Absentee-ballot fraud inquiry:Possible ballot turf war leads to minor mayhem in Hialeah
Posted on Sunday, 09.02.12
Absentee-ballot fraud inquiry
Possible ballot turf war leads to minor mayhem in Hialeah
A possible turf war between ballot brokers surfaced last year at a Hialeah public housing complex, involving cops, cameras and screams of bloody murder.
By Melissa Sanchez and Enrique Flor
msanchez@ElNuevoHerald.com
As the storm of ballot-fraud allegations swirls in Hialeah, a public housing complex that was the stomping grounds of a man charged in the case was the site of a possible turf war last year between competing ballot-brokers.
Cops, cameras and screams of bloody murder all converged at the buildings at 1470 and 1480 W. 38th Pl., a city-owned complex for elderly residents, prior to the November 2011 municipal elections.
It was also there that Sergio “El Tío” Robaina, 74, collected at least a dozen ballots in the weeks prior to last month’s elections. Robaina, charged with two felony counts of ballot-tampering, was a beloved visitor who often could be found playing dominoes on the back patio. He is held in such esteem by residents that some said they would toss him their absentee ballots from the second story so he wouldn’t have to strain his knees to get up the stairs.
“He’s such a sweet person,” said Lesbia Lloga, 74.
But residents say another woman they identified as a ballot-broker began to make the rounds in the Robaina-friendly territory last year.
More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/02/2982400/possible-ballot-turf-war-leads.html
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