Sasha Tirador comingles campaigns on Hialeah mailer

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Is she at it again?

Absentee Ballot Queen Sasha Tirador is under investigation for co-mingling campaign funds from her judicial and municipal campaigns last year (more on that later). But that doesn’t stop her from flirting with the same kind of disaster for the upcoming Hialeah elections.

Tirador doesn’t only represent Mayor Carlos “Castro” Hernandez but also two of his Seguro Que Yes men, Council Vice President Luis Gonzalez and Councilman Paul “Pablitiquetico” Hernandez. And on Wednesday, as the first absentee voters got their ballots in the mail, they also got this glossy piece lacking any creativity but urging them to vote for the three incumbents.

The mailer also comes with three disclaimers. Under the photo of each of the elected candidates, it says this was a political advertisement paid for by the campaign of Hernandez, and the campaign for Gonzalez, and the campaign for the other Hernandez.

And that might be what keeps her out of trouble.

Joe Centorino, head of the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust, told Ladra Thursday that, while he couldn’t talk about any specific case or investigation — not even to deny or confirm it — candidates in general could co-star on campaign materials if they each pay their fair share. Using this case as an example, and $6,000 as the hypothetical cost (because Ladra likes easy math), this would be legal if each campaign report indicates that each paid $2,000 for production and postage.

“You’ve got to be careful to properly report it,” Centorino said.

Dang. This could be the start of a new trend. Seems illogical to only prohibit the co-mingling of funds and not campaigns. I mean, isn’t it the same thing? Don’t all the candidates get a break on the cost because of the group rate?

The phone number listed on the mailer is for the Hernandez campaign headquarters, which are also the slate campaign headquarters — just like in 2011. And the return address is also for the shopping strip campaign headquarters. It is also registered to a business called Little Vegas in Hialeah, which is a game room a couple of doors down filled with illegal maquinitas that are allowed, nonetheless, to operate in Hialeah under what many believe is the mayor’s protection.

Maybe this is part of his quid pro quo?

According to Florida corporate records, Little Vegas in Hialeah is owned by Maria Padilla and according to Manta it was established in 2005. It is categorized under “amusement theme parks” and has an estimated revenue of $1 million to $2.5 million — that’s just with a staff of anywhere between one to four employees.

She can probably afford to give the mayor a break on the rent. Especially if he’s willing to look the other way while the maquinitas, which were made illegal by the Florida legislature earlier this year, continue to operate.

  Carlos Hernandez, public corruption, Sasha Tirador