ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Even before his arrest, a local Florida official, who is friends with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, was a lightning rod for controversy.
Former local tax collector Joel Greenberg has been charged with trafficking a minor, stalking a political opponent, producing fake IDs, identity theft, embezzlement and bribery.
But it's his friendship with Gaetz that is attracting the most attention now as federal investigators have launched a sex trafficking probe into the Republican congressman from the Florida Panhandle.
Two people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press that the scrutiny of Gaetz stemmed from the Justice Department’s probe into Greenberg.
