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Former Florida GOP chief pleads guilty before trial

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:28:00 +0000

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Former Republican Party of Florida chairman Jim Greer pleaded guilty to theft and money laundering charges Monday just before jury selection in his criminal trial was to begin.

Greer pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single count of money laundering for funneling money from the Republican Party of Florida to a company he set up with his right-hand man. He could be sentenced to a minimum of 3 ½ years and a maximum of 35 years in prison at his March 27 sentencing.

The plea deal avoids would could have been an embarrassing trial for the state GOP. Some of Florida's most powerful politicians were scheduled as witnesses, including former Gov. Charlie Crist, former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and several state House and state Senate leaders.

"There were a number of people who did not want this trial to go forward and the trial isn't going forward," said Damon Chase, Greer's attorney. "Once again, Jim Greer is falling on his sword for a lot of other folks."

Topics that were covered in pretrial depositions included allegations of prostitutes at a state GOP fundraiser in the Bahamas, lavish spending on fancy restaurants and luxury hotels by state party leaders, the drinking habits of Crist and party leaders stabbing each other in the back.

In race to 270, it may come down to 106 counties

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:38:00 +0000

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — How Virginia goes in the presidential election may come down to voters who live amid the small wineries, affluent subdivisions and Civil War battlegrounds of Loudoun County.

Voters in the tony Hamilton County suburbs around the humming riverside economic engine of Cincinnati may tip the balance in Ohio.

To win Florida, either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney probably will have carried Hillsborough County, where the urban seaport town of Tampa bleeds into communities of Spanish-speaking voters and retired Midwesterners.

Those areas are vastly different, yet each is full of fickle voters and bound by a proclivity to swing between Republican and Democrat every four years. All are main targets as the president and his Republican challenger look for enough victories in enough states to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House.

The race may come down to an even narrower slice of the electorate than the nine most contested states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. The outcome probably will depend on what happens in the 106 counties that Republican George W. Bush won in 2004 and that voted Democrat Obama in 2008, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Trayvon Martin’s DNA not on Zimmerman’s gun

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 17:23:00 +0000

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Forensic tests made public Wednesday show that George Zimmerman's was the only DNA that could be identified on the grip of the gun used to fatally shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The results rule out Martin's DNA from being on the gun's grip. Zimmerman's DNA also was identified on the gun's holster, but no determination could be made as to whether Martin's DNA was on the gun's holster, according to the report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin during a confrontation in a gated community in Sanford in February. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty, claiming self-defense.

A delay in Zimmerman's arrest led to nationwide protests.

The question of whose DNA is on the gun and holster could play a role in Zimmerman's defense.

Ex-NASA chief, son survive Alaska plane crash

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 20:07:00 +0000

A former NASA spokesman says ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe survived the plane crash in Alaska that killed former Sen. Ted Stevens.

Glenn Mahone (Muh-HOHN') says O'Keefe's teenage son, Kevin, was also among the four survivors.

The plane crashed Monday night near a remote fishing village in Alaska, killing five.

The former spokesman for the space agency says he has talked to O'Keefe's family. They told him that O'Keefe and his son had some broken bones and other injuries.

Ex-Fla. GOP chairman charged with felony theft

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:02:00 +0000

The former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida has been arrested for allegedly running a scam bilking money from the party.

The Florida Department of Law enforcement took Jim Greer into custody Wednesday at his Orlando-area home. The 47-year-old has been charged with six counts of organized scheme to defraud, four counts of felony grand theft and one count of money laundering.

Greer resigned in February after reports surfaced that he used party funds on ritzy hotels, gourmet restaurants and private jets.

His steep descent from party chairman to pariah could drag down Gov. Charlie Crist's bid for U.S. Senate. The two are longtime allies, and Crist backed Greer until the day he stepped down.

Greer's attorney did not immediately return telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says he's surprised and disappointed to learn that former Republican Party chairman Jim Greer has been arrested.

Crist said Wednesday he was not questioned by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and he doesn't think the arrest will hurt his Senate campaign.

Autopsy: Sea World trainer died from drowning, trauma

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:30:00 +0000

Officials say trainers had to coax an aggressive whale into a smaller pool and use a platform to lift it out of the water before they could free a colleague from its jaws.

The Orange County Medical Examiner says 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau probably died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning after the killer whale pulled her into a pool at SeaWorld Orlando on Wednesday.

The county sheriff's office says co-workers couldn't immediately help her because the whale was so aggressive after it grabbed her by her pony tail and pulled her in.

The office says an investigation is continuing but there are no signs of foul play and all evidence indicates it was a tragic accident.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The head trainer for SeaWorld says a whale that killed his trainer by dragging her underwater won't be isolated from other killer whales at the Orlando park.

Killer whale drags Sea World trainer off platform in fatal attack

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:37:00 +0000

A veteran SeaWorld trainer was rubbing a killer whale from a poolside platform when the 12,000-pound creature reached up, grabbed her ponytail in its mouth and dragged her underwater. Despite workers rushing to help, the trainer was killed.

Horrified visitors who had stuck around after a noontime show watched the animal charge through the pool with the trainer in its jaws. Workers used nets as an alarm sounded, but it was too late. Dawn Brancheau had drowned. It marked the third time the animal had been involved in a human death.

The whale, named Tilikum, apparently grabbed Brancheau by her long ponytail, according to the head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks, Chuck Tompkins. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that her ponytail swung out in front of the whale.

"That's when the trainer next to him (Tilikum) said that he grabbed the hair, pulled her under water. And of course, held her under water," Tompkins said.

Cars lined up to get in as the park reopened Thursday, though killer whale shows were suspended there and at the park's San Diego location. A third park in San Antonio is not yet open for the season.