Florida Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll Accused Of Lesbian Fling With Top Aide, Illegal Wiretapping

Lt. Gov. Carroll (in gold) with her husband & children

Well, damn! Drama down in Florida. I'm just the messenger, so don't shoot me. Perhaps Lt. Gov. Carroll and her husband have an open marriage (especially if the side piece was living with them as Carletha Cole claims), although it ain't a good look for a "family values" politician. If these allegations are true, was the aide at least a hottie? Unfortunately, I can't find a photo of the alleged lover. What is accuser Carletha Cole's agenda? From the Associated Press, about the conservative Republican politician: "An ongoing criminal case against a former top aide to Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll is transforming into a swirl of allegations about improper relationships, widespread illegal taping and other incidents inside Carroll's office. The allegations, which Carroll denies, were included in a court filing made late last week by the attorney representing Carletha Cole, who was arrested last October on charges that she gave an illegally taped conversation with another Carroll aide to the Florida Times-Union."

The article continues: "The court filing was made in response to a push by prosecutors to keep confidential information that Cole's attorneys wanted to use as possible evidence in the case. In the filing, Cole contends that she witnessed Carroll and a top aide in a 'compromising position' inside Carroll's office, that Carroll's chief of staff secretly recorded conversations routinely at the direction of those working for Gov. Rick Scott, and that the trash can at Cole's desk might have been deliberately set ablaze following an argument between her and the aide."

More: "Cole also said at one point she was ordered by the aide, Beatriz Ramos, to find adjoining hotel rooms for Carroll and Ramos when they traveled. Cole said that she was 'scolded' by an agent with Carroll's security team when she placed Ramos next door to Carroll when the lieutenant governor and her husband traveled last summer to Puerto Rico. The agent told her to not do it again, Cole says, although he did not explain why. She says Ramos was also living in Carroll's home."

Florida Lt. Gov. Carroll presents her side, against Carletha Cole's allegations: "Carroll, a former Navy officer who is also a mother of three, says the allegations are all lies. 'That's totally false and absurd,' said Carroll, a former Republican legislator who was chosen by Scott as his running mate in 2010. Carroll said the allegations are an attempt by Cole and her attorney to get the criminal charges against Cole dropped. Cole is charged with a third-degree felony and could get up to five years in prison. 'They are trying to pull at straws,' Carroll said. 'All this stuff you mentioned doesn't excuse what happened.' Ramos did not return a phone call to her office."

UPDATE: Cindy Graves, the president of the Florida Federation of Republican Women, has come out in support of Lt. Gov. Carroll. Ms. Graves also claims that Ms. Cole, a former FFRW member and current Obama supporter who faces a third-degree felony charge for illegally taping conversations on state property, is doing a politically-oriented smear job.