Florida State Legislators Smoking Cigars

Florida State Senator Alberto Gutman addressing his colleagues in the Senate chamber

Father Sergio Carrillo meets with members of Dade County delegation

Alberto Gutman (January 4, 1959 – February 16, 2019) was a Cuban-American politician. Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, he moved to the United States when he was 6 years old.

Early life

He lived and went to school in Miami Beach, Florida. He entered politics and became a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Member of

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, 1984–92; member of

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

34th District, 1992–99. He is a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

B'nai B'rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

, and

Phi Theta Kappa Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society ( or PTK) is the international honor society of students attending open-access institutions and seeking associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, or other college credentials. Its headquarters is in Jackson, Mississippi ...

. He was married and had two daughters.

Career

In 1992 he won his first election to the Florida Senate defeating Democrat Kendall Coffey. Gutman accused his opponent in the 1998 senatorial election of using

voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

against him after

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...

paraphernalia was tossed at him and scattered on his vehicle by his opponent's supporters; Gutman won the election.

Resignation and Conviction

He was indicted on 32 counts for benefiting from a fake health care company that he had set up to defraud Medicare of $15,000,000. Gutman then resigned his post as Chairman of the Florida Senate Health Care Committee over alleged improprieties in brokering a Medicaid health plan during his term as vice chairman of the committee. He was charged with conspiracy, money laundering, and witness tampering. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison with three year’s probation, ordered to pay victims $98,175 in restitution and fined $50,000. (1999)

Death

Gutman died on February 16, 2019, at his home in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

.Alberto Gutman-obituary
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Electoral history

References

External links

Project Vote Smart – Alberto Gutman (FL)
profile

profile
"Governors pledge to reach out and touch"
Chuck Shepherd, ''Orlando Weekly'', November 30, 1998.
"All-American Al"
BILL DURYEA, ''St. Petersburg Times'', April 14, 2000 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutman, Alberto 1959 births 2019 deaths American people of Cuban-Jewish descent Cuban emigrants to the United States Miami Dade College alumni University of Miami Business School alumni Republican Party Florida state senators Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Florida politicians convicted of crimes American politicians of Cuban descent Jewish American state legislators in Florida 21st-century American Jews Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida