ORLANDO, FLA. A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department s sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal. Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz s, appeared in federal court in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men. Gaetz was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the court hearing. But Greenberg s cooperation as a key figure in the investigation and a close ally of Gaetz may escalate the potential legal and political liability that the firebrand Republican congressman is facing.
Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg pleads guilty to sex trafficking of a minor
Updated 1:11 PM;
Today 1:11 PM
FILE In this Sept. 30, 2019, file photo, Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg talks to the Orlando Sentinel during an interview at his office in Lake Mary, Fla. Joe Burbank | Orlando Sentinel via AP
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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal.
Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz’s, appeared in federal court in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men.
Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg pleads guilty in federal sex trafficking case By Michael Kaplan, Kathryn Watson
May 17, 2021 / 11:16 AM / CBS News Plea deal for associate of Matt Gaetz
Orlando, Florida Joel Greenberg, a former county tax collector and associate of Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, pleaded guilty on Monday to six federal charges, including child sex trafficking and wire fraud.
Greenberg entered the plea during a hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Orlando.
Clad in a dark blue prison jumpsuit and handcuffs, Greenberg agreed to fully cooperate with the U.S. government. Greenberg told Judge Leslie Hoffman he understood the charges brought against him, and that by pleading guilty he was waiving his right to trial.
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Print article ORLANDO, Fla. A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal. Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz’s, appeared in federal court in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted that he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men. Gaetz was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the court hearing. But Greenberg’s cooperation as a key figure in the investigation and a close ally of Gaetz may escalate the potential legal and political liability that the firebrand Republican congressman is facing.