Marco Rubio: Poor Little Rich Boy Runs Into Real Estate Trouble

[flamingdem]

http://observer.com/2016/01/poor-little-rich-boy/

The Senator's three houses, various lady friends, assorted con artist pals and piles of unexplained income

?quality=80&w=716

When it comes to sheer brazen corruption, chicanery and dishonesty there is one candidate who stands head and shoulders above everyone else and that is the right-wing Cuban-American and Tea Party darling Senator Marco Rubio of—naturally—the great State of Florida.

Mr. Rubio’s entire public image—the child of poor Cuban immigrants fleeing the repression of Castro’s Cuba who pulled himself up by his bootstraps and even now is a simple José Sixpack and family man—is less tethered to reality than The Wizard of Oz. For example, in his autobiography, An American Son: A Memoir, Mr. Rubio describes how he allegedly grew up poor and mowed the grass and walked dogs to make a bit of spare change. Technically this may be correct, but most poor kids don’t get paid by relatives heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and whose pets double as guard dogs for a drug cartel, as was the case with young Marco, a federal indictment shows. (See these articles for more on young Marco’s upbringing.)

But it was only after getting into politics that Mr. Rubio really started making big money—and he made it very quickly, with the help of a few intimate companions—especially after taking over as Florida House majority leader and whip in early 2003. In fact, his income nearly tripled during the two years—from $122,000 to $330,000, based on financial disclosure forms—and spiked again in 2008, which may be tied to the fact that he became Florida House speaker in November 2006.

Mr. Rubio was able to cash in in spectacular fashion because Florida’s preposterously flaccid political rules allow politicians to simultaneously hold public office and work as “consultants” to major law and lobbying firms—much like the arrangement that recently landed Sheldon Silver in prison in New York. That means that they technically can’t “lobby” but do it anyway and call it “consulting.” So, for example, when Mr. Rubio became House majority leader in 2003 he went to work for the powerhouse lobbying firm of Broad and Cassell, which is precisely the point where disclosure forms reveal a giant spike in his income.

[flamingdem]

1. The drug-smuggling case that brought anguish to Marco Rubio’s family

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-drug-smuggling-ring-that-brought-anguish-tomarco-rubios-family/2015/12/12/473f3a2c-9db6-11e5-a3c5-c77f2cc5a43c_story.html

** Netflix could do a series on Marco and his family! (See Narcos)

MIAMI — On Dec. 16, 1987, a teenager named Marco Rubio arrived home from school in West Miami to find his mother in anguish.

Earlier that day, federal drug agents raided a house a few miles away that his brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, shared with Rubio’s older sister, Barbara.

Cicilia, a large, sturdily built Cuban immigrant, had played an intimate role in Rubio’s early life. But as the future senator from Florida was finishing high school and preparing to go to college, his brother-in-law’s illicit career as a cocaine dealer was exposed in a major trial. Cicilia was eventually sentenced to a lengthy prison term in one of the biggest drug cases of Miami’s baroque cocaine-cowboys era.

Rubio, who was 16 at the time of the arrest, does not mention the ordeal as he runs for president, casting his family’s Cuban American immigrant story as the embodiment of the American Dream.

There is no evidence that Rubio or his parents were aware of Cicilia’s drug dealing, and Rubio’s sister was not suspected of any crime. But a deep look at those turbulent years — drawing on previously unreported Drug Enforcement Administration field reports and grand jury testimony, interviews with federal task force agents, and the senator’s writings — reveals that Cicilia was a central figure in the smuggling operation at the same time that he was integrated in the life of the Rubio family.

[rladdi]

2. Hey those are the kind the conservatives want to be in control. He has lived off the public tax

payers all his life and will get big pensions when he retires. He is set for life, no matter what happens. He is not capable of a real job. That is the case with most Politicians. Its an easy life, don't have to show up for work, still get paid. What job is easier?

[flamingdem]

3. I wonder what he's up to when he's missing Senate votes!

Something unsavory, but beneficial financally speaking I suspect. Ca-ching!

[7wo7rees]

4. Perfect! Maybe Bristol could be his running mate in lieu of

Sarah......

Family values and all.....

[flamingdem]

12. What a winning pair!

He'll get the female vote and the Latino vote

[flamingdem]

5. Rubios on the Road Have Drawn Unwanted Attention

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/06/05/marco-rubio-and-his-wife-cited-17-times-for-traffic-infractions-2/

Senator Marco Rubio has been in a hurry to get to the top, rising from state legislator to United States senator in the span of a decade and now running for president at age 44.

But politics is not the only area where Mr. Rubio, a Republican from Florida, has an affinity for the fast track. He and his wife, Jeanette, have also shown a tendency to be in a rush on the road.

