A Congressional hopeful has signed on as legal counsel for a local Trumper charged with voter fraud.
Robert Rivernider, 58, who has served as a Villagers for Trump board member, pleaded not guilty this past week in Sumter County Court following his Sept. 29 arrest on charges of forgery and vote fraud. Court records indicate that the resident of Continental Country Club in Wildwood is being represented by attorney Anthony Sabatini, who is running to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Daniel Webster, whose 11th District includes The Villages.
Sabatini, a staunch supporter of former President Trump, last week backed the efforts of Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to unseat Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House of Representatives.
“The Gaetz Motion to Vacate was the single most courageous and patriotic political act within Congress in a generation,” Sabatini declared in a social media post.
Sabatini has also blasted “Do Nothing Dan Webster,” borrowing some tactics of Laura Loomer, who came close to a 2022 upset GOP primary victory over Webster.
Villagers may be familiar with Sabatini’s billboard on County Road 466, in which he boasts of “fighting woke corporations.”
Sabatini’s client signed a vote-by-mail ballot for his father, Robert Rivernider Sr., according to an elections fraud complaint from Sumter County Supervisor of Elections William Keen. The senior Rivernider reportedly died on Oct. 19, 2020. The vote-by-mail envelope was signed and dated Oct. 16, 2020, but postmarked on Oct. 23, 2020. It was received by the local elections office on Oct. 26, 2020.
“Based on comparison of signatures for both Jr. and Sr., there appear to be similarities between the signatures in the 2020 election that match Jr.’s signature, but not prior versions of Sr.’s signature. On information and belief, it is alleged that Jr. signed the ballot of Sr. in the 2020 election,” Keen said in the complaint.
Rivernider was taken into custody in the driveway of his home at 14 S. Bobwhite Road by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies. The Philadelphia native was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center and released after posting $10,000 bond.
In 2013, Rivernider pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and 16 counts of wire fraud in an investment scheme. He was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, but won “compassionate release” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which later claimed his father’s life.