Former Florida congressman David Rivera was convicted Friday, May 1 of conspiracy and other crimes for his role in a secret $50 million campaign to lobby members of Congress, including Rivera’s longtime friend Marco Rubio, on behalf of the Venezuelan government.
Rivera was ordered taken into custody Friday after jurors in Miami federal court convicted him and consultant Esther Nuhfer of failing to register as Venezuelan foreign agents when they lobbied then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and others in 2017 and 2018 to improve relations with the South American country.
When is sentencing for former Florida congressman David Rivera?
Sentencing for Rivera and Nuhfer is set for July 22 before U.S. District Judge Melissa Damion, according to court records. They could each get 10 years or more in prison as well as $20 million subject to forfeiture.
Rivera, 60, served a single term in Congress from 2011 to 2013. Before that he was a state legislator in Tallahassee who shared a home in the state capital with Rubio, now secretary of state under President Donald Trump.
What is Marco Rubio’s relationship with David Rivera?
Rubio was not charged in the case, but he testified in the five-week Rivera trial that while he had meetings with Rivera he was unaware of the secret Venezuelan contract. Also testifying in the trial was Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, who said Rivera sought in 2017 to persuade him to get Nicolas Maduro to step down as Venezuelan president and hold elections.
Sessions said he did not know then that Rivera’s company had the $50 million contract with an entity controlled by the Venezuelan government. Maduro and his wife were arrested on drug charges in Caracas in January by U.S. forces and flown to New York, where they remain in custody. They have both pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors say David Rivera was dishonest about his Venezuelan contract
During closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Cruz told jurors Rivera was not honest with the politicians he was lobbying.
“His public image was as an anti-communist, but he was working for the Maduro regime the whole time, and he knew it,” Cruz said.
Curt Anderson is the Policy and Politics Reporter for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Ex-Florida congressman guilty of secretly lobbying for Venezuela
Reporting by Curt Anderson, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
