Prosecutors: Reduced sentence, prison time for Gaetz’s Central Florida friend

ORLANDO, Fla. – A former Florida tax collector whose arrest on intercourse trafficking and id theft expenses led to a probe of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz ought to get his sentence decreased for cooperating with authorities, however he nonetheless deserves jail time to ship a message that no public official is above the legislation, federal prosecutors mentioned in court docket papers.

Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg is going through a 12-year jail sentence when he’s sentenced in federal court docket in Orlando, Florida in two weeks. However he has been cooperating with federal brokers and has offered help in a number of probes, main prosecutors to ask for a decreased sentence. Nonetheless, no different causes needs to be thought of for every other downward departures, prosecutors mentioned in court docket papers filed this month.

The court docket filings from prosecutors did not specify what number of years in jail Greenberg’s sentence needs to be adjusted if his cooperation is a part of the calculation. Prosecutors mentioned it needs to be decreased by 10 ranges within the federal tips, which assigns a base offense degree for every kind of crime.

“It thus seems that the one factor that may be performed to guard the general public from Greenberg, and to discourage him from future felony conduct, is for him to stay in jail,” prosecutors mentioned in a sentencing memorandum filed this week. “This may serve to discourage Greenberg from future felony conduct, however may also ship a message to others, that public officers aren’t above the legislation.”

Greenberg is going through sentencing on six federal crimes, together with intercourse trafficking of a kid, id theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. Prosecutors mentioned he had paid at the very least one underage lady to have intercourse with him and different males. Greenberg pleaded responsible to the fees final yr.

Greenberg’s cooperation might play a job within the ongoing probe into Gaetz, who’s being investigated over whether or not he paid a 17-year-old for intercourse. Gaetz has denied the allegations and beforehand mentioned they have been a part of an extortion plot. Gaetz, a Republican, represents a big a part of the Florida Panhandle. No expenses have been introduced in opposition to the congressman.

U.S. District Decide Gregory Presnell agreed to prosecutors’ request to seal court docket papers coping with an ongoing, unnamed investigation. The request was made “as a way to safeguard from public scrutiny sure delicate data relating to pending felony investigations which might come to mild have been the proceedings to turn into public information,” prosecutors mentioned.

The Greenberg plea settlement mentioned the previous tax collector admitted being “concerned in what are typically known as ‘sugar daddy’ relationships the place he paid ladies for intercourse, however tried to disguise the funds as ‘school-related’ bills or different residing bills.”

Greenberg has been linked to a lot of different Florida politicians and their associates. To this point, none of them has been implicated by title within the intercourse trafficking probe.

Greenberg lawyer Fritz Scheller mentioned in court docket papers this week that the decreased sentence request by prosecutors is inadequate provided that Greenberg’s cooperation has led to investigations or prosecutions of seven folks. Scheller requested the decide for a better discount of 16 ranges.

“At this level, his cooperation has led to a number of federal indictments and convictions, with extra to return,” Scheller mentioned.

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