A lawyer for former Florida GOP Chair Jim Greer predicted that the case against his client for allegedly defrauding and laundering money wouldn’t go to trail, the Miami Herald reported.
The Florida GOP announced back in 2010 that Greer was under investigation by state officials over a $200,000 contract he awarded to himself and his executive director. But lawyer Cheney Mason — of Casey Anthony trial fame — said after depositions of several Florida Republican officials that he doesn’t expect the case to go to trial.
Mason said that party lawyer Jason Gonzalez wouldn’t answer many of the questions he had about a $123,750 severance package that Greer signed with Gonzalez, House Speaker Dean Cannon and state Sen. John Thrasher.
That agreement, the Herald reports, is at the center of Greer’s legal strategy. It stipulates that the Republican Party of Florida agreed that all expenditures made during Greer’s term as chair “were proper, lawful, appropriate, and served the interests of RPOF, and RPOF specifically acknowledges that all expense reimbursements of any kind, American Express account expenditures, consultant fees, fundraising fees, agreements, service fees, travel and dining expenses were proper and authorized and otherwise ratified by RPOF.” Prosecutors alleged that Greer set up the company Victory Strategies as a straw company. Cannon said he didn’t know about Greer’s involvement with Victory Strategies.
“It was cute because Dean Cannon did defer some questions saying, ‘you’ll have to ask Mr. Gonzalez. And Thrasher sometimes said, ‘you’ll have to ask Mr. Gonzalez.’ And when we asked Mr. Gonzalez, he said ‘Well, it’s attorney-client privilege. It’s protected. We can’t disclose it,” Mason told the Herald.
“You know what, thank you very much,” Mason said he felt like telling Gonzalez. “Wait till I get your behind in front of a jury.”
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