Investigators aren’t quite finished with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), despite months of silence about a sex trafficking probe.
Eight sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told The Daily Beast the sprawling case remains active as federal prosecutors led by Roger Handberg questioned witnesses tied to former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, who has been cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to six charges, including sex trafficking of a child, wire fraud and conspiracy.
“[Handberg’s] methodical, he doesn’t let anything go,” Lyle Mazin, a criminal defense attorney representing one of the witnesses. “If you’re going after a monster, you have to get it right — especially when you have a bunch of Trump supporters who’ll come after you.”
None of the sources believed the Gaetz investigation was closed, but attorneys for witnesses and subjects of the probe said they expect to hear from prosecutors again despite some recent silence, and a lawyer for one individual already charged in the case said prosecutors seemed to be on a tight timeline.
“They only strike when the case is tightly built, unfortunately,” that lawyer said.
Two prosecutors from the Department of Justice, Todd Gee and Lauren Britsch, have led the Gaetz investigation, according to sources who interacted with them, while federal prosecutors from Orlando — Handberg, Jennifer Harrington and Amanda Daniels — are leading the charge for local elements of the sprawling crime ring.
“We know for a fact that there are dozens of other actors who were involved in drug-fueled sex parties with underage girls and other criminal financial schemes,” said David Bear, an Orlando attorney who has advised several Greenberg accusers. “If at the end of the day only two or three people are held to account by the feds, that would be a real miscarriage of justice and transparency.”
Some witnesses or potential targets in the sex trafficking case say they haven’t heard from prosecutors in months, saying it’s the “most quiet” the case has ever been, but three sources told The Daily Beast the case has recently focused on an alleged public corruption scheme to influence marijuana policy in Tallahassee, which reportedly involves Gaetz.
Two attorneys said prosecutors are taking extreme caution to avoid the appearance of interfering in the midterm elections, with any announcements involving Gaetz likely to come several weeks after the November election, at the earliest, and his GOP primary challenger said an indictment could have saved him millions of dollars in his ill-fated bid to unseat the scandal-plagued congressman.
“If you’re asking me whether I’m frustrated, of course I am,” said Mark Lombardo, who said the investigation played a role in his decision to enter the primary in June. “I thought he’d be long gone… the wheels of justice don’t grind very fast.”