Convicted former Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. would like to serve prison time ahead of his also-convicted spouse, Sandi Jackson, court filings show.

Paperwork also reveals that the former legislator is having difficulty paying the hefty fine levied against him by a federal judge.

Jackson pleaded guilty in February to misusing campaign funds. Jackson acknowledged in court that he spent $750,000 of campaign cash on personal items — like a $4,600 Michael Jackson fedora and a $1,500 black-and-red cashmere cape, according to the charges against him — and pleaded guilty to several charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and false statements.

Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty on the same day to tax fraud.

A Miami city commissioner who’s running for mayor confirmed Thursday afternoon that investigators raided the home of one of his campaign workers.

City Commissioner Francis Suarez said authorities were looking for information related to a request for 20 absentee ballots inside the home of his media relations and outreach director, Juan Pablo Baggini. He lives at 8340 SW 105th St.

Suarez said his campaign hasn't done anything wrong.

“We’re confident that once the law enforcement officials review all the information that they have gathered that they will conclude that there was no willful violation of the law,” he said.

According to Suarez, Baggini and other campaign staffers held an event in Brickell to reach out to younger voters and gathered permission from the 20 voters to request the absentee ballots from election officials on their behalf. Suarez said Baggini transmitted that request over his computer, and that nothing that transpired violated election laws.

“We are confident that the all of different absentee ballot request forms were requested individually by people voluntarily and of their own volition,” Suarez said.

Suarez’s opponent in November, Mayor Tomas Regalado, took a wait-and-see stance Thursday.

“I am not the state attorney and I am not the police but certainly this is a warning for all campaigns to do the right thing and do it right and do it the way the law says should be done,” Regalado said. “If everything is OK, I don't know why a house was raided by the police.”

Investigators will now go over what, if anything, they find at Baggini's residence associated with the request for absentee ballots.

Suarez said his staff has the written documentation to show each voter requested the absentee ballots.

“We are obviously completely cooperating with them,” Suarez said.

Jeff Garcia, freshly resigned as Congressman Joe Garcia’s chief of staff, is now facing an allegation by political rivals that he ran a phantom candidate against his boss's opponent.

The candidate, Roly Arrojo, was on the Republican primary ballot in 2010.

Miami lawyer Rick Yabor is asking the FBI to investigate in light of Garcia's resignation.

"A lot of red flags are up," Yabor said. "Red flags indicate that this person may have been what's called a phantom candidate where one of the parties put him up to run to take votes from another party."

Yabor is familiar with phantom candidates because his client, Justin Sternad, has admitted to being one.

He ran in the 2012 Democratic primary, forcing frontrunner Joe Garcia to expend resources in that race, leaving fewer dollars for his general election matchup against Republican Congressman David Rivera.

According to The Miami Herald, Sternad's campaign was supported by Rivera, who has denied any wrongdoing.

Some Republican activists are convinced Arrojo did the exact same thing, propped up by the Democrats.

Arrojo's initial 2010 Republican primary campaign documents show him as a member of the Tea Party.

About three months later, in his statement of candidacy, Arrojo listed his party affiliation as a Democrat.

Last week Jeff Garcia resigned amid allegations he illegally requested dozens of absentee ballots. The congressman has said that his former staffer took full responsibility for the plot.

Records show Jeff Garcia, not related to Congressman Joe Garcia, has close ties, was a business partner, and owned property with Arrojo.

Miami Beach City Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, a self-described diehard Democrat, admits that his own party looked for phantom candidates to run, with the intention of siphoning off votes from mainstream Republican candidates.

"Joe, in that campaign, without a doubt was looking for a Tea Party candidate in 2010,” Wolfson said.

At his Coral Gables home Arrojo declined an interview, but did say he doesn't know Joe Garcia. He wouldn't comment on his political party affiliation.

"This issue has already been investigated by the FEC. Even Yabor's letter to the FBI states this issue has been investigated and dismissed,” Congressman Garcia said in a statement. “Asking the FBI to open an investigation is a poor attempt to deflect attention from his client’s involvement in an open FBI case.”

