He has yet to be sworn in as a congressman, and Ross Spano's reputation is already hopelessly cheapened.

It started benignly enough with late campaign finance reports, escalated to potential illegal campaign donations and now seems to be entering an inappropriate staffing juncture.

The revelations are coming so routinely that they are threatening to obscure the one thing that voters should care about most:

He cheated.

All of the accusations and details are important — and need to be investigated by the appropriate authorities — but the bottom line is Spano broke some pretty important rules to win a congressional seat.

Related: Spano acknowledges possible 'violation' of campaign finance law

It doesn't matter if it was unintentional. It doesn't matter if it fails to rise to a criminal level. It doesn't matter if he was the favorite anyway.

This Hillsborough County politician won an election unfairly, and that reality cannot be ignored.

Thus, he needs resign. Before he even takes office.

Really, it shouldn't even be a debate. The evidence is clear enough that Spano himself has acknowledged potential misdeeds, although he claims it is a case of ignorance more than malfeasance.

Setting aside the ramifications of that defense — the man is an attorney who has served three terms in the state House of Representatives, and he doesn't understand basic campaign financing laws? – it still does not change the fact that his victory is irrevocably tainted.

Think about it this way:

What if you accidentally filed false tax returns? Do you think the IRS would accept "oops'' as a defense? Even if you weren't charged with a crime, I'm pretty sure the feds would want their money back.

What if you were an athlete who accidentally took performance-enhancing drugs? Do you suppose the International Olympic Committee would be okay with you keeping that gold medal?

Well, those same standards should apply in an election.

In other words, voters should get their ballots back.

In this case, Spano acknowledged he may have (i.e. probably) accepted loans from friends and then used that money in his campaign, which is specifically forbidden because it would be a simple way to get around individual donation limits. When it was first pointed out to Spano, he suggested the money might have been legally donated by his wife. That excuse didn't hold up very long.

We're not talking a few hundred, or even a few thousand, dollars. The amount of loans and donations, first discovered by Tampa Bay Times correspondent William March, was in the six figures.

As if Spano were trying to create a template as to why these shady transactions are illegal, he apparently allowed one of the people who loaned him money to later fire his campaign treasurer and be part of the hiring process for his congressional staff, according to a recent Politico report.

So you have a politician who conveniently failed to file campaign reports on time, conveniently suggested his wife gave him this mysterious money, conveniently got rid of his campaign treasurer and, when all else failed, conveniently suggested personal loans might have been used, quite innocently if illegally, for his campaign.

By this point, whether you believe Spano's many explanations is irrelevant.

The harm has been done and the only solution is Spano's departure and a special election for his not-even-warm congressional seat.

Contact John Romano at jromano@tampabay.com. Follow @romano_tbtimes.