You have to question when a law enforcement division has a hard time tracking down a visible politician. Beleaguered former state and U.S. Rep. David Rivera is sought by the U.S. Marshals Office, looking to serve him with papers in relation to a campaign finance lawsuit. Rivera, who claims ignorance to this attempt, managed to elude the officers -- though he couldn't have been hiding in plainer sight.
He appeared Tuesday, glad-handing in the Capitol during Sen. Bill Galvano's Florida Channel-televised designation ceremony.
Republican Rivera has been sought for months in connection with a corruption case. He is being sued by election officials over his effort to set up a strawman opponent on the Democratic ticket in 2012. The scheme resulted in a court case over Rivera's undeclared donations to a candidate to challenge Joe Garcia, his eventual opponent in the ensuing election. Garcia won that seat for Florida’s 26th District. The ongoing case is but one example of Rivera’s numerous legal challenges over finances.
The Federal Election Commission is suing Rivera for $486,000 in penalties, stemming from the court case that delivered two convictions, including Rivera’s former girlfriend and Justin Sternad, the candidate propped up against Garcia. Sternad was found guilty of not reporting contributions, a large amount of those said to derive from Rivera. As he dodged prosecution in that case, the FEC has chosen to sue Rivera.
Even though U.S. Marshals didn't or couldn't, Politico confronted Rivera in Tallahassee, where he denied any knowledge of the case.
Marshals have been attempting to serve Rivera since July, and the FEC has had to file an extension as a result of Rivera eluding the authorities he claims to be unaware are seeking him out. “The Commission’s diligent efforts to serve Rivera have been thwarted so far by Rivera’s apparent evasion of service,” states FEC attorney Greg Mueller. “Rivera is almost certainly aware of this lawsuit.”
This is only one of a number of legal problems involving Rivera in recent years. Matching the candidate scheme, Rivera has managed to avoid being charged in other investigations into questionable financial practices. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office investigated Rivera on corruption, but ultimately he was never charged. Likewise, when the IRS also conducted investigations into his finances, he came away with no formal charges filed.
In the midst of all this, Rivera is positioning himself for a return to the Florida Legislature. He failed to win a seat in last year’s elections, but he is setting himself up for a run in 2018 for the State House. Should he manage to win and see his return to Tallahassee, there will be more financial challenges awaiting him.
There was an ethics complaint filed against Rivera 2010 regarding his taking in of taxpayer money for travel expenses which had actually been paid for by his campaign. He currently is facing a fine of $57,821 against him concerning those double-billing charges.
Brad Slager is a Fort Lauderdale freelance writer who wrote this story exclusively for Sunshine State News. He writes on politics and the entertainment industry and his stories appear in such publications as RedState and The Federalist.