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Congressman Joe Garcia's former chief of staff is accused of illegally requesting dozens of absentee ballots, and that is a felony.

"He promised that he would work with us in anyway possible," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

She talked with Garcia last week.

"He said, 'We want to totally cooperate with your investigation, give you whatever information,'" she said.

On Friday, Jeff Garcia, not related to Joe, resigned at the congressman's request. Joe Garcia is serving his first term in District 26.

At a news conference Saturday, Joe Garcia said he had no knowledge of his chief of staff allegedly requesting dozens of primary election absentee ballots.

"I think Jeff was forthright when he spoke to me about this, it does not diminish the anger, this was an ill-conceived plan to increment voter participation," he said.

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The man who used to represent the west Miami-Dade district, Republican David Rivera, was embroiled in his own scandal while he was in office.

The Miami Herald reported extensively on how Rivera allegedly financially propped up a Democratic candidate to run against Joe Garcia in last August's primary election. Rivera has not been charged with a crime, and has denied any wrongdoing.

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Nova Southeastern University professor Charles Zelden says the absentee ballot system is vulnerable.

"This is the one area we know that real voter fraud actually occurs," said Zelden.

Voter fraud is very rare when people vote in person.

"There is almost no voter fraud," said Zelden, but that's not the case with absentee voting.

"I explain it with a reckless abandon that we play politics in South Florida," said Garcia. "and it should not be that way."

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The majority of Miami city commissioners are looking for some new leadership. Incumbent mayor Tomas Regalado and City Commissioner Francis Suarez are the frontrunners in November's election, and three of the four other city commissioners are supporting Suarez.

"I think it symbolizes what they have seen in me, as someone who works hard every day for the interests of a cross-section of our community," Suarez said.

Next week Commission Chairman Marc Sarnoff and city commissioners Willy Gort and Michelle Spence-Jones are expected to host a fundraiser for Suarez. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is also scheduled to attend.

Suarez’s slick campaign website and related videos mirror his image and message: a young, fresh approach to Miami's future.

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Regalado said he's not offended by his colleagues' choice for mayor. He believes a difference of philosophy regarding property taxes is why the majority is supporting his challenger.

"My commitment has always been since I came here not to raise taxes," Regalado said. "There were commissioners who wanted to raise taxes several times and I have had clashes with them."

Regalado, mayor since 2009, takes credit for keeping the city financially afloat during some very difficult budgetary times. Other highlights of his administration include saving the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts and improving the city’s recycling program.

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He is banking on his no frills, back to basics reputation to win him another term.

"I am not in support of grandiose plans, I am not in support of raising salaries to appease the unions," said Regalado, who is confident the election will go in his favor.

So is Suarez.

"It's not about the last 10 years in Miami, it's about the next 10 years in the city of Miami and I think it's time to turn the page," he said.

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has maintained a steadfast opposition in the last year to raising the cost of college for students, will veto a proposed 3 percent tuition hike.

Despite the governor's earlier warnings the Republican-led Florida Legislature included the hike in a $74.5 billion budget passed earlier this month.

Scott planned to sign the budget into law on Monday, but he is expected to veto numerous spending items, including the proposed tuition hike. The hike was expected to generate close to $50 million for the state's public universities and 28 colleges.

In a copy of his veto message first obtained by The Associated Press, Scott writes that Floridians should be "proud to keep tuition low."

Scott pointed out that he had to work while he was in college in order to pay for it and said students should be able to graduate and get a job without being burdened by "massive debt."

"Higher education is one of the best ways we can Floridians to get a great job," Scott wrote. "It is also one of the best ways we can provide every family the opportunity to pursue their dreams, regardless of where they start in life ... Therefore I believe it is incumbent upon state leaders to ensure the cost of higher education remains accessible to as many Floridians as possible."

Scott has been critical of rising tuition costs for the last year. He vetoed a bill back in 2012 that would have allowed both the University of Florida and Florida State University to raise tuition rates above the current 15 percent a year cap.

The governor did not include any tuition hikes in the budget recommendations he gave legislators earlier this year.

