Mark Levine was Jim Norman's attorney in his state ethics case, during which the now former state Senator admitted his guilt in failing to disclose a $500,000 "gift" from the late Ralph Hughes that went to purchase Norman's vacation home in Arkansas in 2006.
Levine tells the Tampa Bay Times today that Norman's decision not to run for re-election in state Senate District 17 had nothing to do with his resignation.
Of course not.
No, it was more like the fact that much of the Florida GOP establishment, who'd stood firmly behind him when his troubles reached Def-con 4 levels two years, has abandoned him massively in recent weeks, rallying around Pasco state representative John Legg's candidacy against Norman in this August's GOP primary election.
But before we dip too much into the Norman (cess)pool, how about revisiting the media story where it all began to go South for Norman — an ABC 28 news report from July 10, 2010.