MIAMI – Witness testimony continued on Thursday in the “ghost candidate” trial of former Florida Sen. Frank Artiles in Miami-Dade County.
Miami-Dade investigators reported Artiles was the brains behind a conspiracy to confuse voters so that Ileana Garcia could win a state senate seat in 2020.
Jurors in court listened to Mauricio Montiel, Garcia’s former campaign manager, answer prosecutors’ questions about the alleged ploy.
“We heard there was going to be another one but didn’t know who it was. Later we found out it was another Rodriguez,” Montiel said.
Police officers arrested Artiles in 2021 accusing him of making over $45,000 in illegal campaign contributions. Wade Scales — who admitted to contributing about $9,000 — testified.
The contributions were to Alex Rodriguez, who investigators identified as a “ghost” or “shill candidate” running for the 2020 District 37 Florida Senate race.
“I said be careful with Alex Rodriguez because if you ever loan him money it’s hard to get it back,” Scales said during his testimony about communication with Artiles.
According to investigators, Rodriguez didn’t live in District 37, but his last name likely siphoned votes from Jose Javier Rodriguez, the Democratic candidate who narrowly lost to Garcia.