Florida Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Helped Fugitive Embezzlers

Last edited Wed Feb 5, 2014, 02:05 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/04/exclusive-florida-rep-helped-fugitive-embezzlers.html



-- snip

Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, while she was Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to federal agencies on behalf of two Ecuadorian bankers convicted of embezzlement who were seeking U.S. residency. She also advocated for their family members, who donated over $20,000 to her campaign.

William and Roberto Isaias, who were convicted in absentia of embezzlement in Ecuador more than a decade ago, have been fighting for the right to avoid extradition and establish residency in the United States. And they’ve had a powerful ally in that quest: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, who made phone calls and wrote letters to advance their residency request. Last month, NBC News reported that the FBI was investigating Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez on possible corruption charges related to his advocacy on behalf of the brothers.

Menendez has denied any quid pro quo with the Isaias brothers, whose family members donated $10,000 to Menendez’s 2012 campaign.

But Menendez wasn’t the only member of Congress that the Isaias clan called upon. Those same Isaias family members donated at least $23,700 to Ros-Lehtinen in the 2010, 2012, and 2014 cycles, according to federal campaign contribution records. The Isaias brothers live in Coral Gables, which falls inside Ros-Lehtinen’s district.

In March, 2011, Ros-Lehtinen wrote a letter to Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela on behalf of the Isaias brothers, whom Ros-Lehtinen said “believe they are being politically and economically persecuted by the Government of Ecuador.”