Phil AmmannThe Florida Commission on Ethics will consider the recommendation of a judge on a case involving former state legislator and U.S. Rep. David Rivera, ordered to pay nearly $58,000 in fines and restitution for questionable travel reimbursements and financial disclosures. The commission hearing is set for April 17, according to the ethics panel’s newly released agenda.
In March, Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins recommended that Rivera pay $16,500 in fines and about $41,322 in restitution, as well as face censure and reprimand.
Watkins found in 2014 that Rivera wrongly received state travel reimbursements during his time in the state House while failing to disclose financial information adequately. The Miami Republican was in the House from 2002 to 2010, including two years as appropriations chairman.
In 2010, voters elected Rivera to Congress, for a single term before losing re-election.
Although the ethics commission can issue orders in Rivera’s case, the final ruling on penalties comes from the House speaker, Watkins ruled last month.
