In the affidavit for Rios arrest warrant, FDLE special agent Philip B. Larkin wrote the board election was contentious and very divisive as there was discussion about the results and the high voter turnout in an election where four candidates ran for two seats.
Rios, who was board president, received 90 votes, and vice president Joseph Shady received 70, Larkin wrote.
Newcomers Tom Hansen and Charles Faruki received 68 and 65 votes, respectively, Larkin wrote.
In total, 144 ballots were received out of 148 units for a 97% participation rate, Joseph Fleming, a Belize condo resident, wrote in a complaint filed with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation s Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes one month after the election.
A former Marco Island city councilman turned himself in Friday to face three counts each of forgery of a ballot envelope and criminal use of personal identification information. The FDLE says the investigation into Victor N. Rios, 78, began after the March 22, 2019, election of the Belize Condominium Association. After the results of the […]
Rios turned himself into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Department of Corrections on Friday and has since been released upon posting a $30,000 bond, according to the release. FDLE said the case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit.
City Councilor Erik Brechnitz, who was chairman of the City Council at the time of the alleged incident, said he is unhappy to learn what Rios is accused of. I m saddened by it, but I really have to assume that he is innocent until proven guilty, Brechnitz said.
How the investigation started
In 2019, Fleming filed a complaint April 26 with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation claiming that Rios engaged in a fraudulent scheme of ballot-forging during the condo s election in March.