Matt Gaetz friend handed 11-year prison term in US sex trafficking case - The Guardian US

A erstwhile Florida taxation collector whose apprehension led to a national probe into the US congressman Matt Gaetz has been sentenced to 11 years successful situation for enactment trafficking of a insignificant and different offenses.

Joel Greenberg, erstwhile taxation collector for Seminole county, was accused of stalking a governmental opponent, nationalist corruption, making fake licenses and scheming to taxable mendacious claims for a national loan.

He pleaded blameworthy to six national crimes, including individuality theft, stalking, ligament fraud and conspiracy to bribe a nationalist official. Prosecutors said helium paid astatine slightest 1 miss to person enactment with him and different men.

“Nothing justifies my actions. My behaviour is truthful shameful. I consciousness remorse for what I’ve done,” Greenberg said connected Thursday earlier US territory justice Gregory Presnell sentenced him successful an Orlando courtroom.

Greenberg besides straight apologized to the residents of Seminole county, his household and a schoolteacher helium smeared erstwhile the pedagogue decided to tally against him.

Presnell said that successful his 22 years arsenic a national judge, helium had ne'er experienced a lawsuit similar Greenberg’s and “a suspect who has committed truthful galore antithetic types of crimes successful specified a abbreviated play of time”.

Greenberg’s lawyer had asked for leniency, saying that his lawsuit had assisted successful investigations of 24 people, including 8 for enactment crimes. Defense lawyer Fritz Scheller said that Greenberg’s practice had led to 4 national indictments, and that helium believed further ones were expected successful the coming month.

Greenberg’s practice could play a relation successful an probe into his person Gaetz implicit whether helium paid a 17-year-old miss for sex. Gaetz has denied the allegations and antecedently said they were portion of an extortion plot. No charges person been brought against the Republican congressman, who represents a ample portion of the Florida Panhandle.

Greenberg has been linked to different Florida politicians and their associates. So far, nary has been implicated successful the enactment trafficking investigation.

After the hearing, Scheller called Greenberg’s condemnation just.

Scheller said helium was shocked that Greenberg’s practice had not yet resulted successful much prosecutions and that Greenberg had been successful connection with national investigators successful the past 3 months. When asked whether helium thought others would beryllium charged with enactment crimes, the defence lawyer said, “I do.”

“There should be, and I deliberation portion of my vexation is that I person a beauteous bully penetration into the grounds successful this case,” Scheller said.