Will DeCaro use the new Soros money to hire him as our own voting expert?
/Democrat hires convicted felon to advise on senate campaign
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.), known for riding topless on a camel during a lobbyist-funded junket to Qatar, tapped a convicted felon as senior adviser to his Senate exploratory committee.
Chuck Rocha will advise Gallego as he considers running to unseat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.), Politico reports. Rocha, who will lead Gallego’s Latino outreach efforts, was sentenced to 24 months probation and fined $2,000 in 2013 after he pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the United Steelworkers International Union, where he served as political director. Rocha admitted to misusing a union credit card in 2008 and 2009 to pay for golf outings and Stanley Cup tickets.
Rocha said at his sentencing in 2013 that his consulting business had "largely cratered" in light of his indictment, but it has bounced back in recent years through lucrative contracts with Democrats. The Democratic National Committee paid Rocha’s firm, Solidarity Strategies, more than $830,000 during the last election cycle for a variety of consulting services, according to Federal Election Commission records. The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, a prominent labor union, gave $100,000 to Rocha’s political action committee, Nuestro PAC, last year, the Washington Free Beacon reported.