The Wrong Voice

Zimmerman earlier worked at WMAZ-TV in Macon, Ga., where he delivered several reports about a scandal involving a police chief in a nearby town. Liz Fabian, a fellow reporter, said she received a call from Jackie Johnson, the wife of the police chief, who told her that Zimmerman had asked her for a $3,000 loan.

"I would describe him as very friendly, easygoing; people liked him," Fabian said. "As for his reporting, I saw some ethical issues."

Johnson told the Tampa Tribune that her son had recently signed with a pro baseball team and had secured a bonus. She said that when Zimmerman asked for the loan, "I got real suspicious."

Records show that in 1998 Zimmerman and his brother bought a Web site domain called "boxersorbriefs.com." A site by this name features a list of male celebrities and the kind of underwear they favor. It is unclear whether the site was ever activated.

Zimmerman started working for the Department of Children and Families in 2005, before the agency began requiring criminal background checks on all employees. He used then-Attorney General Crist as a reference. Crist's office says it doesn't recall Crist's being asked to give Zimmerman a reference and says the Department of Children and Family Services never called Crist.

Zimmerman first served as regional spokesman for Citrus, Hernando, Marion, Lake and Sumter Counties. Good reviews from peers and reporters helped him win his $75,000-a-year statewide job in October 2006.

Update: Federal child pornography charges were filed against Zimmerman Monday, and he faces a bond hearing Tuesday. A sworn affidavit by a U.S. Immigration and Customs agent gives more details of Zimmerman's alleged crimes. The Central Florida victim told investigators that he met Zimmerman through the DCF and Zimmerman offered him $200 for oral sex—which the youth refused—and for nude photographs which the youth later sent to him via cell phone. The affidavit also states that Zimmerman admitted photographing a Tampa teen nude and masturbating at his Tampa apartment. Zimmerman claimed the teen showed him identification proving that he was 18, but at the time Zimmerman suspected it was false. Authorities are also investigating the Tampa teen's allegations that Zimmerman had pornographic photographs of the teen's friends. Zimmerman's attorney Brian Albrittonhas declined to comment.

© 2008