Frank Artiles

Authorities Raid Miami-Dade Home of Former State Sen. Frank Artiles

Artiles' name has been mentioned in connection to last November’s election for State Senate District 37

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Miami-Dade Police raided the home of former state senator Frank Artiles Wednesday morning.

Video showed detectives carrying boxes of evidence out of Artiles' home in Palmetto Bay.

Artiles has made no comment, and nobody answered the door at his house Wednesday afternoon after detectives left.

Senator Racial Slug
AP
Frank Artiles

Artiles' name has been mentioned in connection to last November’s election for State Senate District 37.

In a razor-thin race, Democratic incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez lost his seat to political newcomer, Republican Ileana Garcia.

A third candidate in that race had an influence on the election and former Rodriguez’s legal team felt certain Artiles helped prop up the third candidate.

Republican Illeana Garcia defeated the incumbent Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez in the race for State Senate District 37. But investigators are looking into the third candidate - Alex Rodriguez -- who received more than 6,000 votes. NBC 6's Phil Prazan reports on how investigators are looking into whether that candidate existed only to take votes away from the Democrats.

The third candidate, Alex Rodriguez, had never been in politics, didn’t campaign at all for the District 37 seat and, shares the same last name as Jose Javier Rodriguez.

Jose Javier Rodriguez's camp believes Alex Rodriguez, who ran as an independent, siphoned votes away from the Democrat, tipping the election in Garcia's favor.

Miami-Dade Police said they served the warrant at Artiles' home in connection to an investigation being done by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, but gave no other information.

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