The communications director for Rep. Joe Garcia (D-FL) resigned on Friday, amid an ongoing criminal investigation into fraudulent absentee-ballot requests, The Miami Herald reported on Monday.
The first-term Democrat’s now-former communications director, Giancarlo Sopo, had been on unpaid administrative leave since early June. On May 31, law enforcement officials in Miami-Dade raided the home of one of Sopo’s family members “in connection with the scheme to request ballots for nearly 500 unsuspecting voters in the Aug. 14 Democratic primary,” according to the Herald. Officials also raided the home of John Estes, Garcia’s 2012 campaign manager.
Following the raids, Garcia fired his chief of staff, Jeffrey Garcia (no relation), who admitted his involvement in the scheme to his boss.
