A ghost candidate who helped sway a Miami-area legislative race back in 2020 testified Monday that former Republican Sen. Frank Artiles offered him $50,000 to run for office.
The alleged sham candidate, Alex Pedro Rodriguez, under oath, said Artiles was behind his ghost campaign where the plan was not to win, but only to disrupt the race. Republicans ended up flipping the Senate seat from Democrat to Republican.
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“You claim that you were offered 50,000 by Mr. Artiles?” asked Frank Quintero, an attorney representing Artiles.
“Yes I was," Rodriguez replied.
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“To run as candidate?” Quintero asked.
“Yes I was,” Rodriguez said.
The ghost candidate, who shared a last name as incumbent Democratic Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, got more than 6,000 votes.
Rodriguez, the sitting senator, lost the election and his seat to Republican candidate Ileana Garcia by 32 votes.
Prosecutors say Artiles broke campaign finance laws and other committed election-related crimes. His lawyer told jurors backing a ghost candidate is not against the law.
On Monday, defense attorneys brought up how Artiles and the ghost candidate had business deals, but denied they were payments made for him to run for senate.
“So because of your lies, Mr. Artiles is sitting in court fighting for his liberty, sir. Do you understand that? Does that bother you?” Quintero asked Rodriguez while on the stand.
Defense attorneys are trying to paint Rodriguez as a liar, dishonest, and untruthful person. For example, they showed jurors a profile of Rodriguez’s Belen Jesuit Preparatory School alumni page, where the man lied about owning a business and having a college degree.
Rodriguez stated he lied because he needed to get any business he could get.
In the end, it will be up to jurors to decide whether or not the money Artiles paid Rodriguez in their transactions, broke any state election laws.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty and got probation in exchange for his testimony against Artiles.
The trial continues Tuesday.
