Getty Images

As part of the ongoing look at Rep. David Rivera's (R-Fla.) borderline-hilarious scandals, the Miami Herald moved the ball forward in a big way today.

To briefly recap, Rivera is at the center of a variety of controversies, but the more pressing allegation is that he hired Justin Lamar Sternad to run in a primary campaign against his opponent, and illegally financed the guy's primary campaign through a series of secret and unreported cash contributions.

The Republican congressman says he doesn't know Justin Lamar Sternad, but it appears Justin Lamar Sternad certainly knows him.

Justin Lamar Sternad, whose failed congressional campaign became the subject of a federal grand-jury investigation, has told the FBI that U.S. Rep. David Rivera was secretly behind his run for office, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald have learned.

Sternad, 35, also told authorities that his campaign manager, Ana Sol Alliegro, acted as the conduit between the campaign and Rivera, who allegedly steered unreported cash to the Democrat's campaign, according to sources familiar with the investigation and records shared with The Herald.

Sternad said Alliegro referred to the congressman by his initials, "D.R.," and called him by the nickname, "The Gangster." 

On Monday, I said the Rivera scandal reads like a Carl Hiaasen novel, but upon further reflection, that's probably not fair -- I've read a lot of Hiaasen novels, and they're usually more plausible than Rivera's real-world antics.

I mean, really. Once a politician picks up "The Gangster" as a nickname, maybe it's time to consider a career outside of Congress.

By the way, why did Sternad, whose personal annual income is about $30,000 a year, and who somehow managed to spend $43,000 in unreported cash on direct mail, go along with Rivera's scheme? In other words, why bother running for Congress for no reason? Because in this case, Ana Sol Alliegro, the intermediary, said Rivera "would get him a better job to support his wife and five kids if he lost."

If by "better job," Rivera meant "getting indicted in a criminal conspiracy," the congressman is keeping his promise.

In the meantime, where is House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.)? It was Cantor, after all, who vowed a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to misdeeds from congressional Republicans. Can the Majority Leader explain why Rivera remains a member in good standing of the House GOP caucus and enjoys his party's support for re-election?

Associated Press

Following up on an item from last month, it's hard not to marvel at Rep. David Rivera's (R-Fla.) career. The conservative freshman has been investigated by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Department's public corruption unit, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement over allegations that he abused his office in the state legislature and repeatedly lied on financial disclosure forms.

But as his re-election race draws closer, Rivera's problems appear to be intensifying.

A key witness in a federal grand jury case involving U.S. Rep. David Rivera is still missing, but she left important evidence behind for investigators: at least four envelopes that had been stuffed with unreported campaign cash.

Ana Alliegro, a Republican political operative, delivered the cash-stuffed envelopes to a Hialeah mail house that sent out fliers in a congressional race against a Rivera political rival, the mail house owner told the FBI.

The FBI has the envelopes to check for fingerprints and handwriting comparisons.

Also in the hands of FBI agents: at least six invoices initially made out to the attention of David Rivera -- all marked paid "cash" -- to cover the mailings for Democratic primary challenger Justin Lamar Sternad, a suspected Rivera straw-man candidate. The congressman demanded that his name be removed from the invoices with Wite-Out, documents and interviews show.

Remember, all of this is real -- it's not from a Carl Hiaasen novel.

The underlying scheme is rather ridiculous. Rivera, fearful of a challenge from Democrat Joe Garcia, allegedly arranged for Justin Sternad to run against Garcia in a Democratic primary. Sternad, whose personal income is about $30,000 a year, somehow managed to spend $43,000 in unreported cash on direct mail.

Did the Republican congressman illegally funnel the money to pay for his opponent's primary race, then clumsily ask that his name be removed from invoices? The FBI seems to think so.

As for the missing witness, she disappeared two weeks ago, and even her lawyer hasn't heard from her, though she was scheduled to talk to prosecutors about her involvement in the scandal just hours before vanishing.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had vowed a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to misdeeds from congressional Republicans, but has shown no interest in addressing Rivera's multiple and ongoing scandals. I wonder why.

Associated Press

Rep. David Rivera's (R-Fla.) career has become almost comical. The conservative freshman has been investigated by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Department's public corruption unit, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement over allegations that he abused his office in the state legislature and repeatedly lied on financial disclosure forms.

And now, things have managed to get worse.

The FBI and Miami-Dade police have opened separate criminal investigations into the campaign of a Democratic congressional candidate who, vendors say, was aided by GOP Rep. David Rivera.

Federal agents gathered campaign records, invoices and began interviewing employees at two mail and data companies used by Democrat Justin Lamar Sternad's primary campaign. Sternad spent about $43,000 in unreported cash and checks on mail services, a witness told The Herald and authorities. Some of the money was stuffed in envelopes bulging with $100 bills.