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But House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, pushed for a tuition hike despite Scott's opposition. He justified it by pointing out that the state university tuition rates remain among the lowest in the nation.

In a statement Weatherford said Sunday that the "rumor that the governor will veto tuition increases tomorrow is not a surprise." He said he looked forward to working with university presidents and other officials to move the state university system "forward to the benefit of our students."

Scott's actions, however, may not completely spare students attending one of the state's 11 public universities.

A separate law states that if legislators do not increase tuition in the annual state budget than it automatically increases for state universities by the rate of inflation. That would amount to a 1.7 percent hike this fall.

That law, however, is silent on what happens if the governor vetoes the hike included in the budget.

Universities are also allowed to raise tuition above any rate set by the Legislature as long as it does not exceed 15 percent. That is viewed as long-shot, however, because those hikes have to be approved by the Florida Board of Governors. Scott has remade the board in the last few months with new appointments.

And in his veto message Scott included quotes from top higher education officials who supported his decision to veto the tuition hike.

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University of Florida President Bernie Machen said that since lawmakers provided a "badly needed funding increase" his institution would not be seeking a tuition increase. UF was given additional money as part of legislation that designates it a "pre-eminent university."

David Armstrong, president of Broward College, stated: "We are confident we can hold down the student cost to attend college and continue to provide excellent quality and expansion of services to support student success."

There are legal questions about whether Scott even has the power to veto the tuition hike because of the way lawmakers authorized it.

The money for the tuition hike is embedded in large sums set aside for colleges and universities. Lawmakers then wrote a budget provision that sets the tuition amount 3 percent higher.

Scott is vetoing this provision even though the state constitution says the governor "may not veto any qualification or restriction" included in the budget without vetoing the money attached to it.

Former Gov. Charlie Crist back in 2007 also vetoed a proposed tuition hike. Yet despite questions about his authority, the veto stood because no one challenged it in court.

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Former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina and his wife Raiza made their first appearance in court Friday after turning themselves in to federal custody to face tax fraud charges.

During the afternoon hearing at the federal courthouse in Miami, a judge set Julio Robaina's bond at $250,000. Raiza Robaina's bond was set at $100,000. Both will have to surrender their passports and will be arraigned next Friday, the judge ruled.

"Obviously, yesterday was not what we expected. We did not expect the IRS to move forward on this case that  soon we will prove has no merits," Robaina said outside the federal courthouse in Miami with his wife by his side. "We're hoping and we will have our day in court soon, and we will prove our innocence."

He added: "Today is not a day to talk about the merits of the case, but there will be a day very soon where we will prove there are no merits to the IRS' case."

He gave this thanks to the supporters and friends who have emailed, called and sent text messages.

The Robainas are accused of conspiring to evade their taxes, creating false returns, making false statements to federal agents and failing to report their true income to the IRS.

A 10-page indictment released Thursday claims the couple, who own a loan company, made six-figure transactions between 2005-2007 but reported small five-figure losses. Over those two years, officials allege the Robainas' taxable personal income was falsely understated, while Mr. Robaina's business tax forms showed inflated losses.

The allegations were uncovered after convicted Ponzi-schemer and Robaina acquaintance, Luis Felipe Perez, helped investigators, his attorney said in a statement to NBC 6. The information provided by Perez linked Robaina to a loan operation that paid him off with interest in cash, the attorney said.

"[Perez] turned over records showing payments to Mayor Robaina as well as others at very high interest rates. The records reflected monthly payments of the interest, half by check and half by cash. Additionally, [Perez] provided testimony and witnesses who would make the cash payments..." said Alvin Entin, Perez's attorney.

Through their attorney, the Robainas have denied the allegations.

"Both Mr. and Mrs. Robaina are disappointed by the turn of events. But, at the same time, they are very confident and look forward to their day in court," said David Garvin, the couple's attorney.

Robaina, 48, served as Hialeah's mayor from 2005-2011 before resigning to run for Mayor of Miami-Dade, an election he lost to Carlos Gimenez.

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Miami-Dade commissioners held an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss a proposed $4.2 billion funding plan to upgrade the county's water and sewer system.

The upgrade would be financed by an 8 percent rate increase which would translate into a $3.36 hike for the average customer.

Mayor Carlos Jimenez urged commissioners to move forward saying last year the county was hit with a federal lawsuit for violating the clean water act.

He also cited that in the past five years, the collection system has experienced 798 overflows and that most of the water and sewer pipes are more than 50 years old. 

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President Barack Obama is delivering a statement on the growing IRS scandal.

A North Miami mayoral candidate who said she secured an endorsement from on high finished far back in Tuesday's election.

The top two vote-getters, Kevin Burns and Lucie Tondreau, advanced to a June 4 runoff for mayor, city spokesperson Pam Solomon said. Former mayor Burns received 2,254 votes (33.2 percent) in Tuesday's election, while Tondreau had 1,870 votes (27.6 percent), according to unofficial Miami-Dade Elections Department results.

Anna Pierre, a registered nurse who claimed she was being endorsed by Jesus Christ, finished last among the seven candidates with 56 votes, or just 0.83 percent.

"Yes, Jesus endorsed me!" Pierre said during a stop at the Gwen Margolis Community Center Tuesday morning as the polls opened. "I'm not nuts, if I'm a freak and nuts for Jesus, let it be! Let the world know that Jesus is it and when you have Jesus on your side you can go on."

See what Pierre said Wednesday after she lost.

Pierre previously claimed she was being intimidated with voodoo tactics.

The Jesus claim was made on a campaign flyer posted to Pierre's Facebook page that reads "Anna Pierre, RN, is endorsed by Jesus Christ" and features a photo of the savior.

Pierre said the endorsement came to her in a revelation while on the campaign trail as she's been competing against six other candidates.

"I don't know about if he likes me more, but what I can tell you, I know he loves me very much," Pierre said. "If it wasn't for the love of Jesus I wouldn't be standing here today."

Smith Joseph was third in the mayoral race with 1,561 votes and 23 percent of the field, followed by Gwendolyn "Gwen" Boyd (555 votes, 8.2 percent), Jean Rodrigue Marcellus (374 votes, 5.5 percent), and Modira Escarment (116 votes, 1.7 percent) in sixth place.

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North Miami's election also did not produce winners in its two City Council races, as no one earned the 50 percent plus one votes needed for victory, Solomon said.

As a result, Carol Keys and Mary Irvin will compete in a runoff for the District 2 seat on June 4, with one of them to replace Councilman Michael Blynn, who finished third on Tuesday. In District 3, Philippe Bien-Aime and Jacques Despinosse will go head to head.

In another South Florida municipal election on Tuesday, Isolina Marono defeated Deborah Centeno to win the Group 4 seat on the Sweetwater City Commission. Marono received 1,065 votes while Centeno had 406, according to unofficial results.

Marono, the mother of Mayor Manny Marono, was appointed on an interim basis last year to fill the seat left vacant by the late Vice Mayor Ariel Abelairas, The Miami Herald reported. Her victory for a four-year term Tuesday came in the only contested election in Sweetwater, as commissioners Orlando Lopez (Group 1), Jose Bergouignan (Group 2) and Jose Diaz (Group 3) retained their seats without opposition.

The failed Sun Life Stadium referendum also received some attention Tuesday, as the Miami-Dade Elections Department released a partial tabulation of early voting and absentee ballots that were cast on the stadium renovation proposal, as well as Election Day ballots on it from North Miami and Sweetwater.

Fifty-seven percent or 34,780 voters said they were against the proposal, while 43 percent, or 25,898 voters, were for it.

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Last month in North Miami, Pierre, a Haitian native who recorded a hit pop song before coming to America, claimed someone had placed voodoo artifacts outside the door of her campaign office.

The items included candles, food and dolls with pins stuck in them, said Pierre, who believes one of her opponents may have been behind the intimidation.

"The voodoo stuff, I don't know who's doing it, but I'm not afraid," she said at the time. "It's just intimidation to ... slow me down. But you know what? I'm not going to slow down until the finish line."

Voters Tuesday remained slightly skeptical of the Jesus endorsement.

"Well, I thought 'I wonder if I ought to vote for this person to maintain the cosmic balance,'" Grover Rawlings said. "I mean, I want to stay on the good side, it's a pretty powerful endorsement if it's true."

Others took the self-proclaimed revelation sincerely.

"Well, like I said, I'm Christian and if she believes it, I've never heard it before, but you know, she could've been," Ann Simpson said.

Burns didn't have much to say about Pierre's Jesus claim.

"I can't even touch that one," he said.

Click here for City of North Miami Elections Department

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Mark Zuckerberg has clicked "Like" on the Keystone XL Pipeline — and now his timeline is going to be chock-full of angry.

The Facebook founder and CEO recently started a political advocacy group called FWD.us — and the group is running a series of television ads in support of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

His PAC was created to support immigration reform, but it is also going to support such things as drilling. There are those in Congress who support immigration reform, but who also support drilling, and some say that the PAC funding might be a means to an end.

Feared and loathed by environmentalists, the pipeline would open up Canadian tar sands for oil and gas exploration.

Activists in the San Francisco Bay Area say they are "angered and mystified" over Zuck's turn for the pipe, and a group of about 50 protested Wednesday at Facebook's world headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. The protest was timed just before the company released its first-quarter earnings. . Wednesday is also "May Day," a day where many took up immigrants' rights and a path to citizenship as the key causes of the day.

The protesters questioned why Zuckerberg would "spend millions in support" of the pipeline, "among the dirtiest projects on Earth."

And they created an online petition to stop "running ads supporting fossil fuels" which as of Wednesday afternoon had collected more than 18,000 signatures.

Zuckerberg did not come outside the building when the protect occurred about noon, nor did he issue any statement on his Facebook news website.

Supporters, however, point out that that building the pipeline means thousands of jobs.

FWD.us's ads feature Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) bashing President Barack Obama for not being supportive-enough of the pipe.

Credo Mobile, the socially-active mobile carrier, says that Facebook has refused to run its ads that blast the pipeline and FWD.us's support for it.

Even though experts say Zuckerberg's primary directive in effecting change in social policy is immigration reform, some are not going to agree with using the pipeline ads as "cover" for that change.

"But invariably there is going to be people who don’t understand and the inevitable result is going to be this type of press fire," Dan Schnur, a political science professor at the University of Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times.

Ironically, the Zuckerberg critics have a Facebook page dedicated to their cause.

Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones wants her case fast-tracked to an appeals court, so on Monday she withdrew her motion challenging a local judge's decision preventing her from running for a third term.

"We feel that it is important for the community to know, and the residents to know, that we're pushing this thing and not dragging it out in the lower courts," Spence-Jones said.

Monday's motion hearing lasted less than five minutes.

In a previous ruling, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Cueto decided Spence-Jones maintained her qualification requirements as the District 5 commissioner at all times during her two terms. Therefore, she has served two full terms and cannot seek a third in November's election.

Spence-Jones maintains that her term was interrupted because she was twice suspended from her commission seat while she faced bribery and grand theft charges.

Because of those interruptions, she says, she is entitled to run for a third term.

Spence-Jones was exonerated of the charges and reinstated.

A twist in the civil court case came when Spence-Jones claimed that Judge Cueto was part of an investigation involving her when he was a lawyer with the State Attorney's Office several years ago.

Cueto subsequently said that he was not part of the investigation, but removed himself from the case "to avoid any taint of impropriety in the process."

Spence-Jones filed a motion for a rehearing with a different judge. As soon as that proceeding started Monday afternoon, her attorney told the judge she was withdrawing her motion, moving directly to the Third District Court of Appeal.

The case came about after Spence-Jones' political rival, the Rev. Richard Dunn, sued her to stop her from running again.

Dunn is running for the District 5 seat, and may end up on the ballot against Spence-Jones, if she wins her appeal.

Dunn said he doubts that will happen, however.

