Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried, who supports marijuana legalization, said Wednesday she is in the “process of liquidating” her pot company holdings after a Daily Caller News Foundation story on the matter.
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Tallahassee businessman J.T. Burnette was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this week over public corruption charges. Burnette will also have to pay a $1.25 million fine.
He was found guilty on five charges including extortion and bribery during his trial in August.
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Federal prosecutors are seeking a hefty fine for J.T. Burnette after he was found guilty on five public corruption charges in August. The government issued a memo saying Burnette participated in extortion and bribery for so long and was unremorseful that the sentence should be extended.
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Florida-based medical marijuana company Trulieve has completed the acquisition of Harvest Health & Recreation, becoming the largest medical cannabis provider in the country. Trulieve announced the beginning stages of the acquisition in May.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said the acquisition will provide a solid foundation for her company to grow.
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During the trial of Tallahassee businessman J.T. Burnette, who has been found guilty of five public corruption charges, a secret audio file was played for jurors where Burnette bragged about how a political relationship led to his then-girlfriend, Kim Rivers, acquired a vertically integrated license to operate Trulieve in Florida.
Trulieve was one of the first medical cannabis dispensaries in Florida growing to now 85 stores, and a total of 90 stores nationally. On their website, they claim to have 48 percent of Florida’s “seed-to-sale” operation.
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This week’s witnesses in the federal corruption trial of J.T. Burnette, a Tallahassee businessman standing trial for federal extortion and racketeering, described the “dirty politics of getting things done” in Tallahassee.
The testimony exposed some of the true “power behind the throne” like that wielded by Burnette and his wife, Kim Rivers, CEO of the mega medical marijuana company, Trulieve, and by a former “rising star” in Florida Democratic politics, Scott Maddox.
Burnette is facing federal charges of racketeering, and extortion stemming from a multi-year FBI investigation into political corruption in Tallahassee. Government prosecutors are trying to prove Burnette arranged bribes for Maddox, through Governance Services, LLC, a lobbying firm owned by Maddox’s close friend and business partner Paige Carter-Smith.
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