A former no-party-affiliated state Senate candidate and the chairman of the Republican Party of Seminole County are among the three people arrested in connection to the shill candidate scheme in Central Florida.
The scheme is similar to that in two state Senate races in South Florida where so-called “shill candidates” were planted on the ballot to confuse voters.
Jestine Iannotti, who was the non-party-affiliated candidate in the state Senate race for District 9 back in November 2020, is now facing several charges along with two political operatives.
Iannotti is facing six counts, including two counts of perjury and two counts involving the acceptance of campaign contributions. She was the third-party candidate running against current State Senator Jason Brodeur and Democrat Patricia Sigman in the 2020 election.
Brodeur won the race by 7,644 votes. Iannotti received 5,787 votes.
Political strategist, James Foglesong, turned himself into the Seminole County Jail Tuesday morning and is now facing five charges, including campaign finance violations. Ben Paris, who is the chairman of the Republican Party of Seminole County, is facing one charge of making a contribution through or in the name of another in an election.
Tuesday’s arrests are the result of an investigation launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in July 2021.
The race for District 9 was financially connected to state Senate races for both District 37 and 39 here in South Florida.
In the race for District 37, Alex Rodriguez was the non-party-affiliated candidate on the ballot for the race between Republican Ileana Garcia and incumbent Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez. Garcia would go on to win the race by just 34 votes after a hand recount. Alex Rodriguez received more than 6,000 votes.
Local 10′s investigation into the non-party-affiliated candidates was traced back to dark money donors and led to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office opening an investigation.
That investigation ended with Alex Rodriguez and former State Senator Frank Artiles facing charges for their roles in the scheme.
It’s alleged that Artiles offered to pay Rodriguez $50,000 to run as a non-party-affiliated candidate. Rodriguez is now set to testify against Artiles and accepted a plea deal.
Artiles has denied any wrongdoing. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has said there is no evidence to suggest Senator Garcia was involved or had any knowledge of the shill being planted in the race.
The Miami Herald first connected Artiles to the scheme after sources revealed to them that he attended the campaign party for now-Senator Brodeur in Central Florida on election night 2020. He allegedly told a crowd in Lake Mary, “That is me, that was all me,” when seeing the results of the District 37 race in South Florida.
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The scheme is similar to that in two state Senate races in South Florida where so-called “shill candidates” were planted on the ballot to confuse voters.
Jestine Iannotti, who was the non-party-affiliated candidate in the state Senate race for District 9 back in November 2020, is now facing several charges along with two political operatives.
Iannotti is facing six counts, including two counts of perjury and two counts involving the acceptance of campaign contributions. She was the third-party candidate running against current State Senator Jason Brodeur and Democrat Patricia Sigman in the 2020 election.
Brodeur won the race by 7,644 votes. Iannotti received 5,787 votes.
Political strategist, James Foglesong, turned himself into the Seminole County Jail Tuesday morning and is now facing five charges, including campaign finance violations. Ben Paris, who is the chairman of the Republican Party of Seminole County, is facing one charge of making a contribution through or in the name of another in an election.
Tuesday’s arrests are the result of an investigation launched by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in July 2021.
The race for District 9 was financially connected to state Senate races for both District 37 and 39 here in South Florida.
In the race for District 37, Alex Rodriguez was the non-party-affiliated candidate on the ballot for the race between Republican Ileana Garcia and incumbent Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez. Garcia would go on to win the race by just 34 votes after a hand recount. Alex Rodriguez received more than 6,000 votes.
Local 10′s investigation into the non-party-affiliated candidates was traced back to dark money donors and led to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office opening an investigation.
That investigation ended with Alex Rodriguez and former State Senator Frank Artiles facing charges for their roles in the scheme.
It’s alleged that Artiles offered to pay Rodriguez $50,000 to run as a non-party-affiliated candidate. Rodriguez is now set to testify against Artiles and accepted a plea deal.
Artiles has denied any wrongdoing. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has said there is no evidence to suggest Senator Garcia was involved or had any knowledge of the shill being planted in the race.
The Miami Herald first connected Artiles to the scheme after sources revealed to them that he attended the campaign party for now-Senator Brodeur in Central Florida on election night 2020. He allegedly told a crowd in Lake Mary, “That is me, that was all me,” when seeing the results of the District 37 race in South Florida.
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