Supporter of Elian Was Paid by Judge

A Florida state court judge who awarded custody of Elian Gonzalez to a Miami relative paid one of the family’s principal supporters $10,000 for political consulting during her election campaign in 1998, according to state campaign finance records.

The payments raised the issue of a conflict of interest in Miami-Dade County Family Court Judge Rosa Rodriguez’s decision Monday that the 6-year-old, who was rescued from an inner tube off Florida’s coast in November, should stay in the United States pending a March 6 hearing, political analysts said.

“It’s very troubling,” said professor Anthony Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami Law School.

Rodriguez’s ruling contradicted a U.S. government decision that the boy belongs with his father in Cuba and was criticized by legal experts who said the 39-year-old judge had overstepped her authority.

Rodriguez’s financial disclosure forms indicated her campaign made three payments--of $2,500, $3,500 and $4,000--to political consultant Armando Gutierrez’s firm, Gutierrez & Associates Inc., between January and July 1998.

The records also showed her campaign paid nearly $53,000 to Creative Ideas Inc., an advertising firm owned by Gutierrez’s wife, Maritza.

Gutierrez, a political strategist, has been among the most prominent supporters of Elian’s Miami relatives, orchestrating a fiery public campaign of all-American themes, including Elian’s trip to Disney World, his appearance before cheering throngs at a parade and a steady stream of media images showing him swinging a baseball bat and playing with a puppy.

He has acted as a spokesman for the family, and he hugged Elian’s great-uncle in court after Rodriguez announced her decision Monday.

Elian Gonzalez became the subject of a political tug of war after he survived the sinking of a boat carrying 14 Cuban migrants to Florida. Eleven died, including the boy’s mother.

The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service placed the boy in the custody of a great-uncle in Miami. But his father, a tourism worker in Cuba, has said he wants his son sent home.

The Miami relatives say the boy should not be sent back to the Communist-ruled island.

Rodriguez decided Monday that the Miami kin should have interim custody of the boy until a March 6 hearing to determine if he would be harmed by being returned to Cuba. Cuban exiles celebrated the decision, but legal experts denounced it.

Gutierrez confirmed that he and his wife received payments from Rodriguez but denied any conflict of interest on the judge’s part, saying he was not a party to the family’s petition for custody of Elian.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t think the judge did anything wrong,” Gutierrez said.

“Somebody’s very upset about the judge’s decision,” he said. “A lot of people would like to see this boy back in Castro’s Cuba.”

Celina Rios, director of Family Court Operations, confirmed that Rodriguez paid Gutierrez and his wife’s firm but said the judge had no ethical obligation to disclose her financial link to the consultant.