Doug Guetzloe Under Fire For Alleged "Extortion"

Political consultant Doug Guetzloe was under more fire Friday. Eyewitness News has new information on how he allegedly tried to get Orange County schools to pay him, "or else," while the Orlando Magic coughed up $200,000 to keep him from opposing a new arena.

Investigators were not limiting their probe to political consultant Guetzloe. The school district attorney said "Ax the Tax" leader Doug Guetzloe offered himself as a hired gun to the district when it was pushing a sales tax hike for new school construction.

The school district's attorney said the implied threat was that if political consultant Guetzloe was not hired that he would fight the tax hike. The school district said it didn't bite and never hired Guetzloe.

The Orlando Magic admitted to paying Guetzloe a total of $200,000 in 2001 and in 2006. Both occasions were supposed to stop him from fighting against a new arena. Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty is a supporter of building a new arena, but was disappointed that Guetzloe was paid off to hush up.

“We cannot be a top-tiered community if we're going to have a reputation, along with some other challenges we have, that you have to have anybody paid to get decisions made,” Crotty said.

Former Orlando Magic executive Bob Poe was so concerned after he heard about the first payment the Magic made to Guetzloe that he reported an accusation of extortion to the State Attorney's Office.

Friday, the Orlando Magic said that their attorney, Hal Kantor, had said if the Magic didn't hire Guetzloe, opponents of a new arena would.

State Attorney's Office investigators said they were reviewing all the players in the transactions to see what their motives might have been and whether there was anything illegal involved.

“How deep is this? Are there are other things to be disclosed that we don't know about,” Crotty asked.

Kantor and his law firm, Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor and Reed would not speak to Eyewitness News.

Guetzloe denied the accusations of election law violations, campaign finance violations and of extortion that he is under investigation for.