SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — New information has been released in the investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz and its connections to Central Florida.
On Wednesday, Channel 9 reported that the feds began their probe into Gaetz.
This followed the arrest of former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg and his subsequent indictment for sex trafficking.
Watch: Texts, voicemail link Rep. Matt Gaetz, former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg
Political reporter Christopher Heath discovered that federal investigators have spoken to a half dozen other Central Florida residents, many with connections to Gaetz and Greenberg.
When he was first arrested last summer, Greenberg was facing just a handful of charges. But those charges have since grown to more than 30, including sex trafficking.
Caught up in the Greenberg arrest, Greenberg’s longtime friend, Gaetz, who is currently under investigation himself amid allegations that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and paid her to travel across state lines.
Gaetz vehemently denies the charge.
Read: Gaetz staying on Judiciary panel, despite investigation
“It is a horrible allegation and it is a lie,” Gaetz said. “That is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.”
The Department of Justice is looking at his records, including whether he and another Florida politician gave cash or other items of value to women they had sex with after the women were recruited online.
The investigation, which began in Central Florida, has resulted in at least a half-dozen people connected to Greenberg having been contacted by federal investigators.
The exact nature of those conversations remains unclear, and if they might implicate anyone else.
Read: Few in GOP rush to defend Gaetz amid sex trafficking probe
Very few of Gatez’s colleagues in the U.S. House or former colleagues in the Florida House have come to his defense, instead letting the investigation play out.
Gaetz has not been charged with anything.
Greenberg has denied all charges against him, and his trial is set to start this summer.
Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/ZGOGENAJTBFTBFET73EGTT4W3U.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LLENQYITEREXVFPITOFJ2IGEH4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/B62QQBSTIFBZJOQD2O7LFC3UCY.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/P2YBEE3AQ5GA5NTGTP2342CXIM.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/QUJEAYDBWBAYNPYYNZEJUDHATI.jpeg)