How Scientology's friend Pam Bondi made a problem for John Travolta go away
Please follow the bouncing ball, campers…
Oct 10, 2006: After a storied career which includes prosecuting Balkan war criminals in an international tribunal, former Assistant US Attorney Gregory Kehoe joins a Tampa law firm, Greenberg Traurig. David Weinstein, the firm’s managing shareholder, says that “Greg and I share a vision to provide clients with the benefits of his vast experience with an international platform that addresses their needs at an entirely different level.” For his part, Kehoe says that his “previous experiences co-counseling cases with David Weinstein made the decision to join GT an easy one.”
Oct, 2016: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi gives a speech at Scientology’s most holy site, the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater, Florida, telling the audience of Scientologists that their focus on “human rights” is aligned with her own. Bondi has developed a strong connection with Scientology, although she herself belongs to an evangelical Protestant church in the Tampa area. Wealthy Scientologists have raised money for Bondi, who attends fundraisers at their homes.
Apr 28, 2022: Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter file their federal labor trafficking lawsuit against several Scientology entities alleging they were held for years as slaves aboard the organization’s cruise ship, the Freewinds. Among the entities named as defendants is the Church of Scientology Flag Ship Service Organization (FSSO), which runs expensive counseling services for Scientologists on the vessel. FSSO’s lead defense attorney is David Weinstein of Greenberg Traurig.
Mar 31, 2023: The Paris-Baxter case is forced into Scientology’s “religious arbitration,” where it sits in limbo today.
Mar 20, 2024: Pilot Jean-Paul LaCruz Romero is arrested on charges that he bilked his employer John Travolta out of hundreds of thousands in jet fuel overcharges. He pleads not guilty in state court. Another pilot, Jordan Coursey, is also charged. The two of them are accused of making off with about $750,000 from Travolta.
Nov 21, 2024: President-elect Donald Trump announces that he will appoint Pam Bondi to be his US Attorney General.
Jan 7, 2025: Jean-Paul LaCruz Romero’s very clever defense attorney, Jo Barone, files a witness list that includes Scientology celebrity John Travolta and his live-in trainer, Jimmy Marino. Barone intends to depose both of them in the case and specifically to ask about sleeping arrangements at Travolta’s Ocala house. (The pilots accused of bilking Travolta often stayed over at the house between flights.) The state attorney’s office freaks out, not only opposing Barone’s motion, but also asking the court to consider holding a hearing behind closed doors about its opposition to deposing Travolta and Marino. Barone then explains in another filing how utterly unusual this request for a private hearing is, and the state attorney backs down.
Apr 1, 2025: Attorney General Pam Bondi announces that she has appointed Gregory Kehoe as interim US Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. “Most recently,” the Department of Justice press release notes, “Mr. Kehoe was a shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig.”
Sep 23, 2025: The US Attorney’s office in the Middle District of Florida, under Gregory Kehoe, secures a grand jury indictment of pilots Jean-Paul LaCruz Romero and Jordan Coursey, who are already being prosecuted in state court for the same alleged crime.
October 27, 2025: The prosecution of LaCruz Romero and Coursey is officially moved from state to federal court. Jo Barone’s attempt to depose John Travolta and Jimmy Marino is wiped away as the criminal case starts over again from scratch, and the two pilots get new attorneys. The federal court sets trial for December 1, and orders the government to turn over any exculpatory discovery to the defense. No mention of a deposition of victim John Travolta or his special friend Jimmy Marino is mentioned.
See how that works, kids?
JT and Jimmy can breathe easy.
Thanks, Pam!
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OK I’ll admit it, our dog sleeps on the bed with us. Who’s us? Whoa! Now you’re getting personal. My husband and I will have to talk to the cat to see if he’s ok with having his name revealed here. Sheesh. Who cares who JT sleeps with. And why is is a question that needs to be asked in court.
Such good writing! Thanks Tony ❤️