A senior law enforcement official says the FBI investigating whether a little known congressional Democratic candidate improperly received thousands of dollars for campaign mailings from Republican U.S. Rep. David Rivera.
At least one of the mailings from Justin Sternad's campaign was critical of the eventual Democratic nominee, Joe Garcia. He has previously tried to unseat Rivera in Florida's 25th congressional district that stretches from suburban Miami to Key West.
The law enforcement official says authorities are looking into direct-mail and voter data services used by Sternad's campaign prior to the Aug. 14 primary. The official spoke only on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the probe is ongoing.
Sternad did not return a telephone call. Rivera has denied any wrongdoing or having any connection to Sternad's campaign.
