PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson's new ad is running on local TV.
It opens with a narrator reading, "42 criminal charges, nine guilty pleas, and one thing in common— Richard Del Toro's family."
Pearson's ad follows one by opponent Richard Del Toro. Del Toro's recent ad labeled Pearson, "a shady sheriff."
Pearson's ad takes aim at Del Toro's family.
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SHADYSHERIFF DOT COM? Website, TV ad goes after Sheriff Keith Pearson
I fact checked the ad's segment that read this:
"The Del Toro family business was investigated for illegally selling drugs," reads the ad's narrator.
"And I was exonerated on every single count," said Peter Del Toro, Richard Del Toro's brother, who is now an attorney in Martin County.
Court papers show he was arrested in 2011, as part of a nationwide crackdown on overprescribing oxycodone and other drugs.
The new ad does not mention Peter Del Toro was acquitted.
"His (Pearson's) campaign has been a slight of hand so far," said Peter Del Toro. "It's a misdirection and it's made to confuse people."
Pearson's ad also makes direct claims about Richard Del Toro.
The narrator reads: "(Richard) Del Toro also faced claims of money laundering to cover up his family's involvement."
For those claims, the ad cites a "source letter" which is a written account of an event.
I did not find any evidence that this source letter was ever a part of a criminal investigation.
Port St. Lucie city meeting minutes indicate the allegation comes from two former police majors whose positions were eliminated in 2012.
Richard Del Toro was unavailable for comment but his brother said this:
"There was never a claim of that, there was never a charge brought," said Peter Del Toro. "There was never anything."
I wanted to ask Pearson specifically about proof of his claim that his opponent was investigated for money laundering, but he was unavailable for comment, as a spokesperson claims he was busy preparing for National Night Out events.
