A judge on Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss a federal indictment against a former Republican campaign consultant who worked for disgraced Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg.
Michael Courtney Shirley, who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the Tax Collector’s Office, is accused of paying bribes and taking kickbacks from Greenberg.
In late May, Shirley’s defense attorney, Warren Lindsey, asked the judge to dismiss the indictment, calling statutes cited within it “unconstitutionally vague,” according to the motion filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
However, U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell found the statutes — which the indictment hinges on — have “been ‘dominantly and consistently applied…to bribery and kickback schemes,'” according to records.
“Courts have held that quid pro quo kickbacks to a government official is within the core of honest services fraud,” Presnell said in the order. “The indictment sufficiently pleads honest services fraud, consistent with due process.”
On May 31, Shirley’s lawyers separately filed a motion seeking to have some evidence in excluded from trial, specifically evidence showing that Shirley allegedly paid Greenberg $12,828 in kickbacks in 2017 and 2018.
In his initial motion, Lindsey said $328.45 of that amount was from three checks written to Greenberg to pay for his vehicle registration fees — something that, according to Lindsey’s motion, “every Seminole County resident must do to have their vehicle properly registered.” The motion said the other $12,500 was related to a real estate transaction in Brevard County.
Shirley’s attorneys also seek to dismiss evidence of $3,000 that prosecutors say Shirley donated on behalf of Greenberg to political campaigns.
“The defense objects to the introduction of this evidence as it is irrelevant, unduly prejudicial, impermissible character evidence and a violation of Mr. Shirley’s First Amendment right under the United States Constitution,” Lindsey said in his motion.
A hearing on the motion to exclude is scheduled to occur Wednesday morning at the Federal courthouse in downtown Orlando.
Shirley faces four counts of fraud and a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for July 24.
Federal prosecutors allege Shirley received as much as $466,625 from his scheme with the Seminole Tax Collector’s Office under Greenberg almost as soon as he took office in January 2017.