Former Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer on Friday asked a Sanford judge to put a temporary hold on his lawsuit against the party and its new chairman while he battles criminal charges.
Greer was arrested at his Oviedo home last week on theft, fraud and corruption charges. A statewide grand jury handed up an indictment, accusing him stealing $125,000 from the Republican Party of Florida.
Party leaders first denied the existence of the severance contract and later admitted there was one —and then conceded that they had signed it but insist it is invalid. They say they owe Greer nothing.
Late Friday, Chase asked Circuit Judge Alan A. Dickey to set aside the civil suit until Greer’s criminal case is concluded.
The criminal indictment, Chase wrote, appears to be “the latest attempt in a long line of attempts by RPOF to avoid its obligations under the severance agreement . . .”
His lawyer, Damon Chase, says Greer has done nothing illegal.
In April, Greer sued the party and its new chairman, state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, in state circuit court, accusing them of negotiating his resignation and then cheating him out of a $123,000 severance package.
