Florida GOP Police Blotter #9: DCF spokesman arrested for child porn

You've got your Republicans, you've got your perverts, and you've got people in the completely wrong jobs. Here in Florida, we prefer that as a "mash-up." How about a Republican pervert who speaks on behalf of the Department of Children and Families? Yep, only in Florida ...

Earlier this month, DCF spokesman (and Jeb! Bush appointee) Al Zimmerman (right), 40, a former TV news reporter in the Tampa Bay area, was arrested on child pornography charges.

A public spokesman for the Department of Children and Families has been charged with eight felony counts of using two teen-agers in sexual performances, the state announced Friday night.

Authorities said Al Zimmerman of Tallahassee was arrested in Lakeland Friday and taken to the Hillsborough County Jail. He was immediately fired by DCF, the huge state agency that administers child-protection programs among many other health and social-welfare duties.

Police said Zimmerman, 40, asked at least two victims, between 16 and 17 years of age, to perform lewd acts, which were used to create pornography. The offenses he was accused of are punishable by up to 15 years in prison per count, the state said.

Boy, we sure know how to pick 'em down here in America's Wang™, don't we? Of course, it helps when the jobs are apparently wingnut welfare, since Zimmerman seems to have had friends in high places.

Floridians were shocked last week when police announced that the spokesman for the state's Department of Children and Families had been arrested and charged with peddling child pornography. But buried in news accounts of the case was a curious detail: the official in question had listed the state's current Republican Governor, Charlie Crist, as a reference when he applied for his post in 2005.

Gov. Crist returned to the news as the nation awaited the outcome of the Republican presidential primary in Florida. The Sunshine State's governor's endorsement of Sen. John McCain late in the campaign may have helped push McCain across the finish line to take the state's 57 delegates. Crist's endorsement also contributed to ending the campaign of Rudy Giuliani, who had heavily courted the governor's thumbs up.

[...]

Crist's office has implied that the governor had little direct connection to Zimmerman, and that the listing of top state officials as references was a routine matter.

An AP report noted that the governor, "does not recall authorizing a recommendation for Zimmerman, but added that he often is asked to give them, spokeswoman Erin Isaac said Sunday."

But according to some earlier accounts, Crist was directly aware of Zimmerman and his work as on-air talent for a Tampa-area TV station.

"A spokeswoman for the governor said Crist knew Zimmerman through his reporting job in Tampa Bay but does not remember being asked to be one of his references," according to a Sunday report in the Palm Beach Post.

Regardless of how well Zimmerman and Crist knew one another, state officials made it clear that Crist was never formally contacted prior to the spokesman's hiring in 2005.

In its article, The Raw Story adds that Zimmerman had a few arrests in his past as well, plus a segment as an investigative reporter called "Perverts in the Park" that focused on a San Antonio (Tex.) park "where gay men met for trysts." He also is a self-proclaimed "swinger."

On his MySpace profile, Zimmerman describes himself as not only a "Government Employee," but also as a "Swinger." He remarks that he's looking for "Someone who hates to cuddle afterwards," as well as, "a friend that likes to pay for everything."

His MySpace profile?! Either someone didn't do their homework when the Jeb! Administration hired Zimmerman, or they just didn't care. Al sounds like a real charmer -- and perfect for a Republican political appointment.

Hmmm ... this Florida GOP Police Blotter is starting to fill up ...