According to a search of the Miami-Dade and Duval County court dockets, the Rubios have been cited for numerous infractions over the years for incidents that included speeding, driving through red lights and careless driving. A review of records dating back to 1997 shows that the couple had a combined 17 citations: Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13. On four separate occasions they agreed to attend remedial driving school after a violation.

Mr. Rubio’s troubles behind the wheel predate his days in politics. In 1997, when he was cited for careless driving by a Florida Highway Patrol officer, he was fined and took voluntary driving classes. A dozen years later, in 2009, he was ticketed for speeding on a highway in Duval County and found himself back in driver improvement school.

Things got more complicated in 2011 when Mr. Rubio was alerted to the fact that his license was facing suspension after a traffic camera caught him failing to stop at a red light in his beige Buick. His lawyer, Alex Hanna, paid a $16 fee to delay the suspension and eventually it was dismissed.

View the Rubio Traffic Infractions (At link)

[yeoman6987]

6. I don't think Hillary or Bernie will do the drug story

However working for a lobbyist I am sure will be brought up.

[flamingdem]

7. I wonder why more people don't judge him for his terrible record in showing up for

Senate votes? That says a lot especially when Bernie has a near perfect record. Guy is focused on power and the system is loose enough to let him climb, and the Republicans desperate enough to try to package him as viable.

[yeoman6987]

8. Oh don't worry Saturday night he will be forced to answer much

Christie isn't going to play. I think Saturday night might be the most dramatic clown car debate to date.

[flamingdem]

11. This could be very entertaining, Christie went ballistic on Rubio yesterday

Rachel Maddow showed it, calling him the Boy in the Bubble, and implying many things about him, tch tch!

[Vinca]

10. If Marco becomes a threat to the Donald, he'll definitely do the drug story. LOL.

[Faux pas]

9. Why am I not

surprised?

[MBS]

13. He is as slimy as they come. n/t

[lpbk2713]

14. This is what he was doing when he wasn't showing up in DC when he was needed.

Rubio has the worst attendance record in the US Senate.

Link: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/marco-rubio-john-conyers-absent-congress-115281

[hfojvt]

15. that's pretty disgusting

I thought he made $750,000 or so just for writing his autobiography.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. Kick

[flamingdem]

17. kick for night crew

[4bernie28]

18. marco

The caricature is very funny

[flamingdem]

19. Thumbs up

His is!

[Mc Mike]

20. That's a great investigative journalism piece. Thanks.

Rubio looks like he should be indicted instead of nominated. Par for the course, for gop prez candidates. The FL Dem money people and politicians who are involved with him are disgusting.

[flamingdem]

21. Required reading for Trump and Cruz!

They'll be throwing everything at him over the next few weeks. Not sure they'll want to bring up drug cartel bro-in-law though.

[Mc Mike]

22. If the repug candidates want to have a demolition derby using each others' scandals,

I say go to it and god bless. Every one of them has plenty of dirt that could be used by the others.

The first thing I thought of when Rubio entered the race was 'Florida batista cuban republican = drug connection'. When I heard he was a Florida batista cuban-american real-estate guy, I thought of all those gopers who got caught in the Watergate break in.

[flamingdem]

24. In a way I hope Rubio runs because it will bring attention to that nasty batista etc. nixon on down

corruption. Best would be the candidates bringing up on prime time tv.

[Mc Mike]

25. It would be nice to see that cia mob boil on our country get lanced.

But for some reason, the 'serious adults' that run most of our media decide that there's 'no story' there. Nixon said heroin kingpin Rebozo was 'his best friend'? Yawn. L'il jebbie in bed with Miguel Recarey, Armando Codina, Orlando Bosch? The story has no legs. Miami cuban exiles caught helping the Zeta cartel? Ho hum.

Those Miami batista cubans, with their drug connections, money laundering, real estate scams, and terrorist acts, are the only bloc of hispanic American voters who vote for repugs, constantly. (Outside of a few small groups of hard right expats from El Salvador, Nicaragua, etc., negligible in numbers.)

Rubio's crooked connections you showed are important and disqualify him. They probably will only get coverage via opponents' campaign appearance attacks or attack ads. It may be unlikely that any outfit running a final election debate will moderate that debate in such a way that Rubio's crooked connections are allowed to get coverage.

[OldHippieChick]

23. And Santorum couldn't come up w/ any accomplishments despite

endorsing him. They are so desperate. I'm not about to get cocky because I have lost a lot of faith in the IQ of the electorate, but if this is the best the "establishment" of the Repukes can do, they are not doing very well.

[flamingdem]

28. That's funny, but not that funny since the media should be asking - so what has Rubio done

... besides the gang of 8!

[tanyev]

26. In GOP circles, that's considered a distinguished resume.

[flamingdem]

27. Ha ha, true but now they can use it against him - his opponents that is

and Jeb! must know a lot!! Let's hope he let's loose like Christie.