Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Sen. Marco Rubio, who’s making a strong showing in the Republican primary for president, was chastised in a Washington Post article for seeming to use his Florida political seat to help his brother-in-law – who had spent time in prison for cocaine trafficking – obtain a real estate license from state regulators.
Specifically, Rubio in July 2002, while serving as majority whip of the Florida House of Representatives, sent a letter on his statehouse stationary to the Florida Division of Real Estate that recommended Orlando Cicilia “for licensure without reservation,” the Washington Post reported.
Cicilia was convicted in 1989 of distributing $15 million of cocaine. Federal authorities actually seized Cicilia’s home, but never found the money.
And as the newspaper concluded: “The letter … offers a glimpse of Rubio using his growing political power to assist his troubled brother-in-law and provides new insight into how the young lawmaker intertwined his personal and political lives.”
The Washington Post reported Rubio didn’t mention in the letter that Cicilia was his brother-in-law, or that Cicilia at the time was living with Rubio’s parents in West Miami. Rather, Rubio only said he had known Cicilia “for over 25 years,” the newspaper said.
Rubio refused to comment about the letter, or whether his family has ever benefited financially from Cicilia’s drug money. Cicilia, meanwhile, still lives with Rubio’s mother and has made appearances at some of Rubio’s campaign events, including those related to his run for president. On top of that, Rubio’s PACs and campaign coffers have paid more than $130,000 for various work to Cicilia’s two sons in the last 10 years, the Washington Post found.
Rubio’s presidential aide, Todd Harris, said in an email to the Washington Post: “Orlando made some very big mistakes almost 30 years ago, served his time and has paid his debt to society. Today he is a private citizen, husband and father, simply trying to make a living. It is appalling and shameful that the Washington Post continues to drag him into the spotlight. Marco has recommended scores of Floridians for various professional positions and after Orlando paid his debt to society, Marco was happy to recommend him as well. He believed Orlando should be judged on his own merits and felt it would be highly inappropriate, and could be perceived as exerting undue pressure, if his letter stated that Orlando was a relative.”
But others saw differently.
Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, said Rubio’s actions were of concern.
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“Someone who serves their time should be a productive member of society, and it’s important for families to help each other, but it’s wrong to use your public office for personal or private gain,” she said, in the Washington Post. “The general rule of thumb I apply to conflicts of interest is, if you can’t eliminate them, you need to manage them by disclosing the conflict. I’m uncomfortable that he didn’t acknowledge the conflict.”
Rubio was only 16 when Cicilia was arrested on drug charges. Cicilia then spent more than 11 years in federal prison, and when freed, joined a sales staff team at a Miami food company, the newspaper reported.
from PropagandaGuard https://propagandaguard.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/rubio-chastised-for-using-seat-to-help-ex-con-family-member/
from WordPress https://toddmsiebert.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/rubio-chastised-for-using-seat-to-help-ex-con-family-member/
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