The FBI and Miami-Dade police have launched separate criminal probes into the primary campaign of an all-but-unknown Democrat who, based on compelling evidence laid out in yesterday's Miami Herald, was propped up by incumbent congressman David Rivera in a false flag attempt to avoid a rematch with his 2010 opponent, Joe Garcia. Bob Johnson mentioned this in an update to his diary yesterday, but this is so explosive that it merits a post of its own.
Federal agents gathered campaign records, invoices and began interviewing employees at two mail and data companies used by Democrat Justin Lamar Sternad’s primary campaign. Sternad spent about $43,000 in unreported cash and checks on mail services, a witness told The Herald and authorities. Some of the money was stuffed in envelopes bulging with $100 bills.
Federal law required Sternad to quickly report any contributions — including loans —just before the Aug. 14 primary, which he lost to Democrat Joe Garcia, a longtime Rivera rival who Sternad bashed in one of his 11 mailers.
Rivera, investigators suspect, was behind the sophisticated mail campaign run by Sternad, who was an unknown political newcomer and hotel night auditor.
Sternad only makes $30,000 a year. And yet, somehow he was able to loan himself $11,000 for his campaign and spend $43,000 for a sophisticated direct-mail campaign. Not only that, but he paid most of his vendors in cash, and also wrote a $9,000 check to a printing company. The obvious question--where'd all that money come from? According to several campaign vendors who worked with Sternad, Rivera funneled the money to him.
Sternad was required to report any contribution over $1,000 to the FEC within two days of receiving it. And yet, the FEC never received any such reports from him. It normally considers campaign finance violations to be a civil matter--but if a candidate willfully files false reports or fails to disclose contributions, he can be prosecuted.
Rivera claims the whole thing is "nonsense and slander" cooked up by Garcia. I find that hard to believe, given that Sternad worked with companies that have helped Rivera in the past, and at least one vendor said Rivera personally called him about Sternad.
At a minimum, if Rivera did put Sternad up to running a false-flag campaign, he must be expelled from the House. Sign this petition telling the House to expel him unless he resigns.