The socialite world in Tampa, Florida. Too many illusions, causing ripples across the state and U.S?
I was stung by this world twenty years ago. Indirectly. A developer from that area was brought in to be a beard for a lot of local shenanigans. I didn't know that when I began researching everyone's public records. The process included following the paper trail of everyone involved, and their political connections. The developer lived in Tampa, and belonged to a prominent family in the Bay area. His father must have been tapped into that world of excesses, because he had just earned himself a disbarment a year before. One thing involved taking nude pictures of his client for the files, and the other involved taking pardon money from two prisoners, who were told he would pull strings with an out-of-state relative who had connections into the Clinton Administration. The FBI put a kibosh to the latter.
But in earlier, happier articles, there was talk about lavish socialite ties to the Tampa area, which included masquerade parties. Just as the Kelley article describes. The articles also hint to a military connection. The family had Saudi Arabian connections, and not only could they speak Arabic, but in one article he was defending someone, pumping up his redeeming value, that he could translate in Arabic. This was pre 9/11.
So when I read the article on the Kelley woman, I wonder if there is something going on in our military which is counter to the image we have of that world? Just saying.
Jill Kelley, key figure in David Petraeus scandal, led lavish life
In February 2010, Petraeus and his wife, Holly, attended their first Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a local version of Mardi Gras. He arrived at the Kelley home with a 28-motorcycle police escort and wore a long string of beads around his neck.
"They became close friends with the general," said former Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, who was a guest at multiple Kelley bashes. "The parties were purely social. It was a way, particularly with the coalition members, to just be a gracious hostess, to say, 'We're glad you're in Tampa.' There's nothing more to it than that."
Allen and Petraeus stayed in close touch with Kelley after they left Tampa. Although it might seem odd for a general running a war to stay in touch with a hostess back home, it's not unusual in the military world, where officers and their families frequently move and need to promote good relations with community leaders.
"She was part of that social connective tissue for generals and flag officers," said one officer.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/la-na-cia-scandal-20121115,0,3023945.story
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