OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Former Osceola County Commissioner candidate Carlos Irizarry said his recent charges have nothing to do with the claims that he was running as part of a scheme to sway the Latino vote.
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Irizarry said the arrest is unrelated to his campaign last year for the District Four commission seat in Osceola County; instead, it comes down to his finances.
Irizarry, also a former Kissimmee city councilman, said he wants the public to hear from him about why he was arrested Friday. Channel 9 spoke with Irizarry over the phone on Sunday after he posted his bond.
Last September, Channel 9 first reported about a complaint filed against Irizarry when then-Osceola County commissioner candidate Jackie Espinosa accused him of entering the race to take votes away from her.
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When asked if the ghost candidate accusation was true, Irizarry said no.
“Look at my name,” he said. “I’m not new at politics. I was elected in 2006 (and) I’ve been running in different positions in Osceola County for the last 20 years.”
Irizarry said he faces 14 charges, which are misdemeanor offenses related to his last financial disclosure. He said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s nine-month investigation only turned up mistakes in how he filed financial documents.
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He believes all of these charges will be dismissed.
In a social media post on Saturday, Espinosa, now a mayoral candidate for the city of Kissimmee, said she was glad about the positive movement of the case.
She also announced she would hold a press conference Monday to discuss his arrest.
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In response to the post, Irizarry denied the accusations.
“I never took any money from nobody,” he said. “I continued helping my constituents every time I tried to get elected to different positions. This is just gossiping.”
A member of Espinosa’s team said several text messages between Espinosa and Irizarry were handed over to FDLE in the months before his arrest.
Espinosa’s press conference will be at 11 a.m. in Kissimmee.
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