“Tampa Bay Times reported in 2010 that much of the $100,000 Rubio put on the card counted as personal expenses, including lavish dinners, repairs to his family minivan, and purchases from a wine store near his house. There was even a $6,773 charge for a Rubio family reunion at a
at a Georgia resort.
About a month later, the Rubios qualified for a $135,000 home-equity loan from U.S. Century Bank, which was owned by Rubio’s supporters, because an appraisal valued the home at $735,000 — far above the purchase price.
The home-equity loan initially did not appear on Rubio’s financial-disclosure forms, but he quickly updated them when the Miami Herald asked about the omission in 2008.
The Times found that they failed to disclose $34,000 in expenses, paid family members for expenses that were incorrectly labeled, and spent little on contributions to other candidates.
“The Times recently detailed Rubio’s questionable financial decisions since then, which include leasing a $50,000 Audi Q7, saving relatively little, and using the $800,000 advance from his first book to buy what the paper called “$80,000 for a luxury speedboat”
“The Grim Reaper tour has been about public awareness,” he said. “We’re going to be doing some things starting next year that are going to go to the next level. … So it’s just the next chapter.” He did not say what the Grim Reaper had in store.
“Uhlfelder said he was saddened by the more than 20,000 deaths in Florida from COVID-19, adding he hoped his activism resulted in fewer deaths.”
“The state’s politicians have done little to question the governor or the president. Instead, that chore has fallen into the hands of Rebekah Jones, a feisty 31-year old woman who has accused the governor and state health officials of trying to cover up the actual number of
infections and deaths from the virus, and Daniel Uhlfelder, a Panhandle lawyer who sued the governor in an effort to force closure of overcrowded beaches.”
“More than 21,000 people in the state have died from coronavirus-related illness since the onset of the pandemic. Roughly 23,000 people have died from the coronavirus in California, a state with roughly twice as many people as Florida.”
“The state’s seven-day average daily confirmed case count continues to increase week over week, up to more than 11,000 as of the week 23 December – roughly the same as its summer peak.”
“Florida’s resident death toll from coronavirus rose to 21,135 with the addition of 140 more reported fatalities on Saturday, while also adding 17,042 more positive COVID-19 cases to bring the total to 1,264,588.”
Daniel Uhlfelder, an attorney who filed a lawsuit against DeSantis in March and dressed as the Grim Reaper to spread awareness of the disease on Florida beaches, called Piccolo's comments "disgusting."
"He's responsible for the communication message of the governor," Uhlfelder said. "And he's mocking or downplaying the deaths. It's just inexcusable. I don't know how you justify that. ... This is not a game. These are people that are suffering and dying," the Sentinel reported