Tag Archives: scandal

Playbook reports: Democrats are scouring the record of Rep.-elect George Santos to determine their next steps following an extraordinary New York Times investigation of the incoming Republican from Long Island that revealed a history of seemingly fraudulent claims. Democrats are pondering how far to go in their condemnation. Should he be referred to the House Ethics Committee? (Almost certainly.) Should …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former Catholic priest who pleaded guilty last month to a felony obscenity charge for performing sex acts with two professional dominatrices on the altar of a Pearl River church has been held in contempt of court for giving a television news interview. Travis Clark, 39, now must serve six months behind bars. Clark had …

The Daily Beast reports: Four European Union leaders have been charged with participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption, tied to alleged bribes from FIFA World Cup host Qatar. Raids on diplomats’ homes in Brussels and Strasbourg, where the E.U. parliament meets, uncovered “bags of money.” Greek EU vice president Eva Kaili—who is languishing in a Belgium jail …

The Florida Times-Union reports: Kent Stermon, an influential Northeast Florida Republican political donor and a member of the Board of Governors, died Thursday night. He was 50. Stermon was president of Total Military Management, a logistics firm that re-locates members of the armed services, and both through political donations and personal relationships, particularly with Gov. Ron DeSantis, had become a …

The Florida Phoenix reports: Florida Speaker of the House Paul Renner released a statement saying that he will remove Harding from all his committee assignments. “After consultation with Rep. Harding regarding his indictment, I am temporarily removing him from his committee assignments to allow him time to focus on this matter,” Renner said. “In America, we adhere to the rule …

Florida Politics reports: A federal grand jury has indicted Republican Rep. Joe Harding of House District 24 on six felony counts, including money laundering and wire fraud, the DOJ announced Wednesday. The indictment alleges that between Dec. 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021, Harding committed two acts of wire fraud through a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration and …

Politico reports: Sen. Marco Rubio acknowledged on Tuesday through a spokesperson that he met with indicted ex-Rep. David Rivera to discuss a potential deal to normalize relations between the United States and Venezuela — but didn’t know that his one-time friend and long-time political ally was working on behalf of strongman Nicolás Maduro. Rubio’s dealings with Rivera emerged Monday night …

The Associated Press reports: A former Miami congressman who signed a $50 million consulting contract with Venezuela’s socialist government was arrested Monday in connection with an ongoing federal criminal investigation, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. David Rivera, a Republican who served from 2011 to 2013, was arrested at Atlanta’s airport. Pressure has been building on Rivera for more …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Tampa police Chief Mary O’Connor resigned Monday effective immediately after an investigation into a Pinellas County traffic stop where she flashed a badge and asked a deputy to “just let us go.” Mayor Jane Castor asked for and received the resignation, Castor announced Monday in a news release. An internal review by the department’s Professional …

CNBC reports: Distressed crypto firm BlockFi has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey following the implosion of putative acquirer FTX. In the filing, the company indicated that it had more than 100,000 creditors, with liabilities and assets ranging to $10 billion. In the filing, the company listed an outstanding …

The Guardian reports: The Conservative peer Michelle Mone and her children secretly received £29 million originating from the profits of a PPE business that was awarded large government contracts after she recommended it to ministers, documents seen by the Guardian indicate. Lady Mone’s support helped the company, PPE Medpro, secure a place in a “VIP lane” the government used during …

NBC News reports: Four years ago, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre joined forces with a Florida neuroscientist to promote an experimental drug — a nasal spray designed to quickly treat brain injuries from a concussion. Favre, a major investor in the company, touted the substance on podcasts, radio interviews and national television, including on NBC. And he did more …

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: A former Catholic priest who was arrested in 2020 after a passerby saw him and two dominatrices having sex on the altar of Pearl River church pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of felony obscenity. Travis Clark listened to 22nd Judicial District Judge Ellen Creel read the elements of the obscenity statute at the …

CoinDesk reports: The beleaguered crypto exchange FTX suffered a $400 million hack over the weekend, and at least one blockchain expert says the clues are point to a high-level insider who committed an amateur misstep that might have inadvertently revealed their identity. The attacker appears to have “had access to all the cold wallet storages which he exploited,” Dyma Budorin, …

Reuters reports: The collapse of FTX is the subject of scrutiny from investigators in the Bahamas, who are looking at whether any “criminal misconduct occurred,” the Royal Bahamas Police said on Sunday. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Friday, one of the highest profile crypto blowups, after traders rushed to withdraw $6 billion from the platform in just 72 hours and …

Reuters reports: At least $1 billion of customer funds have vanished from collapsed crypto exchange FTX, according to two people familiar with the matter. The exchange’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly transferred $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to Bankman-Fried’s trading company Alameda Research, the people told Reuters. A large portion of that total has since disappeared, they said. One …

The Associated Press reports: A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Alaska faces accusations he sexually harassed a former assistant while he was a borough mayor. The lawsuit filed Friday accuses Charlie Pierce of “constant unwanted physical touching, sexual remarks, and sexual advances.” In the lawsuit, she claims Pierce touched her breast, made sexual remarks, falsely imprisoned her in his private office, …

Axios reports: Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is launching a new podcast on the subscription podcast platform Quake, he told Axios. It’s the former governor’s first major public undertaking since resigning last year in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal. Details: The new hour-long show, called “As a Matter of Fact,” will debut weekly on Thursdays, beginning this …

Yahoo News reports: A former Miami pool boy is speaking out about his affair with former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s wife, Becki Falwell, in a new documentary. “They have a public image, but behind the scenes, they’re freaks,” Giancarlo Granda says in a trailer for the new Hulu documentary, “God Forbid: The Sex Scandal That Brought Down a …

Yahoo Sports reports: After Jacob Runyan, 42, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were accused of cheating during a fishing tournament on Lake Erie, a Cleveland grand jury indicted them on fifth-degree felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools. In addition, the two have been served with the first-degree misdemeanor charge of …