Today's Daily Schadenfreude: Robert Linger

Who, you might ask, is Robert Linger (right)?

He's the general manager of WTVT-TV, Channel 13 in Tampa. And he was arrested last night at a Tampa adult video store, charged with exposure of a sexual organ and lewd and lascivious behavior.

Oh, wait ... did I mention that Linger's station is a FOX affiliate? Now you can start laughing.

According to the arrest reports, the six men formed a circle around the undercover officers inside the movie theater and began masturbating.

Linger was also seen sitting on a couch while masturbating, the arrest report states.

Actually, I think the truly newsworthy part is that we now have proof of a FOX employee masturbating without footage of the "war" in Iraq or a picture of Drunky McStagger. I really thought that wasn't possible ...

When I was a kid, my own father was the GM of another Tampa Bay area television station ... so perhaps I should have some sympathy for Mr. Linger.

[thinking, remembering it's FOX]

Naaaaaah.

So, congratulations, Mr. Linger -- today's Blast Off! Daily Schadenfreude is for you! (No, no, that's okay, Bob ... you don't have to shake my hand ... really, I mean it ...)

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 ...

GOPerverts

These people truly are deranged. Take a look at the Brown County (Wisc.) Republican Party? (Brown County includes Green Bay.) The party is being disbanded because no one wants to step into the leader's shoes following his scandal-driven resignation. And you wouldn't want to step into his shoes, either, I assure you:

State Republicans have disbanded the Green Bay area's Republican Party after its chairman was arrested for child enticement and the party couldn't muster enough officers to pick a new leader.

State Republican leaders on Thursday downplayed the development, promising to remake the Brown County party. County parties generally focus on local candidates but also assist in larger races. The Brown County party's dissolution could have reverberations in the already bitter campaign for northeastern Wisconsin's congressional seat.

[...]

A year ago, Democrat Steve Kagen narrowly defeated Republican John Gard in the race for the 8th Congressional District seat, which encompasses northeastern Wisconsin. Gard has since vowed to defeat Kagen and has campaigned against him for months. And Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, handily beat GOP challenger Mark Green, of Oneida, just outside Green Bay.

Then, in September, Brown County prosecutors accused county GOP Chairman and Treasurer Donald Fleischman of masturbating on a 16-year-old boy's feet, and supplying the boy with marijuana and beer in 2006, according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors dropped the charges weeks later after the boy failed to show up at a hearing. But Fleischman already had resigned his party positions.

"You can't talk about a bigger red flag to have happen to your organization," [University of Wisconsin-Green Bay communications professor Tim] Meyer said. "The fact that (charges were) filed, you can never escape."

I really kind of wish I'd never read that.

UPDATE (12:40 pm 12/5/07): I apologize for the old conclusion to this post, which was offensive to some. I certainly don't mind offending Republicans and other hypocrites, but I don't want to offend my friends.

So, after some discussion with others, although the opinions were rather split on whether or not my statement was offensive, I have been persuaded that it's easier just to admit my mistake, edit the post, and move on. Kind of like the Florida tourism folks should do, right?

I always try to lead by example ...

Florida GOP Police Blotter #8: Small-town mayor likes boys and girls (allegedly)

Just as Blowin' Bob Allen's trial gets underway in Brevard County, a new scandal emerges in neighboring Lake County, as Jeff Krull (right), the mayor of tiny Mascotte, Fla., was arrested the night before the election (when he was seeking re-election) and charged with six counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and one count of showing obscene material to a minor. Krull was crushed in the next day's election by his opponent.

The Orlando Sentinel has more:

"I fully expect to be exonerated of the false accusations," Krull said. "They are contrived allegations against the mayor to break on the day before elections so that he would be discredited in the eyes of the people." He called his arrest "tragic to my chances" after his defeat was sealed. He received 81 votes to his opponent's 175.

The alleged victims are a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

The 15-year-old girl told police Krull touched her breasts both over and under her clothing with his hands. She said the acts happened five times in the past year, according to the affidavit. In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, she said she used Krull's computer to look at pictures of horses, but he began to touch her.

The 14-year-old girl told police that Krull rubbed her breast and stomach and attempted to put his hand up her shirt one time about three months ago. The 14-year-old boy said Krull showed him gay-pornography Web sites at Krull's residence during the past two weeks.

The boy told the Sentinel that Krull appeared to be nice at first. Then Krull showed him pornography and a sex toy, the boy said. The boy also said the mayor called him on the phone and asked, "Is your girlfriend giving you [oral sex] right now," the boy said.

"It's the truth," the boy said. "I'm not gonna lie."

While Mascotte, like so many small towns in Florida and elsewhere, appears to have nonpartisan elections, Krull does appear to be a Republican, as evidenced by his endorsement of Republican state House candidate Will Pruitt -- not to mention his (alleged) fondness for skeevy sexual behavior.

Plenty of defenders have come forward in support of Krull:

"I know several children this could have come from, but I think I've pinned it down to who and why they did it," Krull said Tuesday after his release from the hospital. "I have no doubt that once challenged their stories will change considerably. However, (they) may have already done me irreparable harm."

[Krull's girlfriend Barbara] Tillman said Krull, who has three grown children and six grandchildren, has a grandfatherly relationship with neighborhood children.

He mentors the kids and allows them to use his personal computer for social activity and homework. Krull is also a boy scout volunteer, heads a neighborhood watch program and teaches a class on "stranger danger."

One rather curious side note: Krull's official biography says he holds a bachelor's degree from Amundson College, but Google doesn't show any such institution. There are a few hits for "Amundsen College," with an "e," but it appears to have been a junior college later absorbed (or name-changed) into Truman College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. The CCC budget confirms this (page 12; PDF). And from the very start, Amundsen/Truman was a two-year college, which would not have offered bachelor's degrees. So how did Krull get a B.A. from Amundsen? Did he, in fact?

So, we've got circumstantial evidence showing Krull to be a Republican, which as we've already seen is plenty good enough for Blast Off!'s Florida GOP Police Blotter. And we've got further circumstantial evidence that he may have lied about his background. This one needs more investigative skill than I have ... but for now we can welcome yet another member of the Florida GOP Police Blotter, Jeff Krull. Congratulations, and good luck at trial!

The "C" in CBS stands for "Columbia," not "Child"

An ongoing child sex solicitation sting has nabbed a freelance technical manager for CBS, who was in town to cover the Dolphins game last weekend.

[Daniel] Barron, 56, from New Jersey, was arrested Saturday and charged with solicitation to commit sexual battery on a child under 12. Barron, still jailed, couldn't be reached for comment and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Barron was in town helping a CBS crew cover a weekend Miami Dolphins game, according to an arrest report.

LeslieAnne Wade, vice president of communications for CBS Sports in New York, said Barron was a CBS freelance technical manager. That's contrary to a police news release that incorrectly identified him as a producer, she said.

The arrest report stated that Barron told [St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office detective Neil] Spector in a chat room he wanted to perform a sex act on a child. Spector posed as a father willing to let a stranger have sex with his 11-year-old daughter. When Barron arrived at an arranged meeting at a Fort Lauderdale parking lot, several agencies helped nab him.

Maybe this will help distract CBS from all the bad press about Katie Couric. See, so this can only be good news for CBS (and Republicans) ...