Al’s Loupe

The David Rivera saga continues; another woman involved

By Alvaro F. Fernandez
alvaro@progresoweekly.com

At a recent dinner party at my place my guests and I may have overdone the wine part of the meal. Maybe the fact we were discussing the strange case of David Rivera warranted our excess. How else can one deal with such a political troll and still laugh.

And to be perfectly honest, I’m not exactly sure what conclusion we came to that night. All I can attest to is that the wine was excellent (California), and the company was stimulating… I think.

Which brings me to my point.

The next morning when I woke up… I wondered: did I dream it?

I remember watching the late TV news and had heard that Ana Alliegro, political consultant and close friend of David Rivera was on the lam.

Nahh, I said to myself. That only happens in movies. And my active imagination, plus the California grape, had produced a mini movie in my mind as I slept.

But as I sat on the side of my bed wanting to flatten my alarm clock with the palm of my hand, I remembered that Ana Alliegro was supposed to have testified before a grand jury investigating the strange case of Justin Lamar Sternad, the political ringer placed in the democratic primary trying to scare away voters from David Rivera nemesis Joe Garcia.

But now I questioned whether Alliegro had shown up.

The fact was that the self-described “conservative bad girl” had served as campaign consultant for Sternad for no pay. At least her name did not show up as an expense in the Sternad records. So the “bad girl” was trying to elect a liberal Democrat with photos of Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his campaign propaganda. Flyers, by the way, nobody knew how Sternad paid for until it was reported he had an impressive stash of fresh, crinkly hundred dollar bills delivered to South Florida vendors in bright, white envelopes. News media insinuating Alliegro may have been the bagwoman. And Rivera the source.  

With cash involved, maybe that’s how the “conservative bad girl” got recompensed. The recent past has shown us that when David Rivera’s around money seems to appear and disappear. His dirty work usually done by a woman: his mother and her business partner; Esther Nuhfer, another Rivera friend and political consultant; and now Alliegro, the conservative bad girl.

Coincidence?

But back to Alliegro. It turns out I wasn’t dreaming. She’s missing. But there’s no missing person’s report. Even her mother insists she’s fine: “I haven’t spoken to her,” she told The Miami Herald, “but she is OK.”

Then there’s the good friend who called me the day after Alliegro was supposed to testify before the grand jury.

“Can you believe it?” he asks. “Believe what?” I answered with a question. “On Wednesday before the Thursday I was sitting with another person discussing I don’t know what and who do you think walks in?”

“Another unanswerable question?” I said. “Get to the point,” I insisted.

“We were at Starbucks on US-1,” he told me. The two persons who walked in were David Rivera and Ana Alliegro. That’s according to my friend.

The following day the “conservative bad girl” was missing.

Only in Miami…

Whatever the case, the saga of David Rivera grows by the day. I remember when Rivera made news (you know, where he had gotten in some kind of trouble) three or four times a year. Then it became a monthly ordeal. Recently, it’s become weekly.

I think the guy’s ready for prime time. Rivera, who loves the limelight, would revel in it. Maybe he’ll soon get his chance. When he’s finally behind bars.