Jury allowed to question ‘ghost candidate' in ex-Sen. Frank Artiles' trial

In a rare occurrence, jurors were allowed to submit questions to ask the "ghost candidate," a key witness in the trial of former Republican Sen. Frank Artiles.

Prosecutors say Alex Rodriguez was a ghost candidate who helped sway a Miami-area legislative race back in 2020. They claim Artiles messaged him on social media and eventually offered him $50,000 to run for office. 

Defense attorneys admitted Rodriguez was a ghost candidate, but added how that isn’t a crime in Florida.

However, Artiles is facing a list of charges for allegedly breaking state election laws because of the money the defendant paid the candidate.

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.

Before and after the election, Rodriguez told jurors on Tuesday that Artiles gave him thousands of dollars. At one point, he paid for Rodriguez’s daughter's tuition. After the election, Rodriguez stated the defendant also gave him money to lawyer up and “protect himself.”

“You didn’t use any of that money for any campaign stuff, correct? You just paid a lawyer,” asked Frank Quintero, defense attorney representing Artiles.

“No sir, no campaign stuff,” Rodriguez said.

The defense calls the money Artiles gave Rodriguez as “business transactions” or “loans,” but prosecutors hope jurors consider them campaign contributions and convict the former lawmaker.

“Did you consider the payments and the loans that he made to you as a pretext for money he had promised you for being a candidate?” asked Timothy VanderGiesen, an Assistant State Attorney.

“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Rodriguez answered.

For the past three days, attorneys have spent countless hours questioning Rodriguez, an indicator of just how critical his testimony is for the jury to reach a verdict.

Jurors were also allowed to submit questions for the key witness and Judge Miguel M de la O read them out loud with the attorneys' approval.

“Why did Rodriguez repeatedly ask the defendant for money?” Judge de la O asked on behalf of jurors.

“Because I had a need. It was the only reason I ran or the only reason I agreed to do this because I had a need for the money,” Rodriguez replied.

Another question jurors submitted to the court was about a meeting the defendant and the candidate had in the parking lot of a Citi National Bank. Records show they both met to open a campaign bank account.

"What funds were used to open the account at Citi National and who provided them?" Judge de la O asked on behalf of jurors.

 “The 2,000 we used to open the account, Mr. Artiles gave them to me in the parking lot,” Rodriguez answered.