Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast / Photo GettyA Florida man allegedly attempted to shake down Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Gaetz’s father, promising a presidential pardon in exchange for $25 million, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.Stephen Alford, a 62-year-old resident of Walton Beach, is charged with wire fraud and the attempted prevention of seizure of an electronic device. Alford allegedly told Don Gaetz, a wealthy Florida businessman worth hundreds of millions and the father of the Republican congressman, that he could make an investigation into his son vanish and guarantee Matt Gaetz would serve no jail time. Gaetz is under federal investigation for sex trafficking in connection with an alleged relationship with a 17-year-old girl. He has denied wrongdoing.According to the indictment, Alford gave Don Gaetz’s cell phone number to an associate, who then conveyed the message about the presidential pardon to Don Gaetz, and the two met multiple times. Alford told Don Gaetz in a letter that his team had “been assured” that then-President Donald Trump would “instruct the Department of Justice to terminate any and all investigations” into Matt Gaetz if Alford and his associates were to receive the $25 million, the Justice Department alleges. Don Gaetz said he wore a wire to at least one meeting with Alford.Read more at The Daily Beast.
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