Florida Lt. Gov Resigns Amid Racketeering Scandal

By: Jenée Desmond-Harris | Posted: March 13, 2013 at 10:59 AM

Jennifer Carroll with Florida Gov. Rick Scott (Getty Images)

Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has resigned amid a gambling, racketeering and conflict-of-interest scandal, NBC reports. The Republican was the first African-American official elected statewide in Florida and the first woman to serve as the state's lieutenant governor.

Carroll's resignation letter to Gov. Rick Scott didn't provide details about her reason for leaving. But Scott's chief of staff said the decision was made because her work with Allied Veterans of the World -- a company that runs internet cafés, and whose owner was arrested Tuesday on charges of racketeering -- would have been a distraction for the administration.

Check out The Root's political correspondent Keli Goff's interviews with Carroll on her remarks about the LGBT community and controversial changes to Florida's voting laws.

Read more at NBC.

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