Will David Rivera (R-FL) Wind Up In Prison Even BEFORE The Election?

When a CBS news anchor introduces a crime segment about the local congressman, uses the phrase "involves a congressman who is already immersed in alleged corrupt behavior," you have to wonder which one of the criminal sociopaths John Boehner is protecting is about to be exposed. Is it Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm from Staten Island? Buck McKeon from Santa Clarita? Joe Walsh, the Illinois deadbeat dad? Sarasota's serial tax evader/multimillionaire Vern Buchanan? Well, in this case, as you can see in the video above, we're talking about a contender for Congress' Most Corrupt, Marco Rubio's little gangster buddy David Rivera.

Friday, the family of Ana Alliegro-- sleazy conservative bad girl who was managing the stealth congressional campaign of Democrat Justin Lamar Sternad-- told Miami's El Nuevo Herald they were worried about her safety after she had "disappeared." By Saturday, the distraught mother was claiming that she hadn't talked with her daughter but that she knows she's fine. “Everything is fine,” said Alliegro’s mother, Agueda “Guedy” Alliegro. “I haven’t spoken to her, but she is OK.”

Alliegro has been active in local Republican and municipal politics for years, but came to prominence after Justin Lamar Sternad told the Miami Herald that she was his campaign manager. Sternad, a political unknown who works at a hotel, ran in the District 26th Democrat primary to take on Rivera in November. However, he mostly attacked fellow Democrat Joe Garcia, who went on to win the primary. Allegations have surfaced that Rivera may have helped funnel money and other services to Sternad's campaign. Rivera has previously described Alliegro as a friend, and several pictures of the two together were posted on Alliegro's Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The latest twist in Rep. Rivera's twisted telenovela on Miami-Dade criminality was when Anna Alliegro didn't show up for a scheduled FBI interview a day after agents raided her apartment and seized her computer and cell phone. Her attorney says he doesn't know where she is. And Rivera, who as usual denies everything, is blaming the media.

Prosecutors believe Alliegro played a key role as a go-between for Rivera and a former Democratic congressional candidate who might have broken campaign finance laws in his failed bid against a rival of the Republican congressman in the Aug. 14 primary.

Alliegro had been scheduled to testify Thursday before a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale, but Padilla worked out a deal to speak directly to lead prosecutor Thomas J. Mulvihill and two FBI agents. Padilla and Alliegro met Wednesday to prepare for the meeting, but later that day Alliegro said Rivera met with her.

According to Alliegro’s family, Padilla was scheduled to pick her up at her apartment since she had no car and a suspended driver’s license. But she called her lawyer to say she would drive instead with her father. That’s the last her attorney heard from her.

...At issue: $46,000 in once-secret payments-- many made with cash-stuffed envelopes-- that candidate Justin Lamar Sternad used for mailers in his unsuccessful primary race against Joe Garcia, who now faces Rivera in the general election.

Sternad’s campaign finance disclosure reports initially gave no indication that he had paid for the mailers. But he later amended the reports amid the FBI investigation.

Investigators have focused on Alliegro because she acted as Sternad’s campaign manager. She may have first-hand knowledge of the source of the funds and whether Rivera was involved in funding the campaign of the political unknown, a part-time night-time hotel worker.

The federal probe of Sternad and Rivera began last month after El Nuevo Herald and the Miami Herald reported that Sternad may have violated federal campaign-finance laws by failing to disclose the expenditures or the source of the funds on his Federal Election Commission reports.

The investigation-- which involves a federal grand jury-- picked up speed in recent weeks, with Rivera on the offensive, saying Herald reporters are in cahoots with Joe Garcia’s campaign and that no one from law enforcement has bothered to talk to him. Agents have been collecting documents, interviewing witnesses across the region.

Sternad’s pre-primary campaign report for the period ending July 25 showed he spent $11,262 for the entire campaign, of which $10,440 was for the state fee to qualify for the ballot in the newly drawn congressional District 26 primary race, which stretches from Kendall to Key West.

Yet Sternad sent out at least 11 professionally designed and printed mailers that targeted specific types of voters, according to campaign vendors.

When asked by the Herald, Sternad refused to say how he paid for the mailers. His attorney Enrique “Rick” Yabor declined comment.

Amid the newspaper reports and the launch of a federal probe, Sternad abruptly amended his financial disclosures after the primary to show he had loaned himself nearly $64,000. Before the primary, he reported lending himself about $11,000.

Still, the amended campaign finance reports raised more questions because they didn’t indicate how he paid to print the mailers.

Sternad’s financial disclosures give little indication he can afford the loans or the expenditures. He listed an income of just $30,000 last year and a one-third ownership of an estate trust fund that provided him no income. He reported the trust fund’s maximum value as $100,000.

The incomplete campaign reports, financial documents and the fact that Sternad used a mail house-- Rapid Mail & Computer Services-- frequently employed by Rivera led Garcia’s campaign to accuse Rivera of colluding in the Democratic campaign.

Rivera and Sternad denied the allegation.

Rivera, however, told a Miami blogger that he referred Alliegro to a mail-targeting specialist. Initially, Rivera said he had no involvement in Sternad’s campaign.

The owner of Rapid Mail, John Borrero, told The Herald and investigators that Sternad and Alliegro paid cash for the mailers except in one instance, when the campaign had a company called Expert Printing send him a $9,000 check.

In another instance, sources said, Rivera telephoned a secretary at Rapid Mail and while on the line directed her to walk outside to the company’s mailbox and retrieve an envelope. He then told her to deliver it to Borrero. The envelope contained $7,800 to pay for a mailing.

Sternad’s amended reports show he paid Expert Printing only $6,000. That’s hardly enough money to pay for the printing costs of the roughly 135,000 mailers in his race. One of the mailers bashed Garcia over his divorce.

The sophisticated mailing operation garnered a surprisingly high vote for the political novice, 11 percent. Sternad came in third behind first-place Garcia and challenger Gloria Romero Roses.

Sternad’s amended reports didn’t list the specialist his campaign used to target voters-- Campaign Data. The company’s owner, Hugh Cochran, said Rivera was involved.

Cochran, a retired FBI agent, showed The Herald an email he sent to Rapid Mail and Rivera concerning the voter-targeting he performed at Rivera’s request.

Rivera said it was “mistakenly” sent to him-- which Cochran said was false.

Rivera has vehemently denied working with Sternad, referring the Herald to a previous written statement he issued on the matter.

“Congressman Rivera has never met or spoken to Mr. Sternad and knows absolutely nothing about him or his campaign,” the statement said.

These kinds of dirty tricks-- interfering to defeat the strongest potential competitor in the other party's primary-- has been standard operating procedure for decades among Republicans-- Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has built a whole political career based on it-- and everyone saw Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill play a very aggressive role in making sure her weakest and most insane Republican opponent, Todd Akin, would win the Missouri Republican primary. Rivera, over the top as usual, took it to new heights with illegal money laundering and financial fraud.

The other day we mentioned what a downer Debbie Wasserman Schultz is in general. But she's even involved in this case specifically. Never a supporter of Joe Garcia-- he was one of the 3 Democratic candidates she torpedoed in 2008-- Wasserman Schultz has been charged by her patrons, sugar barons Alfonso and Andres Fanjul, with making sure Rivera keeps his seat. If Rivera is still a Member of Congress in January, it will be because of Wasserman Schultz's behind the scenes manipulations. She called her pal Steve Israel and told him to pull his punches. We'll be watching to see what the DCCC does in this race.