Jim Greer Pleads Guilty
Monday, February 11, 2013
By: Matthew Peddie

February 11, 2013 | WMFE- Former Florida Republican party leader Jim Greer pleaded guilty to five criminal charges Monday morning, before the start of his grand theft trial. The trial was scheduled to last 2 weeks and the witness list included a swathe of current and former Florida republicans.

Jim Greer was arrested at his Oviedo home in June 2010, five months after he stepped down as chair of the Republican Party of Florida.

Prosecutors say Greer hired his own shell fundraising company and secretly paid himself $125,000 in party money.

He’d blamed his resignation on a conservative faction of the Republican Party that concocted accusations to clear out more moderate leaders like him.

Greer pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and one count of money laundering. The prosecution dropped one charge of fraud. His sentencing has been set for March 27th.

State lawmakers of many stripes were called to testify in Greer’s trial, including newly minted Democrat and former Governor Charlie Crist, who nominated Greer for chairman back when they were both Republicans.