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57 indicted in scandal: On Wednesday, 57 people were indicted in a gambling scandal in Florida.
Republican Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott speaks as Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll listens during a press conference at the Hilton hotel Nov. 4, 2010 in Fort Lauderdale, (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Officials said that 57 people were indicted Wednesday in a gambling scandal amid Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll’s resignation.
Carroll resigned suddenly on Tuesday after being linked to a $300 million scandal involving a veterans charity that was a front for illegal gambling, reported The Associated Press. The Florida governor’s office said she resigned to keep the distractions to a minimum.
Carroll previously did public relations for the company, Allied Veterans of the World, and was questioned in the investigation but was not implicated by authorities of any wrongdoing.
“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,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi, according to News4Jax.com. “This insults every American that ever wore a United States military uniform.”
The charity, which ran casino-style slot machines, gave hardly any money to veterans and its executives spent millions on themselves, AP reported. Authorities said they seized $64.7 million contained in some 300 bank accounts.
Florida officials said they discovered a money laundering and racketeering scheme that operated from 49 Allied Veterans of the World locations.
Officials said that among those arrested include the president and vice president of the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police, which represents police with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, according to News4Jax. Nelson Cuba, 48, and Robert Freitas, 47, got more than $500,000 via a shell corporation over an 18-month period.
Regarding Carroll’s resignation, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said she “resigned yesterday in an effort to keep her former affiliations with the company from distracting from our important work on behalf of Florida families.”
Scott said he would not elaborate on the specifics of her resignation, but only that she “made the right decision,” according to a statement from his office.
Carroll, he said, was a consultant for Allied Veterans of the World in 2009 and 2010 while she served with the Florida House of Representatives.
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