Florida Lt. Gov. Resigns Over Former PR Client

Florida Lieutenant Gov. Jennifer Carroll resigned today after a former client of her PR firm was linked to illegal gambling.

Carroll, a former state legislator and lieutenant governor since 2009, previously ran a PR firm -- 3N & JC -- with her husband, Nolan, which represented the non-profit Internet cafe operator Allied Veterans of the World. A state investigation into the organization -- Carroll was interviewed by authorities on Monday -- led to arrests this week on racketeering and money laundering charges.

Gov. Rick Scott's chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, said in a statement that the resignation was tendered to "keep her former affiliation with the company from distracting from the administration's important work on behalf of Florida Families."

Florida authorities said the Allied Veterans group donated only two percent of its $290M in revenue to charities over five years while its president earned $1.5M. The Florida Times Union reported that Carroll starred in a advertisement for the group in 2010 and filed legislation as a state house member -- later withdrawn under criticism -- to legalize the Internet cafe industry, which operates under sweepstakes statutes in the Sunshine State.

Carroll, a Navy veteran, was secretary of veterans' affairs in Florida under Gov. Jeb Bush. She resigned from a presidential commission in 2007 after CBS News said she earned a master's degree from a so-called "diploma mill," Kensington University.