Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Lt. Governor Resigns Amid Internet Cafe Scandal

Investigation Into Gambling Scheme Results In Resignation By Lt. Governor
Florida's first African-American Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll has resigned after an internet cafe company was charged with an illegal gambling scheme. Carroll has not been charged with wrongdoing but the company was a former client of her public relations firm while she served in the Florida House of Representatives.

Regarding the investigation, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued the following statement regarding the multi-state, multi-agency investigation, called “Reveal the Deal,” into Allied Veterans of the World.

“It is shameful that Allied Veterans of the World allegedly attempted to use the guise of a charitable organization to help veterans in order to lend credibility to this $300 million illegal gambling scheme.

“The Office of Statewide Prosecution will be filing formal charges related to illegal gambling, racketeering and money laundering, and they will prosecute the participants in the scheme to the fullest extent of the law.”

Allied Veterans of the World is a "non-profit" that ran 49 alleged illegal gambling centers operating as internet cafes. Investigator say only 2% of revenues went to charity. Law enforcement calls the internet cafes spreading across Florida fronts for casino gambling.

Carroll is a former Navy officer and former executive director of Florida's Department of Veterans Affairs. She was the first black official elected statewide in Florida.

Among the arrested were Nelson Cuba and Robert Freitas of Jacksonville, reportedly law enforcement officers serving now as president and vice-president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Jacksonville.


No comments:

Post a Comment