From the Miami-Herald blog:
Now things are really heating up! Raul Martinez and state Democrats at a Miami press conference today looked to tie Lincoln Diaz-Balart to Puerto Rican senator Jorge de Castro Font, who was arrested by the FBI.
Dems charge that de Castro Font has “implicated” Diaz-Balart by alleging to “have traveled to Miami with Congressman Luis Fortuño of Puerto Rico to deliver a suitcase full of cash for Diaz-Balart’s re-election campaign.” The money was allegedly from a prominent PR family. […]
De Castro Font in an interview with a PR TV station, said the alleged trip took place in 2005 — long before Diaz-Balart’s challenge from Martinez. De Castro Font has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 31 criminal counts including bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. He’s also peeved that Fortuño has tried to distance himself from him since the scandal broke, and even tried to remove him from the November ballot. Fortuño is running for governor, and de Castro Font seeks reelection.
The Florida Democratic Party has more:
In an interview with WAPA TV in Puerto Rico, De Castro Font stated:
“I am not going to remain quiet. I am here talking with you. If I was quiet . . . just the other day I said that …to ask him … Luis Fortuño said the other day that he was never with me that he has not seen me in four years. Ask him if he went with me to deliver money to Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Miami . We sat together in first class.”
In a separate WAPA 680AM radio interview in Puerto Rico, De Castro Font stated:
“I traveled with him [Luis Fortuño] to Miami to give money to a U.S. Congressman. He didn’t tell me anything else. Ask him when you interview him if he went to take money to Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart sitting with me in First Class on American Airlines.”
My friends, this is sleaze that I can believe in. Remember, this isn’t the first time that Diaz-Balart has engaged in illegal campaign financing. In July 2001, he paid a hefty $30,000 fine for accepting excessive contributions in past campaigns. Perhaps this will be Diaz-Balart’s last campaign for a while.
SSP currently rates this race as a Tossup.
Even the Puerto Rican version of the repub party is crooked.
there’s ever a good way to spin the words “suitcase full of cash.”
Talk about living up to a stereotype! Good Lord… Talk about the stereotypical corrupt congressman… it almost always involves suitcases of cash.
Sounds like a good headline to run.
Perhaps his brother Mario was also involved? Come on corrupt Puerto Rican senator, you can suddenly remember a thing like that… And what’s that? Ros-Lehtinen too! Wow!