A former state senator and target of a “ghost candidate” scheme that swayed a Miami-area legislative race spoke out after the mastermind behind it was found guilty. NBC6’s Christian Colón reports
A former Republican state senator found guilty of multiple charges related to a "ghost candidate" scheme in South Florida was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail plus probation but is set to appeal.
Frank Artiles had been found guilty in September of excessive campaign contributions, conspiring to make campaign contributions and procuring the falsification of a candidate oath form. He was found not guilty of procuring falsification of a voter registration form.
The sentencing hearing got underway Monday morning and was continued in the afternoon before Judge de la O released his sentence.
Under the sentencing, Artiles will receive credit for time served and will serve five years of probation on each of the three counts. He also must serve 500 hours of community service and was ordered to have no involvement in politics.
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In handing down the sentence, Judge de la O said he took into consideration Artiles' charity work and military service.
Artiles' attorney previously said they were disappointed with the verdict and intend to appeal. De la O said he would stay the sentence pending the appeal.
Authorities claim Artiles recruited "ghost candidate" Alex Rodriguez to run as a third-party candidate to eventually siphon votes from incumbent Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez in the District 37 race in 2020. Rodriguez successfully received over 6,000 votes in the election and Republican candidate Illeana Garcia beat the incumbent by just 32 votes.
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Defense attorneys admitted Artiles paid Rodriguez for an attorney and his daughter's school tuition, but called those payments legal business transactions and not campaign contributions.
On the other hand, prosecutors said those transactions were money Artiles paid Rodriguez to fix the election and lead Republicans to flip the seat. Prosecutors asked why Artiles would recommend an attorney if what they were doing was legal.
Florida law permits ghost candidates but prohibits people making excessive amounts of campaign contributions over $1,000.
Jose Javier Rodriguez spoke in court during Monday's sentencing hearing, as did Artiles' brother and wife. Artiles teared up as his wife made her emotional plea to the judge.
The next hearing in the case was scheduled for December.
