Miami-Dade forms panel to oversee election

By Madeline Baró Diaz  South Florida Sun Sentinel
Posted August 18 2004

MIAMI · Miami-Dade officials on Tuesday launched an elections task force they said would root out fraud and respond to voter concerns in the Aug. 31 mayoral and primary election, punctuating the announcement with news that they arrested a campaign worker in an election fraud case.

"When it comes to the issue of elections, credibility and integrity are the foundation on which all elections are based," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. "We just want to be there for the community, even if it's in a reassurance, restoring confidence mode."

The task force includes the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Miami-Dade Inspector General's office, the Miami-Dade Elections Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Miami-Dade, a focal point in the bitterly contested 2000 presidential election, also experienced problems during the 2002 gubernatorial primary. That election proved disastrous, as elections workers had difficulty with new electronic voting machines and many precincts opened late.

FDLE regional director Amos Rojas said that to ensure honest elections law enforcement officials also will vigorously pursue charges against people who violate election laws.

"There will be no tolerance for fraud or manipulation of any kind," Rojas said.

With that in mind, the State Attorney's Office announced the arrest of the sister-in-law of county commission candidate Jorge Roque for an alleged scheme that netted Roque $75,000 in public campaign funds.

According to prosecutors, Rita Lazara Picazo had her co-workers sign checks and money orders making it look like they contributed to Roque's campaign so that he would qualify for the money, which comes from the county campaign trust fund. In order to qualify for those funds, candidates have to raise at least $15,000 in contributions from 200 Miami-Dade voters, with each voter donating between $15 and $250.

Roque's opponent, County Commissioner Natacha Seijas, alerted prosecutors to suspicious contributions on Roque's contributor list. Seijas hired private investigators and they interviewed some of the supposed contributors who did not know the candidate's name, how much they donated, or how they donated the money, prosecutors said.

Several of the contributors told county investigators that they had not given any money and had, instead, signed and put their voter registration numbers or other personal information on money orders Picazo gave them. One woman said she wrote a check made out to the campaign for $20 and Picazo reimbursed her.

Picazo is charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft, solicitation to commit perjury in an official proceeding and is also accused of violating a contributions limitation statute. Roque was not charged in the case.

Miami-Dade Inspector General Christopher Mazzella said the county would be trying to recover the money already paid to Roque. On Tuesday, a search warrant was served on Roque's campaign bank account, preventing access to it.

County officials also announced the Election Response Team hotline, which allows voters to obtain answers to election questions or to report election-related wrongdoing. The hotline number is 305-547-3300.