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Gaetz associate pleads guilty in sex trafficking case
By Lori Rozsa and Matt Zapotosky
May 17, 2021 at 11:06 a.m. EDT
ORLANDO — A Florida politician considered key to the investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz formally pleaded guilty Monday to sex trafficking of a minor and a host of other crimes, agreeing to cooperate fully with prosecutors and testify in court in hopes of leniency for himself.
Appearing in court Monday, Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., repeatedly said, “I do” in response to questions from the judge, affirming what he had already admitted in a written plea agreement made public last week. His plea and deal to cooperate is a potentially ominous sign for Gaetz, as it signals prosecutors have lined up a critical witness as they continue to investigate the congressman.
Greenberg was first charged last summer in a bare-bones indictment that accused him of fabricating allegations and evidence to smear a political opponent, but prosecutors superseded it multiple times as they uncovered more damaging evidence. He ultimately agreed to plead guilty to six criminal charges — including sex trafficking of a child, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud — which come with a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years and a statutory maximum potentially decades longer.
In exchange, the prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other 27 counts Greenberg faced and recommend a term within federal sentencing guidelines, which are often far less than the statutory maximum penalties. They also agreed to recommend other possible sentencing breaks. If they determined, for example, that Greenberg provided “substantial assistance” in building other cases, they might ask a judge to deviate below the minimum required penalty, according to Greenberg’s plea agreement.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/matt-gaetz-joel-greenberg-guilty-plea/2021/05/17/b42e5a54-b70b-11eb-96b9-e949d5397de9_story.html
By Lori Rozsa and Matt Zapotosky
May 17, 2021 at 11:06 a.m. EDT
ORLANDO — A Florida politician considered key to the investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz formally pleaded guilty Monday to sex trafficking of a minor and a host of other crimes, agreeing to cooperate fully with prosecutors and testify in court in hopes of leniency for himself.
Appearing in court Monday, Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector for Seminole County, Fla., repeatedly said, “I do” in response to questions from the judge, affirming what he had already admitted in a written plea agreement made public last week. His plea and deal to cooperate is a potentially ominous sign for Gaetz, as it signals prosecutors have lined up a critical witness as they continue to investigate the congressman.
Greenberg was first charged last summer in a bare-bones indictment that accused him of fabricating allegations and evidence to smear a political opponent, but prosecutors superseded it multiple times as they uncovered more damaging evidence. He ultimately agreed to plead guilty to six criminal charges — including sex trafficking of a child, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud — which come with a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years and a statutory maximum potentially decades longer.
In exchange, the prosecutors agreed to dismiss the other 27 counts Greenberg faced and recommend a term within federal sentencing guidelines, which are often far less than the statutory maximum penalties. They also agreed to recommend other possible sentencing breaks. If they determined, for example, that Greenberg provided “substantial assistance” in building other cases, they might ask a judge to deviate below the minimum required penalty, according to Greenberg’s plea agreement.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/matt-gaetz-joel-greenberg-guilty-plea/2021/05/17/b42e5a54-b70b-11eb-96b9-e949d5397de9_story.html
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