ORLANDO, Fla. — The man accused of accepting a bribe from ex-lawmaker Frank Artiles in exchange for putting his name on the ballot in a South Florida legislative race last year plans to accept a plea deal and testify as a witness against Artiles, prosecutors said Thursday during a hearing.
Prosecutors allege Artiles, a former state senator, paid Alex Rodriguez nearly $45,000 to file to run as an independent candidate in a hotly contested Miami-area state Senate race in an attempt to confuse voters and siphon votes from the Democratic incumbent.
Rodriguez, who is scheduled to enter his plea agreement Tuesday, is expected to serve as a witness for the state during Artiles’ trial, said Tim VanderGiesen, a public-corruption prosecutor in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
