Former GOP lawmaker sentenced to two months in jail in ghost candidate case
Former Republican lawmaker Frank Artiles on Monday received a 60-day jail sentence and was banned from engaging in political activity for his role in the ghost candidacy that flipped Key Biscayne's state Senate seat in favor of a MAGA candidate.
The jail time and political ban were part of a five-year probationary sentence that includes 500 hours of community service where Artiles, a former Marine, is ordered to counsel veterans. If Artiles satisfies the conditions of his probation, adjudication will be withheld – meaning he will not have a criminal record.
"Our politics are poisoned. We have become tribal," said Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Miguel M de la O. "I think our tribal poison politics got the better of you, Mr. Artilles, and you lost sight of right and wrong."
The sentence was immediately stayed when Artiles attorneys said they would appeal. And while he is banned from consulting or other political activity — Artiles can still vote.
Artiles served three terms in the Florida House and was elected to the Senate in 2016 before resigning after using racial slurs and other profanities directed at his fellow lawmakers.
A jury found Artiles guilty of three felonies on Sept. 30 for violating state election law in regards to $44,000 in payments he made to Alex Rodriguez, a no-party candidate in the State District 37 race.
At the time, Key Biscayne was represented by Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez, who ended up losing by 32 votes. The ghost candidate garnered more than 6,000 votes and the winner was Republican challenger Ileana Garcia, a former radio staffer at WIOD who worked in the Trump administration.
The judge noted that on its face running a ghost candidate was not illegal – but to facilitate it almost certainly required the breaking of state election law.
Jose Javier Rodriguez addressed the court, encouraging the judge to sentence Artiles to incarceration because a message needed to be sent to the "Tallahassee power brokers who continue to use these corrupt schemes to hold on to power."
He said a flurry of mailers went out near the tail end of the general election, purposely confusing voters. The mailers from the ghost candidate with his same last name took the same positions as the Democratic candidate on economic and climate issues.
Assistant State Attorney Tim Vandergiesen asked the judge to sentence Artiles to three consecutive one-year sentences for the three felony convictions.
But the judge noted that the ghost candidate, Alex Rodriguez, received probation, adjudication withheld. He testified against Artiles.
Defense attorney Jose Quiñon said his client should not face a harsher sentence because of the broken political system, saying that the source of the dark money could never be known — though Vandergiesen said it was speculated it came from Florida Power & Light.
"We have a convicted felon who's our president and we have other issues with elections that just went on at a national level," Quiñon said. "But the remedy is not to vilify and to make him (Artiles) a scapegoat for those societal failures."
Artiles, his defense attorneys told the judge, did not choose to go to trial. The state attorney's office never offered him a plea bargain. Artilles' friends and family – including his wife, Amy – testified to say the defendant was a family man dedicated to his daughters.
Judge de la O noted Artiles' military services and charity works, saying it did affect the amount of jail time he handed down.
Artiles declined to comment after the sentencing. The court did hear from one voter.
Donald Deresz taught in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools for over 30 years after serving in the military for four years.
"Well, he broke that sacred oath and has shamed his fellow U.S. Marines," Desersz said. "In simple terms, (he's) a liar and a cheat."
