Since he was elected in 2010, Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) has been under an ethics cloud. Already facing federal and state investigations, a new Miami Herald report suggests Rivera may have secretly made illegal cash payments to vendors for a primary candidate running against the Democratic Party’s favored candidate to oppose him in his re-election bid.

Political unknown Justin Lamar Sternad was accused of being a ringer during his failed primary campaign against Democratic nominee Joe Garcia. Now, Stenard campaign vendors say they received their payments from Rivera’s campaign.

According to the Miami Herald:

Interviews with campaign sources, invoices, campaign records and other documents show that Rivera personally and frequently called [vendor] Rapid Mail about Sternad’s mailers. During one call, Rivera directed an employee to walk outside, check the office mailbox for an envelope containing payment for one mailer, the sources said.

The envelope was stuffed with cash — $7,800.

Last week, [Rapid Mail President John] Borrero told The Herald that the Sternad campaign had paid cash for six of the cash mailers, which cost between $4,000 and $6,000 each. He said he was surprised by the amount of cash, which he sometimes may see from private clients and not usually campaigns.

In April, a Florida investigation found “possible criminal and ethical violations” by Rivera. The FBI and IRS are also reportedly investigating payments to Rivera by a gambling company. Rivera has denied wrongdoing.

These mounting allegations against Rivera come despite House Republican Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) promised “zero tolerance policy” for ethical scandals.

As Mitt Romney continues to avoid expressing a clear position on immigration policy, one Republican Congressman is tiring of the Romney campaign’s vagueness on the issue. Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) told BuzzFeed this week that presidential candidates should “put out your proposals and let voters judge them on their merits.”

He said he will not act as a surrogate unless the campaign provides some specifics on how to protect undocumented immigrants who came to to the country as children:

I’m not willing to participate in any Hispanic outreach efforts without seeing more details on a permanent solution for these kids … Right now, his Hispanic supporters and Hispanic surrogates don’t have the ammunition to combat the Obama attacks on him.

Last week, Romney reportedly told supporters that he will not moderate the hard-line anti-immigrant positions he took in the primaries as he does not want to be viewed as a “flip-flopper.” But his current path seems likely to risk the support of Hispanic Republicans like Rivera.

Investigators at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement identified “possible criminal and ethical violations” by freshman Rep. David Rivera (R-FL). Among these were filing erroneous personal financial reports while a member of the Florida House of Representatives, falsely amending those disclosures after media criticism, and using campaign and government accounts to reimburse his own personal expenses.

The report says:

Analysis of documents obtained to date supports the contention that Mr. Rivera purposely falsified his financial disclosure forms in an attempt to legitimize other source of income beyond his salary as a State Legislator. First, Mr. Rivera provided information on his initial financial disclosure submissions that wasfalse and then amended the forms to remove the information. Second, Mr. Rivera amended his financial disclosure forms claiming that $132,000 received from Millennium Marketing were liabilities (loans), when, in fact, documentary evidence indicates that it was compensation for being employed as a consultant to the Flagler Dog Track for the gaming referendum.

The Miami Herald reported yesterday that state prosecutors will not charge Rivera, as the statute of limitations has expired. IRS and FBI investigations into Rivera’s alleged tax evasion and failure to disclose $132,000 in “loans” from a company co-owned by his mother are reportedly ongoing. Rivera has denied the allegations and his campaign said in statements that Rivera “at all times acted in compliance with both the letter and spirit of Florida and federal campaign finance laws and has timely and properly reported all personal income” and that the investigation was an “unprofessional waste of taxpayer dollars.”

In 2010, now-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) promised that if his party won the majority in the midterm elections, he (as majority leader) ‘institute a zero-tolerance policy‘ on ethics violations. In light of these serious charges, the Republican leadership could show its commitment to this policy by beginning an Ethics Committee investigation, stripping him of his committee assignments, calling for his resignation or even moving to remove him from Congress. It has done none of these things. Even with these apparent ethical breaches, they continue to let Rivera serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee (and, ironically, its Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee) and the Committee on Natural Resources.

This is yet another in a growing series of examples of just how little Cantor’s promised “zero tolerance” policy for ethical scandals really means.

A growing number of ethics questions and investigations are mounting for the Republican House majority, despite earlier leadership pledges of ethical purity.

In 2010, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) promised that if his party won the majority in the midterm elections, he (as majority leader) and his colleagues would take the toughest possible stand on ethics.

I think as the Republicans emerge as a new governing majority, it is incumbent upon us to institute a zero-tolerance policy. We understand there were reasons for our being fired in ’06 and ’08. Some of that had to do with ethics violations. I mean we had several members under public investigations during the time of the ’06 elections. I think we’ve learned that that’s not a good way to gain the confidence of the people and that we ought to be instituting a zero-tolerance policy here.

“We’ve learned our lesson,” Cantor told the National Review Online, “We cannot tolerate any ethics violations or behavior, in terms of compromising the ethics that the people expect us to have as their representatives.” Watch the video:

So, how are they doing?

• Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), finance vice chair for the National Republican Congressional Committee (the House GOP’s campaign arm), is reportedly under federal grand jury investigation for alleged reimbursement of campaign donors by his companies, improper tax deductions, inaccurate Congressional disclosure reports.
• Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), (R-AL) continues to chair financial services despite an ongoing investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics for alleged insider trading.
• Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), continues to chair the House Armed Services, despite reports that Congressional investigators allege he got a special cut-rate on his Countrywide home loan.
• Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA), continues to chair the House Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee, despite reports that Congressional investigators allege he got a special cut-rate on his Countrywide home loan.
• Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), continues to chair the House Rules Committee’s Rules Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process, despite reports that Congressional investigators allege he got a special cut-rate on his Countrywide home loan.
• Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) continues to serve, despite ongoing Federal Election Commission and House Ethics Committee investigations into reports that he engaged in illegal campaign fundraising.
• Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) continues to serve despite reported IRS and FBI investigations into alleged tax evasion and failure to disclose $132,000 in “loans” from a company co-owned by his mother.
• Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) continues to serve despite a reported $117,000 in unpaid child support payments.
• According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Reps. Ken Calvert (R-CA), Gary Miller (R-CA), and Tim Murphy (R-PA) have also been under investigation over the past two years for ethical issues, yet all three continue to serve.

Even Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was hit with an ethics complaint last September. The Office of Congressional Ethics has not yet addressed allegations by American Family Voices that Issa used his “public position to promote his private financial interest” and Issa’s office has denied wrongdoing.

Not only has the House leadership stood by their accused colleagues, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will headline a fundraiser for Buchanan’s reelection campaign this Saturday. But while they may not have learned the lesson, with 68 percent of the country disapproving of the job the House GOP is doing, according to a recent PPP poll, Cantor appears correct that the House Republicans’ ethical laxity is “not a good way to gain the confidence of the people.”