When I started my investigation in December, I held the story and instead I reported what I found to the State's Attorney's office. Yesterday, I called Joe Centorino to get the Close-Out Memo on the investigation into absentee ballot fraud that I initiated. He said it is STILL an on-going investigation.
My dilemma: Do I jeopardize an open investigation by publishing my story?
It is more important for me to not hurt this investigation. Even if they can't nail anyone, I have to give them the chance. It has been going on for 6 months...I hope they can come up with something fast.
In the meantime, we should push County Commissioners and the new Mayor into adding a PENALTY to a law they enacted so the State's Attorney's Office can take action:
The law (abbreviated Section 12-14 of County Code): Absentee Ballots can only be returned by another person, limited to two ballots per election, only one of which may be from a voter who is not the spouse, parent, child, grandparent or sibling of the designee and a form has to be filled out to do this. If the voter is not a member of the designee’s immediate family, the designee must also present a statement signed by a physician on that physician’s stationery that, due to a medical emergency involving the voter or voter’s dependent, the named voter is unable to vote at the polls and is unable to return an absentee ballot in person.
What is happening instead: Campaign workers are routinely picking up absentee ballots from voters. And, who knows what the campaign workers are doing with them before they mail them in (in the Close-Out memo below you get an idea).
This has to change: We need to add a penalty to the law. Please read carefully this Close-Out memo of an investigation focused on the absentee ballot collection during the Diaz-Balart/Raul Martinez campaign. The origination date of this investigation was 11/05/08 and it was closed out 5/20/10. A Raul Martinez campaign worker made the complaint. (A note to the State Attorney: I am not waiting 2 years, get this NEW investigation over already! I will give you a couple of months before I release my blog.)
You can see, by reading the memo, that the State Attorney's Office hands were tied in prosecuting the wrongdoing they found because of the lack of a penalty. For other charges they lacked enough evidence however there was tampering found with the votes. The woman mentioned in the investigation, Sasha Tirador, also did the absentee ballots for Hialeah Julio Robaina.
I am sorry I couldn't print my story today, I am totally bummed out, but if you have any information on absentee voting fraud practices please email me TODAY at geniusofdespair@yahoo.com because this just has to stop! Also, let's get a penalty to go with Miami Dade County Code, Section 12-14. Email your County Commissioner and ask him or her to put it on the Agenda. If there had been a penalty maybe there would be two people in jail right now (subjects of this Close-Out Memo).
25 comments:
Dude, either you're a journalist or a member of the State Attorney's office -- pick one. Since when does the press not report on "ongoing investigations"? You are not an agent of the SAO --- publish the damn story and stop withholding the news!
I don't get paid for either job so I can be what I want. What I want is fair elections and if someone has the potential of getting arrested I want that to happen. Don't fuck with Miami-Dade elections is my mantra!
Blogging or reporting doesn't mean excluding doing the right thing. In this case, the right thing is finishing what was started by our investigation as inconvenient as that is.
Why would you want to know the details afterwe explained why we weren't publishing? Are you nervous?
Takeabreak wrote Part 2 of the 3-parter.
It seems that most elections in Miami, Hialeah and even recently in Coral Gables have been greatly influenced by Absentee Ballots. For years the rumor has it that Gate Keepers from some Assisted Living Facilities are motivated to invite certain candidates while excluding others. These candidates have an unfair advantage in acquiring all of the Absentee Ballots from the folks they provide attention to with lunches, pasteliots, cafesito, t-shirts and political promises. It is about time that the MDC Election Office and the States Attorney’s Office researched this situation and put an end to it.
I urge you to read the close out memo I included. It would add to the comment banter.
So Why Isn't Kathy Rundle All Over This?
Did you read the memo? It tells you why.
This is quite disturbing. The folks behind the scenes of Radio Mambi and some other outlets, I suspect, know what's going on behind the scenes. This morning, while they were taking their live call-ins, a caller suggested that the reason Robaina didn't beat Gimenez was because (the caller named her) a "Sasha Tirador" didn't pull enough absentees for Robaina.
All the announcers could say was "no comment" after that remark.
I asked Michael Putney just now what he would have done in my position-- he noted the Pentagon Papers.
Don't impede an investigation.
Kathy Fernandez Rundle is useless! she will drag this investigation out for years as she does not like to ruffle feathers. She should be lobbying the Mayor and Commission for the law change. If they won't listen tnen regular press conferences and a hughe media push to get this "dirty secret" out tothe general public should get things moving. Now that the politicians know that recall can be done let's hold thier feet to the fire.
You asked Michael PUTNEY what he'd do? He'd spray his died hair, slap on a pound of pancake makeup, then invite on a panel of 60-something white guys to discuss! By NOT publishing this story, your credibility is suffering. You are not an agent of the SAO.
Also...whether or not you get paid has NOTHING to do with making the right decision here.
Money sure helps...
Hole.
like it or not absentee ballots are here to stay. organize your friends and become voting blocks.
democracy is about voting. if 15% of Miami-Dade County voters voted in the mayoral election in June, that means 85% did not.
what are we doing to get those people to vote?
the absentee process is a way to vote. it is legal and even when the ballots are picked up by individuals it is part of a Get Out the Vote effort. simply a different way to GET out the vote.
When they pick up the ballots illegally and deliver them to a campaign operative getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars it is not gotv it is absentee ballot fraud.
Genius, I say you wait right until Kathy Fernandez Rundle gets ready to run for something, then you release all this info and anything else you have found. Mind you, keep feeding them with all the stuff you are finding and keep inviting people to contact you with that information. To this, we can add street protests, tv cameras and perhaps even national coverage. Remember, 2012 is a big one. What happens in Miami Dade County can help to swing a national election. I think you are doing the right thing - but timing is everything.
Are you reading this, Kathy?
Fernandez-Rundle and the SAO won't touch this-and yes, people should be in prison for the blatant and absolute abuse of voters. The readers of this blog would vomit if they knew and understood what really happens on the streets. Don't think for a second that holier than thou politicians aren't turning a blind eye to criminal behavior in order to get elected. Go get 'em Genius!
You asked for info... Check your E-mail.. It seems like it is time for round two inside Hialeah..
Excuse me, Genius, did you say you want the people involved in the absentee ballot fraud to get arrested? LOL Allow me to laugh, please!!! You know so little about what's really going on in this shit place that you don't know that when Centorino, or Kathy, say that it's an "ongoing investigation," it means THERE'S NO INVESTIGATION. Where the hell do you live, Genius? Holy shit! You're really out of the loop, man!
By yhe way, Genius, where you aware that Univision radio stations GENERAL MANAGER, Claudia Puig, was "lucky enough" to get her recently deceased mother the position of secretary to Kathy Fernandez-Rundle? And if you would speak Spanish, you would realize why was Kathy Rundle CONSTANTLY in every one of higher-rated talk shows from those stations!
And if you could write in English maybe I could get your point.
incredible isn't it? Bullshit all over the internet BEING READ. You have got to love it.
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