At first I thought the press was talking about porn performer Jill Kelly in the middle of a national sex scandal involving the Director of the CIA. It turned out to be Jill Kelley from Tampa, described as a Florida socialite, who’s now seeking diplomatic immunity, if you can imagine.
Kelley and her husband Scott Kelley a doctor who works at a cancer clinic moved to Tampa a decade ago. Their house comes equipped with a spectacular view of the water on Bayshore Boulevard, the city’s most fashionable street.
According to news reports, the Kelleys quickly established themselves as social hosts to the powerful four-star officers who run two of the nation’s most important military commands. One of them, General David Petraeus, was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 6, 2011, until his resignation on November 9, 2012, in part, because of Kelley. The other general in the scandal, John R. Allen now commands troops in Afghanistan.
Kelley’s friendship with Petraeus and his wife began when the general arrived in Tampa about 2008. Kelley and her husband, Scott, a cancer surgeon, had moved to the area a few years earlier and threw a welcome party at their home, a short distance from Central Command headquarters, introducing the new Central Command chief and his wife Holly to Tampa’s elite, according to staffers who served with Petraeus.
Kelley met Allen while he was at Central Command.
There’s now an investigation into Petraeus’ affair with Joan Broadwell, his biographer. The affair was discovered after Kelley told an FBI agent friend she had received email warning her to stay away from Petraeus. The email turned out to be from Broadwell, who apparently regarded Kelley as a rival for Petraeus’ affections. Kelley’s family and Petraeus aides have said Petraeus and Kelley were just friends. It’s also turning out that this so-called FBI informant has sent shirtless pictures of himself to Kelley in the past, ala defrocked congressman Anthony Weiner.
You know, you just got to know, this scandal will unveil prostitution and hookers at some point, but the item which caught my eye was a Tampa Bay Times story that says Kelley and her husband are deadbeats.
Records show that Kelley and her husband have been subject to a string of lawsuits over debts. According to The Times, the Kelleys owed a bank nearly $2.2 million, including attorney fees, on a building they own. They also ran a cancer charity, which appears to be defunct. A 2007 tax filing, the latest available, shows the charity raised $157,284 that year, but spent just $58,417 on program services, described as conducting research to improve the lives of terminally ill adult cancer patients.
All told, Jill and Scott Kelley have been involved in at least nine legal actions since arriving in Tampa, according to court records. Most involve real estate transactions, including one foreclosure and an $11,000 judgment against the couple in a Pennsylvania case.