In 2002,he ran for Florida's 112th state house district. He defeated Ray Gonzalez in the Republican primary,52–48%.[3] He won the general election unopposed. He won re-election unopposed in 2004,2006,and 2008.
In the Florida House,Rivera chaired the rules committee before serving as chairman of the appropriations committee from 2009 to 2010,where he pushed to create new professional schools at FIU and helped the Miami-Dade delegation work within a tight state budget. “We are all geared toward finding cost savings,”he explained to the Herald. Alongside his support for tax-free back-to-school shopping holidays,Rivera sponsored a measure forbidding places of higher education in Florida from sponsoring and paying for research trips to Cuba.[4] And it was Cuba,perhaps more than any other issue that emerged as Rivera’s main issue concern in Tallahassee:“It’s the most important issue to me,”he said in the winter of 2004. “I think every Cuban American from whatever walk of life has a moral obligation to continue the cause of a free and Democratic Cuba.[5]
In addition to his legislative office,he has served the Republican Party as State Committeeman for the Republican Party of Florida and as the Executive Director for the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County.[6][7]
In January 2009, Rivera filed to run for the state senate seat being vacated by J. Alex Villalobos.[8] However, when neighboring U.S. Congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart decided not to run for another term in 2010, his brother, U.S. Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart, opted to run for a new term in Lincoln's district rather than his current one. This created an opening in the seat and prompted Rivera to announce he would run for Florida's 25th congressional district on February 25, 2010. On August 24, he won the Republican primary with 63% of the vote.[9] On November 2, Rivera defeated Democratic nominee Joe Garcia 52%–43%.[10]
Redistricting resulted in Rivera's district being renumbered as the 26th district. It lost its share of Collier County and picked up the Florida Keys, as well as portions of Miami-Dade County. While the old 25th leaned Republican, the new 26th is more of a swing district and is equally split between Democrats and Republicans. In a rematch from 2010, Garcia defeated Rivera 54%–43%.[11][12]
In May 2014, Rivera announced he would run for Congress again.[13] He was defeated in the Republican primary, coming in fourth place with 7.5% of the vote.
In March 2016, Rivera announced he would run for the open state house district 118, but lost to Democrat Robert Asencio by 53 votes.[14] In March 2017, Rivera announced he would run for the state house again in 2018, this time in neighboring district 105.[15]
In April 2012, Rivera initiated a scheme to secretly fund candidate Justin Lamar Sternad in the Democratic primary as a way to weaken his eventual 2012 general election opponent, Joe Garcia, when he met with his associate, Miami campaign consultant Ana Sol Alliegro, and directed her to approach Sternad with an offer to provide financial support to his primary campaign. At Rivera’s direction, Alliegro spent the next few months acting as an intermediary, transmitting funds to Sternad, the Sternad political action committee, and vendors providing services to Sternad’s committee. Rivera funneled nearly $76,000 to the Democratic ringer candidate.[16]
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) accused Rivera of illegally making contributions in the name of another person when he made multiple cash payments to third-party vendors providing services to the Sternad campaign from July 14, 2012, to August 8, 2012. Rivera also took steps to hide his identity and directed others not to disclose him as the true source of those cash payments, the FEC complaint stated. Rivera's activity was also the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Southern Florida. Sternad and Alliegro pleaded guilty to criminal charges for their roles in the scheme.[17]
On March 24, 2022, a federal judge ruled against his appeal of the $456,000 judgment against him tied to his federal elections campaign violations. It was one of the 15 largest fines ever handed down by the FEC.
On December 5, 2022, Rivera was arrested and charged with conspiracy to launder money and with failing to register as a foreign agent, the latter a violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).[18] He was allegedly a lobbyist for Venezuela, promoting the normalization of relations between that country and the United States.[19] Rivera was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, and is currently out on bail.[20]
On December 15, 2023, additional charges were added to the indictment[21] against Rivera for three tax crimes.[22]
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