"I think it is pretty hard to overturn two judges who have interpreted the charter as saying Michelle Spence-Jones is term limited," he said.

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The fate of Miami Seaquarium's killer whale Lolita is once again being debated.

The National Marine Fisheries Service formally accepted a petition from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, in collaboration with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, to include Lolita in the list of endangered species. according to spokesman Brian Gorman.

Starting Thursday, the agency has nine months to review the petition and make a decision.

The petition calls for Lolita to be returned to the region where she was captured and possibly be returned to her family pod.

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Miami Seaquarium General Manager Andrew Hertz, said Lolita is happy and thriving.

"While we are unable to comment on information pertaining to this petition which has just been put out for public comment by the federal government, we can say that Lolita has been part of the Miami Seaquarium family for 43 years," Hertz said in an email statement. "She is healthy and thriving in her permanent home where she shares her habitat with Pacific white-sided dolphins. She will continue to be an ambassador for her species from her home at Miami Seaquarium."

Lolita was captured from Puget Sound, located off the coast of Washington, where the Southern Resident Population of orca whales reside, the fisheries service said. This population was listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act in 2005, long after Lolita's capture in 1970, excluding her from the listing.

"What this petition would accomplish is to just grant her the same protections that she's entitled to," said Jared Goodman, an attorney with PETA.

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Goodman said that the animal rights group is asking that Lolita be transfered to a coastal sanctuary in her natural habitat, where she can communicate with other killer whales. He added that Lolita's mother is over 80 years old and still roams the area.

But even if Lolita made the endangered listing, there is no guarantee she would be returned to the ocean, said Gorman.

"There is a general feeling between marine animal biologists that it's extremely risky to release an
animal that has been in captivity this long into the wild," Gorman said. "The learned behavior and the experience that comes with being in the wild has disappeared from her memory."

While it is too soon to predict where Lolita will end up, Gorman said the agency is not dismissing the case, but it will review similar cases.

"The history of trying to return large marine mammals to the wild is not a very good one," he added.

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Baby-changing stations are being installed in men's and women's bathrooms throughout Miami.

The initiative was promised by Commissioner Frank Carollo over a year ago. The commissioner’s sponsored resolution, which was unanimously passed in February 2012, was able to raise the private funds needed to install the stations.

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“There is a segment of our community that we are leaving out,” Carollo said. “It is the mothers and fathers of young children. It is the grandmother or grandfather that takes their grandchildren to the park. We take our young kids to the park, yet if they need a diaper change instead of assuming that we can change them in a public bathroom, we have to get creative.”

Carollo said the resolution was inspired by his wife and 2-year-old daughter, Briana.

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He partnered with the organization Amigos for Kids, and received funding from corporations including United Health Care and FPL.

“What you are witnessing is a true public-private sector partnership for the betterment of our community,” said Carollo, who hopes to continue installing these baby-changing stations in the City of Miami. “Thank you for making the magic city more family friendly.”
 

Lawmakers in Tallahassee have cleared the way for Florida to become one of the few states to drastically change the way alimony works.

Politicians are making decisions that will impact families and should proceed accordingly, Nova Southeastern University law professor Michael Dale said.

“They’re very busy and they have all sorts of issues in front of them on a lots of fronts, and this is one where very careful thinking really ought to be used,” he said.

Currently, when a marriage goes south, a judge can award an ex-spouse alimony for life. Most often the man pays.

Both the House and Senate have passed SB 718, which would end permanent alimony. It is now on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk, waiting for his signature or veto.

Under the legislation, a person would be eligible for alimony after an 11-year marriage, instead of seven years as the law states now. And divorce agreements could be amended to change alimony payments.

Lakeland State Sen. Kelli Stargel, who is sponsoring the bill, says it is about fairness.

“I worked hard to put my husband through law school. I've stayed home and I’ve raised our kids,” said the Republican from Lakeland. “But given all of that, if we were to go through the awful situation of divorce, I would want to have a situation that was fair."

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The National Organization for women is adamantly opposed to the changes, saying they would deter marriage.

"This is anti-family, anti-marriage,” said Barbara Devane of NOW.

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