Charges Dropped in Former Florida Lt. Gov. Taping Case

The tangled criminal case that included allegations of widespread illegal taping and improper relationships in the office of former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll is coming to an end.

 
Prosecutors this week reached a deal with Carroll’s former aide Carletha Cole that will result in the charges being officially dropped in 12 months if Cole stays out of legal trouble.
 
Cole was arrested in 2011 and accused of giving a reporter a secret recording containing a conversation between Cole and Carroll’s chief of staff.
 
Cole’s attorneys asserted that their client was being set up because she witnessed unprofessional behavior by Carroll and other employees, including walking in on Carroll and a female aide in a “compromising position.” Carroll denied the allegations. Cole’s attorneys also contended that there was widespread taping in the office.
 
Cole’s lawyers pushed to force Carroll to testify in the case, but the agreement reached this week means that the case will eventually be closed and no trial will be held.
 
Under the agreement, Cole must perform 50 hours of community service and avoid any contact with Carroll’s former chief-of-staff John Konkus. Konkus, like the rest of Carroll’s staff, left his job in state government after the lieutenant governor resigned earlier this year.