36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival beginsTeen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway
SANIBEL 36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival begins It’s the holiday season, and there are events galore across Southwest Florida this weekend. One of those events is the Sanibel Luminary Festival.
FORT MYERS FGCU student arrested, accused of making social media threat against university Florida Gulf Coast University police have arrested a student accused of sending a threat to the university through Snapchat.
SANIBEL Sanibel annual 10K/5K race begins this weekend Sanibel’s annual food programs, island-based social services and Helping Hands “JOG N JAM” 10k/5k race will close several roads this Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Teen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway A 16-year-old with a history of stealing cars has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a Cape Coral driveway in September.
Tim Aten Knows: Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs.
WINK NEWS Cold front brings stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening A cold front will bring in stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening with warmer temperatures in the upper 70s.
FORT MYERS House fire in downtown Fort Myers caused by smoking There was a massive scene overnight close to Downtown Fort Myers from a house fire with smoke visible from the home.
CAPE CORAL Veterans Memorial Parkway in Cape Coral reopens after pedestrian crash An access point to Midpoint Bridge getting into Fort Myers has reopened after a pedestrian crash early Friday morning.
FORT MYERS Road closures in Downtown Fort Myers due to Festival of Trees Due to the return of the Downtown Fort Myers Festival of Trees, First Street between Jackson and Lee Street will be closed on Friday and Saturday.
FORT MYERS Micro Wrestling Federation makes its way to Fort Myers Professionals with the “Micro Wrestling Federation” put on an amazing show at the ranch in Fort Myers on Thursday.
ESTERO Estero man claims his golf equipment burned on flight An Estero man claims Delta Airlines ruined his golf equipment. His golf bag was destroyed by fire and his clubs are charred.
Volunteers come together to deliver Christmas cards to veterans In an effort to make spirits bright this holiday season, volunteers came together to deliver Christmas cards to veterans.
NAPLES Dentists argue over fluoride in water at Naples City Council meeting Several dentists at the Naples City Council meeting gave their reasons why fluoride should be in the water on Wednesday.
Digging Deeper: Lee County Sheriff’s Office budget One Lee County Commissioner wants to change how taxpayers view the Lee County Sheriff’s Office budget following a possible federal investigation and a grand jury meeting.
SANIBEL 36th annual Sanibel Luminary Festival begins It’s the holiday season, and there are events galore across Southwest Florida this weekend. One of those events is the Sanibel Luminary Festival.
FORT MYERS FGCU student arrested, accused of making social media threat against university Florida Gulf Coast University police have arrested a student accused of sending a threat to the university through Snapchat.
SANIBEL Sanibel annual 10K/5K race begins this weekend Sanibel’s annual food programs, island-based social services and Helping Hands “JOG N JAM” 10k/5k race will close several roads this Saturday.
CAPE CORAL Teen accused of stealing vehicle from Cape Coral driveway A 16-year-old with a history of stealing cars has been arrested after allegedly stealing a vehicle from a Cape Coral driveway in September.
Tim Aten Knows: Work begins for new Publix at Wiggins and U.S. 41 Work began in late November to prepare for a Publix supermarket at the Gateway Shoppes at North Bay on the northwest corner of U.S. 41 and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.
BONITA SPRINGS Woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is seeking information on a woman wanted for credit card theft in Bonita Springs.
WINK NEWS Cold front brings stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening A cold front will bring in stray showers this Friday afternoon and evening with warmer temperatures in the upper 70s.
FORT MYERS House fire in downtown Fort Myers caused by smoking There was a massive scene overnight close to Downtown Fort Myers from a house fire with smoke visible from the home.
CAPE CORAL Veterans Memorial Parkway in Cape Coral reopens after pedestrian crash An access point to Midpoint Bridge getting into Fort Myers has reopened after a pedestrian crash early Friday morning.
FORT MYERS Road closures in Downtown Fort Myers due to Festival of Trees Due to the return of the Downtown Fort Myers Festival of Trees, First Street between Jackson and Lee Street will be closed on Friday and Saturday.
FORT MYERS Micro Wrestling Federation makes its way to Fort Myers Professionals with the “Micro Wrestling Federation” put on an amazing show at the ranch in Fort Myers on Thursday.
ESTERO Estero man claims his golf equipment burned on flight An Estero man claims Delta Airlines ruined his golf equipment. His golf bag was destroyed by fire and his clubs are charred.
Volunteers come together to deliver Christmas cards to veterans In an effort to make spirits bright this holiday season, volunteers came together to deliver Christmas cards to veterans.
NAPLES Dentists argue over fluoride in water at Naples City Council meeting Several dentists at the Naples City Council meeting gave their reasons why fluoride should be in the water on Wednesday.
Digging Deeper: Lee County Sheriff’s Office budget One Lee County Commissioner wants to change how taxpayers view the Lee County Sheriff’s Office budget following a possible federal investigation and a grand jury meeting.
FILE — In this Sept. 30, 2019, file photo, Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg talks to the Orlando Sentinel during an interview at his office in Lake Mary. Greenberg has been charged with trafficking a minor, stalking a political opponent, producing fake IDs, identity theft, embezzlement and bribery. But it’s his friendship with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz that is attracting the most attention now as federal investigators have launched a sex trafficking probe into the Republican congressman from the Florida Panhandle. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File) A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the federal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators and admits paying an underage girl to have sex with him and other men, according to court documents filed Friday. Joel Greenberg is expected to plead guilty to six federal charges — including sex trafficking of a child — during a court appearance in Orlando on Monday. His cooperation as a close associate of Gaetz signals a significant escalation in the Justice Department’s investigation and potentially raises the legal and political jeopardy the Florida congressman is facing. Federal prosecutors have been examining whether Gaetz and Greenberg paid underage girls or offered them gifts in exchange for sex, according to people familiar with the matter. The plea agreement makes no mention of Gaetz, who has vehemently denied the allegations and any wrongdoing and has insisted he will not resign his seat in Congress. As part of his plea agreement, Greenberg admitted that he recruited women for commercial sex acts and paid them more than $70,000 from 2016 to 2018, including at least one underage girl he paid to have sex with him and others. Prosecutors say Greenberg met the girl online — from a website where she was posing as an adult — and had a first meeting with her on a boat, paying her $400. He later invited her to a hotels in Florida, where he and others would have sex with her and also supplied the girl and other people with ecstasy, according to the plea deal. In total, prosecutors say Greenberg had sex with the girl at least seven times. “Greenberg also introduced the Minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts with the Minor,” the plea agreement states. The plea deal, signed Wednesday, does not identify the men. Prosecutors say Greenberg also used his position as the Seminole County tax collector to access a state driver’s information database to “investigate” the women he was having sex with and had searched for the underage girl at least once because he “had reason to believe the minor was under the age of 18,” the plea agreement says. Greenberg’s legal problems began last summer when he was arrested on charges of stalking a political opponent. He mailed fake letters to the school where his opponent taught, signed by a nonexistent “very concerned student” who alleged the teacher had engaged in sexual misconduct with another student, according to an indictment filed against him. Greenberg was charged in August with sex trafficking a girl between ages 14 and 17 and using a state database to look up information about the girl and other people with whom he was engaged in “sugar daddy” relationships, according to the indictment. Charges on allegations he embezzled $400,000 from the Seminole County tax collector’s office were added earlier this year, according to the indictment. Investigators have also been looking at whether Gaetz and his associates tried to secure government jobs for some of the women, the people said. They are also scrutinizing Gaetz’s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether his associates sought to influence legislation Gaetz sponsored. The people had knowledge of the investigation but spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.