The Republican Lt. Governor of Florida has tendered her resignation amid a very nasty scandal:

Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll announced her resignation Wednesday, a day after she was questioned by authorities investigating possible illegal gambling at an Internet cafe company that she once represented.

The head of the company, Allied Veterans of the World, has been accused of a using the cafes as an illegal front for veterans’ charity and keeping millions of dollars in profits.

Carroll’s resignation letter to Gov. Rick Scott, dated Tuesday, offered no details about her reason for leaving. But Scott’s chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, said she was interviewed by Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers Tuesday regarding her work with Allied Veterans of the World.

So this is how Republicans support our veterans? I’m speechless! And the details shed even more light on this scam:

According to an Internal Revenue Service affidavit filed in federal court, Allied Veterans evolved from a charitable organization that ran bingo games and held bake sales for veterans beginning in 1979 to a group suspected of operating more than 40 illegal for-profit gambling locations around Florida. The veterans charity was a fraud, according to the IRS.

“In an effort to mislead the public into believing that it is not profiting from an illegal gambling enterprise, Allied Veterans and others have engaged in a conspiracy and scheme to defraud,” the affidavit said.

And it appears that Carroll has tried to help the company out while she was still serving as a state legislature:

While serving as a state lawmaker, Carroll’s ties to the company were also questioned when she proposed a bill that would benefit Internet cafes. But the bill was withdrawn before the 2010 Legislative session started. She told the “Florida Times-Union” at the time, that the bill was filed by a member of her staff without her approval.

Oh ye ole’ “the staff did it” defense. I just love how scapegoating always comes into play! Next she’ll probably blame the veterans for having to resign…