Ex-state Sen. Artiles gets 5 years probation, 30 days jail in 'ghost candidate' scheme
MIAMI - Former Florida Sen. Frank Artiles, who was convicted of three charges of election conspiracy, was sentenced Monday to five years probation and 60 days in Miami-Dade County Jail.
The sentence is on hold until after an appeal on Dec. 18.
Prosecutors wanted three years in prison and defense was asking for probation.
Circuit Judge Miguel M. de la ordered the sentence for campaign contributions in excess of $1,000, campaign contributions conspiracy and ethics code false swearing to an oath. He was found not guilty of the falsification of a voter registration form.
In September, a jury deliberated for several hours to convict him.
Artiles, 50, was accused of offering $50,000 to Alex Rodriguez, the so-called "ghost candidate," to run for office in the Florida Legislature in 2020 and to cause the Democratic incumbent to lose the election by siphoning votes away from the Democrat in the razor-thin race. Rodriguez said he was given $25,000 before the election and $25,000 afterward.
Placing a "ghost candidate" on the ballot is not illegal, but paying for it is.
The state argued that Artiles, a former Republican state senator, made illegal contributions and encouraged Rodriguez to run for the Senate in District 37.
The defense said the money was a loan for a business transaction and unrelated to the 2020 election in which Rodriguez ran for state Senate as an independent candidate.
Defense attorney Frank Quintero portrayed Rodriguez as a scam artist who stole thousands of dollars from Artiles.
The witness said he had a driver's license in Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County.
Rodriguez testified he was always a Republican but he was allegedly asked by Artiles to change his party affiliation.
Rodriguez, who now works for the Labor Department in Washington, D.C., said Tuesday he is happy with the outcome.
He received more than 6,000 votes as an independent candidate.
