Joel Greenberg, the former Florida Republican tax collector and longtime friend and “wingman” of U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been granted an additional four months to cooperate with federal prosecutors. Greenberg was scheduled to be sentenced on November 18, but as Politico reports that has now been pushed to March.
Greenberg in May pleaded guilty to six federal charges, including the sex trafficking of a minor, the same crime Congressman Gaetz reportedly is being investigated for, although he has not charged. Gaetz maintains he is innocent.
“Federal prosecutors are examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex,” the AP reported when Greenberg pleaded guilty in May. “Investigators have also been looking at whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, the people said. They are also scrutinizing Gaetz’s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored.”
Monday night Politico reported prosecutors that day told a judge that “Mr. Greenberg was a prolific criminal,” and he “was not alone.”
“This is an unusual situation in the number of different investigations and lines of investigation we are pursuing,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg added, saying they wanted the extra time “because of the need to follow up on some of these leads.”