MIAMI – Former Florida Senator Frank ArtilesR-Miami-Dade was sentenced to 60 days in jail on Monday. He was found guilty of three of the four charges against him In the “ghost candidate” criminal case in September.

He will also spend the next five years on probation and has not been sentenced. The judge also ordered Artiles not to get involved in politics.

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On Sept. 30, jurors found Artiles guilty of making campaign contributions exceeding $1,000, conspiring to make campaign contributions exceeding $1,000, and providing a forged candidate oath form. They found him not guilty of falsifying a voter registration form.

Prosecutors accused Artiles of spearheading a scheme to confuse Florida Senate District 37 voters with then-Democratic Alex Rodríguez, a nonpartisan “ghost candidate” running against incumbent Florida Sen. Jose Javier Rodríguez and Republican nominee Ileana García. he accused.

Rodríguez ran for $50,000. He stated that he was offered $25,000 before the election and another $25,000 to be paid later.

Miami-Dade Judge Miguel de la O, who handed down Artiles’ sentence Monday, said he was impressed by the former elected official’s service to others. Artiles received dozens of letters describing specific examples of his support and philanthropy.

Artiles’ wife, Amy, had asked the judge to take into account “the emotional burden on our daughters, who will lose their father at a crucial time in their lives.”

“I think our tribal policies have gotten the better of you, Mr. Artiles, and you have lost sight of right or wrong,” De la O said.

As Artiles headed for an exit Monday, his lawyers blamed lax campaign finance laws and uninformed voters.

When asked by Local 10 News reporter Glenna Milberg if Artiles thought he did anything wrong, his attorney, Frank Quintero, responded: “I’m not going to get into how he felt or didn’t feel.”

The sentence was postponed until a status hearing on December 18 for appeal.