David Rivera doesn’t belong in Congress
By Alan Farago (aka Gimleteye)
From Eye on Miami
The first test of the GOP pledge to ethics is Miami-Dade’s own David Rivera, who possibly will have the shortest tenure in the history of the U.S. Congress. The Miami Herald has detailed Rivera’s twisted finances. The mess calls into question what Rivera, best buddy of now U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, talked about when they discussed politics and money.
Somehow — don’t ask me because I don’t have a clue — Rivera was elected without disclosures of any kind about his personal finances. This included a straw company run by his mother to hide his involvement in passing an initiative to allow pari-mutuel betting by his client, the Havenick family in Miami. The young Miami Republican turks who rushed to Rivera’s side certainly look like young Miami jerks.
Rivera also fabricated key parts of his resume. That also made no impact, apparently, with voters. For insiders in favor of betting, everyone must have known Rivera was involved, yet kept his involvement secret. It’s the Miami way: no one spoke up. No one had the guts.
So David Rivera is now compounding the deception, according to the Herald, through a December real estate transaction — again with mom — to provide cash to paper over his debt with mom. Do Republican voters have a clue? Do they care? What is rattling around in their heads, to elevate a character with Rivera’s ethically challenged credentials? Just like Governor Rick Scott, Rivera is now refusing to answer questions by the press. “I’ve said all I’m going to say about that,” is exactly Scott’s line to reporters, who during the gubernatorial campaign wanted to learn more about Scott’s involvement in the fraud that ended up costing the company he founded the largest civil fine in US history, $1.7 billion.
Well the buck stops here: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor needs to be definitive about Rivera. He doesn’t belong in Congress.
http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2011/01/david-rivera-gop-congress-starts.html
