. There was the bizarre incident of Rivera's car hitting a mail truck carrying anti-Rivera mailers made by a political opponent. Talking Points Memo has the accident report.

Reid's post is a must-read. Go check it out.

David Ramba: Class Act

David Ramba of Voters Response is a David Rivera supporter. Ramba committed act of vindictiveness by sending out a campaign mailer giving out Joe Garcia's personal cell phone number. I have deleted comments after I have received requests from people who had their personal information revealed about them by comments. I take pains not to place information on this blog that would help a nutjob track a person down. There is no excuse for Ramba to make Garcia's phone number public. It is irresponsble and crass.

David Rivera's 99 Problems

William Barzee, a supporter of Democratic Congressional candidate Joe Garcia has filed an ethics complaint against Republican David Rivera. The complaint contends Rivera falsely claimed on his financial disclosure forms that he worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID has no record of Rivera ever working for the organization.

The ethics complaint

4. Florida law requires Rivera, as a candidate for public office, to provide full, public disclosure of his financial interests, including identification of each separate source and amount of income which exceeds $1,000. See Fla. Const., Art. II, Section 8; Fla. Stat. §§ 99.061,112.3144, 112.3145. A candidate who violates Florida financial disclosure requirements is subject to disqualification from being on the ballot, pursuant to the express provision of Fla. Stat. § 112.317. See also Final Order, Kevin Ambler v. Elections Canvassing Commission of the State of Florida, et al., Case No. 2010-CA-3014 (Fla. 2d Jud. Cir., Oct. 15, 2010) (ordering removal of candidate from ballot based on failure to substantially comply with financial disclosure requirements).

5. Rivera, in sworn financial disclosure forms filed in the years 2003-2009 with the Florida Commission on Ethics, identified the U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”), a federal agency that offers aid to developing countries, as a “major source” of income. See Ex. 1 (attached hereto) (Rivera’s financial disclosure forms). Rivera further set forth in those forms that he worked for USAID through Interamerican Government Relations, a Puerto Rican corporation, and Millenium Marketing, a separate business entity, performing “international development consulting.” And, for the past four years, Rivera listed USAID as his only source of income apart from his legislative salary. State ethics rules require lawmakers to publicly disclose any “customer, client or other source of income” that provides more than 10 percent of the total income of the lawmaker’s private business, a requirement designed to alert the legislature and public to potential conflicts of interest.

6. Contrary to Rivera’s sworn filings, however, USAID has no record of ever hiring Rivera or his corporation, as confirmed by USAID Press Officer Annette Aulton. Moreover, since 2003, Rivera has not disclosed his earnings from consulting work, contrary to Florida state ethics rules requiring such reporting by legislators.

7. The Florida Constitution, Article 2, Section 8, and Florida Statutes §§ 99.061, 112.3144, and 112.3145, require the truthful filing of financial disclosure forms as prerequisite for eligibility to be elected to office. As has become clear in the statements and admissions made by Rivera over the course of the past four weeks—and most recently with deficiencies that Rivera acknowledged in his amendment of all financial disclosures forms on October 15, 2010, removing, while failing to expressly explain the basis for removal, of all prior information provided as to major private sources of income—Rivera has substantially failed to comply with these fundamental constitutional and statutory requirements.

It is questionable if the ethics complaint would disqualify Rivera before the general election. Rivera also can appeal if he loses in court. If Rivera is disqualified the local party leaders of Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Collier counties would chose a replacement candidate.

Politically, the ethics complaint will draw attention to Rivera falsely stating he was paid for consulting work to USAID. Rivera took USAID off of his financial disclosure forms. Rivera's campaign lashed out at Garcia, but they are clearly scared. No other logical reason can explain Team Rivera canceling their Univision debate with Garcia.

Rivera could find himself in the same situation as State Senate candidate Jim Norman. The latter had to testify and admit Republican contributor Ralph Hughes put down $500,000 for a house for Norman and his wife. Norman has been taken off the ballot and is being investigated by the FBI. Rivera is screwed if he has to testify in court.