Former Gaetz confidant pleads guilty, will cooperate
A former confidant of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., admitted in court papers on Friday to an array of federal crimes — including sex trafficking of a minor — and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigations, handing prosecutors a potential key witness as they decide whether to charge Gaetz.
Joel Greenberg, who was the tax collector of Seminole County, outside Orlando, until he was indicted last year, did not implicate Gaetz by name in papers filed by prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
But Greenberg admitted that he and unidentified others had paid a 17-year-old girl for sex and that he had provided her drugs. He admitted that he “introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts” with her, according to the documents, and that he was sometimes present. The others were not named.
Prosecutors revealed in the documents that they have evidence they say corroborates Greenberg’s admissions — including a series of communications and transactions Greenberg had with the girl, and a list of dates of their sexual encounters. The inclusion of that material appeared designed to bolster the credibility of Greenberg as a witness whose truthfulness would likely be challenged by anyone who is charged based on anything he tells prosecutors.
Gaetz, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, is said to be under investigation into whether he violated sex trafficking laws by having sex with the same girl. Greenberg, who has been meeting with prosecutors for at least five months, has told investigators that Gaetz had sex with the girl and knew that she was being paid, according to a person briefed on the inquiry.
Greenberg also admitted that he had stolen money from local taxpayers, committed identity theft and defrauded the federal government.
As the inquiry ensnared Gaetz and other influential Florida Republicans, reports have portrayed them as a freewheeling group that frequented parties, sometimes took the mood-altering drug Ecstasy and, in some cases, paid women they had sex with.
Gaetz has denied paying for sex and said that his generosity toward former girlfriends was being misconstrued.
Although Greenberg might have deep knowledge about the activities of Gaetz and others, using him as a witness could be complicated for prosecutors because he has a history of lying and has now pleaded guilty to a range of crimes, including some after he was initially charged by prosecutors last year.
The plea by Greenberg is the latest chapter in his friendship with Gaetz, which began in Republican political circles in Florida around the time Trump was elected president in 2016. Trump’s candidacy attracted many inexperienced politicians who were granted access, including Gaetz and Greenberg.
Gaetz, the son of a former Florida state Senate president, was looking to develop a following in the state and nationally. Greenberg, the son of a wealthy dentist, had struggled with addiction issues but had defeated the longtime tax collector in Seminole County, Florida, in a primary to catapult his political career.
In the hopes of ingratiating himself with Gaetz and other well-connected Florida Republicans, Greenberg has told others, he hired women to have sex with him, Gaetz and others through a website that connected people who go on dates in exchange for gifts like fine dining, travel and allowances. During those interactions, Greenberg has told others, he and Gaetz had sex with the 17-year-old; she had claimed to be over 18, but they later learned her age.
Greenberg was first indicted in June on charges stemming from his attempts to undermine a political rival by spreading false rumors that the rival had engaged in sex with a student. Two months later, he was indicted on a charge of sex trafficking a child.