Mitt Romney event for Carlos Curbelo at tax evaders’ home

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Former Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney will be in town Monday to stump for Miami-Dade School Board Member
Carlos Curbelo in the latter’s bid for congressional office.

First, Romney and Curbelo will go to a Cuban bakery in West Kendall Monday afternoon to campaign with Curbelo.

But there will also be a fundraiser that night at the Grove Isle condo of Fausto and Remedios Diaz-Oliver, a Cuban American businesswoman and activist who was one of 13 members on the leadership committee of Florida’s Juntos con Romney Hispanic outreach campaign. She also contributed $2,500 to Romney’s campaign. 

Remedios Diaz Oliver told Ladra that the event at her home Monday evening was closed to the press.

And, she said, she was only one of about 20 members of a committee helping Curbelo. Among the others are car moguls Mario Murgado (Brickell Motors) and Gus Machado (Gus Machado Ford).

But I guess Curbelo — who loves to cast both Democrat Rep. Joe Garcia and former Congressman David “Nine Lives” Rivera as scandal plagued — doesn’t mind hobnobbing with confessed, convicted criminals. Not if they’re drumming up donations for his congressional bid.

Both Fausto and Remedios were charged with tax evasion and customs fraud in 1997 after she and two others who owned a food-importing firm allegedly tried to hide about $456,000 from the IRS. They also allegedly deflated the price of Spanish goods they imported by almost half — from $5.3 million to $2.8 million.

The Diaz-Olivers denied any interest in the importing business, but two years later, Fausto pleaded guilty to one felony count each of tax evasion and customs fraud. Remedios pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for accessory after the fact to tax evasion and customs fraud, and received three years of probation. So she can still vote — though not for Curbelo, even though it seems she likes to gamble (Curbelo has lobbied for Genting, which wants to open a casino here).

Alas she doesn’t live in District 26.

Not that Ladra is judging their actions from 17 years ago, mind you.

Just that these are the people having a fundraiser for Curbelo, who likes to represent himself as the squeaky clean choice on the Republican primary ballot.

  Carlos Curbelo, Congressional district 26