Sergio Robaina Changing Plea In Absentee Ballot Case

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Sergio Robaina, the uncle of former Mayor Julio Robaina, will accept probation and plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of illegally possessed absentee ballots, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.

Robaina was charged last year with two felony counts of tampering with ballots.

In the weeks before the August 2012 primary, Robaina reportedly collected dozens of absentee ballots and gave them to Anamary Pedrosa, an aide at the time to county commissioner Esteban Bovo.

Pedrosa said that Robaina and other so-called boletros would drop off ballots at the commissioner's Hialeah office and she would then take them to the post office.

According to the Herald, Robaina's plea will be for one year probation that could be shortened to six months if he stays out of trouble.

Robaina's lawyers will also reportedly ask for a Miami-Dade County ordinance that governs the collection of absentee ballots, according to the Herald.

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