BREAKING: The attorney for former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg files court papers seeking to reduce what he says will be his client’s potential 9-to-11 year prison sentence. #News6 1/5
Greenberg’s attorney, Fritz Scheller, makes this blunt statement about other “public figures” who have not been prosecuted for sex offenses despite Greenberg’s cooperation. 2/5
Scheller then adds this striking footnote suggesting the need for a special counsel and questioning whether “the DOJ is like Nero fiddling away as Rome burns”. 3/5
Scheller says Greenberg deserves less than the guideline sentence due, in part, to the 17-yr-old victim lying to a “sugar daddy” website that she was 18, his history of mental illness including bipolar disorder, his cooperation, and his restitution to Seminole County. 4/5
Michael Nelson has spent 17+ of the last 25 years in prison for fraud. Now he’s out… and recently started a brand new business in Jacksonville offering “legal services”. (He is not a lawyer.) #News6clickorlando.com/news/investiga… 1/8
Federal prosecutors have called Michael Nelson a “serial con man”, saying he defrauded folks across the country out of well over $1 million while posing as a lawyer, a banker, and a business consultant. 2/8
Shortly after his release from prison 5 years ago, I discovered Nelson was posting YouTube videos claiming to be a pastor and soliciting “tax deductible” donations. He was later sent back to prison for violating his probation by running another “legal services” company. 3/8
BREAKING — Joseph Ellicott has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. He admits to delivering a $6,000 bribe to former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg. #News6
Ellicott allegedly delivered the bribe money on behalf of Michael Shirley, a contractor accused of submitting inflated invoices to Greenberg’s office. Shirley has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges and is awaiting trial. #News6
Judge Gregory Presnell: “Mr. Ellicott participated in public official abuse, which really harms every citizen of Seminole County and beyond.” “When you facilitate a kickback to a constitutional tax collector, government abuse doesn’t really get worse than that.” #news6
Donald Trump's newly filed motion seeking a special master related to the Mar-a-Lago search warrant contains some new information... including many admissions. Here's a 🧵
1. Trump acknowledges "movers" brought boxes from the White House to Mar-a-Lago in January 2021. Trump acknowledges giving 15 boxes back to the federal government one year later.
2. Trump acknowledges receiving a grand jury subpoena in May 2022. Trump acknowledges initiating a search for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Trump acknowledges finding such documents and turned them over 3 weeks later.
NEW: Some have asked how #News6 discovered the paper trail showing @GovRonDeSantis delayed releasing financial records of Matt Gaetz associate Halsey Beshears. Here’s a 🧵 with receipts. (1/21) #News6
Following a @Politico report linking Halsey Beshears to the Matt Gaetz investigation in April 2021, I submitted a public records request with the FL Dept of Business & Professional regulation seeking the former secretary's expense reports. (2/21) #News6
DBPR usually responds quickly to record requests for contractor complaints and such, so I was puzzled when my wait for Beshears’ records hit one month. I requested an appointment to view them in-person as Florida law allows. No response. (3/21) #News6
Matt Gaetz associate Dr. Jason Pirozzolo sold his million dollar Orlando area home last week, I just learned. #news6
Pirozzolo’s photo and bio were abruptly removed from his Orlando medical clinic’s website last month after @CBSNews reported that the doctor was tied to the @mattgaetz investigation. Pirozzolo’s patients received this message from the clinic. #news6
Pirozzolo — who has another home in Key West — was in Monroe County when he signed the deed selling his Orange County home, records show. #news6
BREAKING - Internet is down at the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections office. Precincts cannot upload Election Day results. Machine results are being manually driven to the SOE. Results expected to be delayed several hours #News6
.@VoteOsceola Elections Supervisor Mary Jane Arrington says she’s in contact with @Ask_Spectrum but has not been told why internet is down at SOE office. Canvassing board continues to process mail-in ballots received today as precinct machines are driven in. #news6#Florida
Important — The voting results and physical paper ballots remain safely in the voting machines. The internet is simply used to conveniently upload the data to the Osceola Elections Supervisor so the public can be informed of results. #news6