Investigation Forces Dismissal of False RICO Charges in Landmark Florida Cases

PENSACOLA, FL — In a stunning reversal of what was once poised to become a high-profile RICO prosecution, all charges have been dismissed against the founders and employees of Comfort Club / Get Better Referrals (GBR), solely thanks to the relentless investigative work and public pressure applied by the US~Observer, a nationally established newspaper.

These connected cases – originally pursued by the Office of former State Attorney Bill Eddins and spearheaded by Special Prosecutor Russ Edgar sought to portray a legitimate direct marketing enterprise as a criminal organization under Florida’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. What began as a coordinated legal assault was systematically dismantled by the US~Observer’s dogged pursuit of the truth and second to none methods of defeating opponents. Eddins and Edgar used Assistant State Attorney John DuBose as their mouthpiece or “front man” so to speak in their unethical assault.

State Attorney Prosecutors John DuBose, Russ Edgar, and Bill Eddins

“This was nothing short of an attempted legal assassination of innocent business owners,” said Edward Snook, Publisher of the US~Observer. “Our investigation uncovered a disturbing pattern of misconduct, including prosecutorial abuse, unqualified investigations, and malicious manipulation of facts. We weren’t going to let it stand.”

Exposing the Machinery of Injustice

Alan Dershowitz

The US~Observer published articles uncovering:

• False narratives promoted by investigator David Ingram, who lacked formal law enforcement credentials;
• Misleading testimony orchestrated by prosecutors to misinform grand jurors;
• A systemic failure to distinguish legitimate business practices from criminal conduct.

In one of the most explosive developments, Florida prosecutors threatened renowned legal scholar Alan Dershowitz, who had been brought in to assist the defense. The US~Observer swiftly exposed this intimidation attempt, escalating public scrutiny and fueling the US~Observer’s drive to eliminate this obvious attempted false prosecution.

Pressure That Changed the Outcome

Under mounting national attention and growing reputational risk, former State Attorney Bill Eddins and Special Prosecutor Russ Edgar were forced to dismiss these unwarranted attacks on ethical individuals running legitimate companies. In short order, Eddins and Edgar were forced to acknowledge that the prosecution’s case lacked foundation and had veered into dangerous overreach.

 “If the US~Observer hadn’t intervened, these innocent people would have been steamrolled,” said a member of the defense team. “Their work turned the tide.”

The five people targeted for prosecution and saved by the US~Observer

A Cautionary Tale

The RICO dismissal marks a major victory for the US~Observer’s journalistic techniques which hold bad individuals in government accountable, and it serves as warning to public officials tempted to misuse powerful statutes like RICO to target legitimate businesses and/or individuals.

The US~Observer’s 30-year track record of defending the wrongfully accused has once again proven its worth in the battle against corruption, false prosecution, and governmental abuse of power.

According to Edward Snook, “This RICO case is no different from the countless others we have been successful with. It really doesn’t matter if the case we are pursuing is against federal or state prosecutors, the SEC, DEA, DOJ or an unscrupulous business using defamation in order to profit from their slander, bad actors are all the same – they only care about their careers, phony reputations, and ability to remain undetected as they accomplish their dirty work.  The US~Observer is the one and only force in America today capable of bringing these bad actors to their knees.”

About the US~Observer

Founded in 1991, the US~Observer is an investigative publication specializing in exposing corruption, defending the innocent, and forcing accountability. With a national readership and a hard-hitting team of reporters and legal experts, the US~Observer has stopped over 90% of false prosecutions it has investigated, most often before trial. When dealing with civil cases, the US~Observer’s success rate is approximately 98%.