Federal law required Sternad to quickly report any contributions -- including loans -- just before the Aug. 14 primary, which he lost to Democrat Joe Garcia, a longtime Rivera rival who Sternad bashed in one of his 11 mailers.

Rivera, investigators suspect, was behind the sophisticated mail campaign run by Sternad, who was an unknown political newcomer and hotel night auditor.

It appears to have been a rather clumsy scheme. Congressman Rivera, fearful that Joe Garcia may defeat him in November, allegedly arranged for Sternad to run in the Democratic primary.

As part of Sternad's "campaign" (I use the word loosely), he quietly spent tens of thousands of dollars, in cash, on anti-Garcia mailings -- through the same local printer Rivera has used. Where'd all this unreported cash come from? Law enforcement officials would like to find out.

What's more, Sternad's family income is about $30,000. How he was able to spend $43,000 in unreported cash on direct mail is also unclear. The money didn't come from legal donors -- his total cash on hand as of late July was $120.97.

Rivera claims he doesn't even know Sternad, but there's ample evidence to the contrary, including the fact that one of Rivera's Republican allies ran Sterna'd campaign.

The Republican congressman told the Miami Herald that the paper is in league with Democrats as part of some kind of conspiracy against him.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) had vowed a "zero tolerance" policy when it comes to misdeeds from congressional Republicans, but has shown no interest in addressing Rivera's multiple and ongoing scandals.

As Rachel explained in a segment a couple of weeks ago, folks at the Republican National Committee just aren't great at their jobs. "Whether or not you are in favor of what they are trying to do," she explained, "they are not good at what they are trying to do.... [I]t does seem important that the party apparatus under Reince Priebus is kind of a mess."

Take this morning, for example. The RNC organized a media conference call to condemn the Obama administration for giving visas to a delegation from Cuba, which asked to participate in a panel at the Latin American Studies Association conference in San Francisco. To bash the administration, the RNC scheduled Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.) to make the case.

What an odd choice: Rivera has been under investigation by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Department's public corruption unit, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement over a variety of corruption allegations. He's not the kind of guy the RNC wants to give the spotlight to -- at least he shouldn't be.

By this morning, it turned out the RNC had some "scheduling" difficulties with Rivera, and he couldn't talk to reporters after all. Why the party thought it'd be a good idea to give Rivera a platform in the first place is unclear.

Associated Press

Marco Rubio with his friend David Rivera.

Rep. David Rivera (R-Fla.) hasn't had it easy lately. The conservative freshman has been investigated by the FBI, IRS, Miami-Dade Police Department's public corruption unit, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement over allegations that he abused his former seat in Florida's state House of Representatives for personal financial gain and repeatedly lied on financial disclosure forms.

Not surprisingly, this has left Rivera's future in politics in doubt. But perhaps the more interesting question is what the congressman's scandals will do to his close, personal friend, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), whose career is on a very different trajectory.

Chris Cillizza noted this week, "You can sum up Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's biggest impediment to being chosen vice president in two words: David Rivera."

[Fox News' Bret Baier] pushed Rubio on Rivera, noting that not only is the Florida Senator hosting a D.C. fundraiser for his friend on May 16 but that the two men also co-owned a house together, a house that went into foreclosure.

Rubio sought to cast the foreclosure issue as a simple misunderstanding; "There was a disagreement with the bank about how much the monthly payments were," he told Baier, adding: "And it all got confusing."

Making the story a little more "confusing" is that Rivera has been accused of misusing campaign donations for personal use, and Rubio has largely admitted to having done the same thing.

Indeed, the far-right senator was asked this week about using a Republican Party credit card to purchase personal items. Rubio conceded it "looks bad," and acknowledged, "I shouldn't have done it that way."

It's worth noting that we're not talking about minor purchases -- Rubio billed the state GOP for more than $100,000 during his two-year tenure as Florida's House speaker, including repairs to his family minivan.

What's more, National Journal added that the controversy hasn't been fully resolved, despite the senator's claims to the contrary, and Rubio has not yet released relevant materials documenting the extent of his role in the controversy.

Among Florida politicos, these questions are widely known, and at least among Republicans, generally ignored. But it's worth keeping the stories in mind as scuttlebutt continues about Rubio's possible role on the 2012 ticket. In many circles, the senator's background is not well known, and his personal characteristics -- handsome young Latino from a key swing state -- may obscure issues that a professional vetting team will probably consider important.

If Mitt Romney and his team are hoping for a controversy-free summer, Rubio's baggage may very well prove hard to overlook.