ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was sentenced to one and a half years for stealing more than $125,000 in party funds.
Jim Greer was sentenced in Orlando Wednesday, more than a month after he pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single count of money laundering. Circuit Judge Marc Lubet handed down a sentence that was less severe than the 3 1/2 years in prison requested by prosecutors.
A trial had threatened to expose the underbelly of Florida's dominant political party and its formerly high-spending ways.
Topics covered in pretrial depositions included allegations of prostitutes at a state GOP fundraiser in the Bahamas, the drinking habits of former Gov. Charlie Crist and intraparty strife.
Prosecutors say Greer funneled almost $200,000 to a company he had formed with his right-hand man and kept $125,000 for himself.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The former chair of the Republican Party of Florida is facing sentencing, completing the fall of a man who was once one of the most powerful political figures in the state.
Jim Greer could face a prison sentence of 3 1/2 to 35 years when he goes before a judge Wednesday in Orlando.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and a single count of money laundering last month, right before his trial was scheduled to start.
The trial had threatened to expose the underbelly of Florida's dominant political party and its formerly high-spending ways.
Topics covered in pretrial depositions included allegations of prostitutes at a state GOP fundraiser in the Bahamas, the drinking habits of former Gov. Charlie Crist and intraparty strife.
