Well, it appears that Representative Matt Gaetz is on the floor again — this time without a young girl. He is in the midst of a bizarre federal crime investigation allegedly involving sex trafficking a minor. Investigators frequently turn lower-level criminals, i.e. his friend, against a higher-level alleged criminal, i.e. Gaetz. Then, investigators would turn that individual and go on up the crime chain to see how far the rot has invaded. Investigators suspect that the representative’s friend, Joel Greenberg could be at the bottom of the rotting dancing pole in the ex-president’s infamous swamp.
A former tax collector for Seminole County in Florida, Greenberg will plead guilty in his own federal investigation case, according to The Washington Post. This federal case is bad news for Gaetz, because it means that someone with intimate knowledge, in every sense of the word, of the representative’s activities has likely turned evidence against him in order to reduce his own sentence.
Greenberg allegedly fabricated evidence to smear a political opponent in his own race for the tax collector. The charges to date also include wire fraud and submitting false claims to get an Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
The federal prosecutors have been building a case against the two men. They supposedly paid women with cash and/or gifts that ultimately were in exchange for sex. In addition, they flew some of them to the Bahamas, hence the trafficking charge.
The office of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defined human trafficking on its site:
‘Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide – including right here in the United States.’
‘It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims into trafficking situations.’
For nearly a year, Greenberg has been detailing how he and his buddy paid women for sex with money or other items of value. Gaetz has strongly argued against any charge of paying for sex.
The former tax collector had until Saturday to reach a plea agreement. On Thursday, a federal court in Orlando put a “change of plea hearing” on its schedule for this case. Greenberg provided information in hopes of leniency. But a federal judge must still accept that deal.
We learned just last month that prosecutors and defense attorneys were negotiating via Greenberg’s defense attorney Fritz Scheller. His comments after the hearing led people to wonder how bad it was getting for Gaetz. Scheller said:
‘I’m sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today.’
Greenberg was first charged in the summer of 2020. Since then, his crimes have reached a grand total of 33 charges. They included a charge of stealing from a county tax office in the commission of a sex trafficking crime involving a minor. The age for consent is 18 in Florida.
The former tax collector’s charge of stealing led to evidence that linked Gaetz to more serious crimes. The Justice Department (DOJ) has since been probing into whether Greenberg supplied women for Gaetz and then shared them with him, including the 17-year-old girl.
This looked bad for Gaetz, given that his constituents are primarily conservatives in Florida’s panhandle. He has been a strong supporter of the former president and frequently appears on cable news, which up until this information was released, was quite helpful to him.
However, the evidence must be corroborated by another witness. Federal investigators apparently have one of Gaetz’s old girlfriends testifying. Reports say she was there during the alleged sex trafficking incident.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
