On Monday, Joel Greenberg, who was a former tax collector in Seminole County Florida, pled guilty at an Orlando court in the Sunshine State. In a plea deal, 27 charges were dropped but six charges including the charge of trafficking a minor remained. Prosecutors think that this charge may help them nail Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, who continues to deny any wrongdoing, despite being investigated by the ethics committee and federal authorities for several alleged questionable actions.

The hearing took almost one hour and Greenberg accepted that he understood the charges to which he was pleading guilty. He also acknowledged the possible punishment he could face. He said that he was in a sound frame of mind.

Greenberg had indicated that he would cooperate with the federal authorities before some charges were dropped. He admitted that he had paid a minor for sex acts and that he trafficked her to other adult men who engaged in the same, in his presence, according to papers presented to the court.

Greenberg and Gaetz have a long association. In April, after a court hearing, Fritz Scheller, had made a suggestion to the press that his client’s cooperation with the feds could implicate Gaetz. He had said, “I am sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today.”

In March, an investigation was opened by the feds to determine whether Matt Gaetz had sex with a minor according to the DailyMail. A law enforcement official source told Reuters that the feds were investigating whether it was the same 17-year old who was trafficked by Greenberg.

Gaetz, an ardent pro-Trump supporter, had allegedly been involved in several activities that are being investigated. Some of these alleged activities are

• snorting cocaine and having sex with an escort who was hired for a separate role that involved no work, using taxpayers money
• allegedly trying to secure government jobs for some of the women who were used as escorts or more
• his connections to medical marijuana and whether his associates tried to influence its legislation

Some of the actions in Congress which are being scrutinized include

• showing nude photos of women he said he slept with to other lawmakers
• playing a sleazy Harry Potter themed sex games scoring points from sleeping with married women, virgins and those who belonged to sorority houses
• discussing politics and popping pills at gated community house parties with other Republicans

On Saturday, Matt Gaetz spoke at a Republican Ohio Political Summit and denied all the charges. Instead, he claimed that he was the victim of a complex extortion plot by an official from the Justice Department.