ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) 鈥 A former Florida tax collector whose arrest led to a federal probe into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for sex trafficking of a minor and other offenses.
Joel Greenberg, former tax collector for Seminole County, was accused of stalking a political opponent, public corruption, making fake licenses and scheming to submit false claims for a federal loan.
He pleaded guilty to six federal crimes, including identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official. Prosecutors said he paid at least one girl to have sex with him and other men.
鈥淣othing justifies my actions. My conduct is so shameful. I feel remorse for what I鈥檝e done,鈥 Greenberg said Thursday before U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell sentenced him in an Orlando courtroom.
Greenberg also directly apologized to the residents of Seminole County, his family and a schoolteacher he smeared when the educator decided to run against him.
Presnell said that in his 22 years as a federal judge, he had never experienced a case like Greenberg's and 鈥渁 defendant who has committed so many different types of crimes in such a short period of time."
Greenberg鈥檚 attorney had asked for leniency, saying that had assisted in investigations of 24 people, including eight for sex crimes. Defense attorney Fritz Scheller said that Greenberg鈥檚 cooperation has led to four federal indictments, and that he believed additional ones were expected in the coming month.
Greenberg鈥檚 cooperation could play a role in into his friend Gaetz over whether he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex. Gaetz has denied the allegations and previously said they were part of an extortion plot. No charges have been brought against the Republican congressman, who represents a large part of the Florida Panhandle.
Greenberg has been linked to other Florida politicians and their associates. So far, none has been implicated in the sex trafficking investigation.
After the hearing, Scheller called Greenberg鈥檚 sentence just.
Scheller said he was shocked that Greenberg鈥檚 cooperation hadn鈥檛 yet resulted in more prosecutions and that Greenberg has been in communication with federal investigators in the past three months. When asked whether he thought others would be charged with sex crimes, the defense attorney said, 鈥淚 do.鈥
鈥淭here should be, and I think part of my frustration is that I have a pretty good insight into the evidence in this case,鈥 Scheller said.
Federal prosecutors for a significant reduction in Greenberg鈥檚 prison sentence, agreeing during a court hearing Wednesday to a reduced range of nine years and three months to 11 years.
U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg argued for the upper limit of the range, telling the judge Greenberg abused trust to commit crimes.
Scheller asked the judge to give Greenberg only a fraction of the range, arguing he was making amends and was no longer the same person who committed the crimes.
鈥淢r. Greenberg was using money and sex to get access to political circles," Scheller said. 鈥淗e came from a dark place, a lack of self-worth, and tried to ingratiate himself with a collection of people."
The minor in the sex crimes case was almost an adult and had advertised as being over age 18 in her escort profile on the website 鈥淪eeking Arrangements,鈥 which facilitates 鈥渟ugar daddy鈥 relationships, Scheller said.
Scheller also had asked the judge to take into consideration Greenberg鈥檚 struggles with mental illness, starting with an attention deficit disorder diagnosis at age 7 and panic attacks, depressive and anxiety disorders as an adult. At the time he committed the crimes, he had bipolar disorder with symptoms of mania, which affected his judgment and impulse control, Scheller said.
Some documents related to Greenberg鈥檚 cooperation were filed under seal and out of the public eye, with prosecutors and the defense attorney saying they were part of ongoing investigations being conducted by federal authorities in Florida and Washington, as well as state investigators.
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