LARGO, Fla. (AP) - Officials say a 70-year-old Florida man has died in jail while awaiting sentencing on federal charges for his role in a worker’s compensation kickback scheme.
The Tampa Bay Times (https://bit.ly/2dq9JdL ) reports Lenin V. Perez died in the Pinellas County Jail’s medical building after he was found unable to move or speak.
Perez was the former president of the Tampa National Association of Letter Carriers.
The newspaper reports Perez pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiring to receive kickbacks for referring injured federal workers to AmeriMed Diagnostic Services Inc. He faced up to five years in prison.
Officials say he was taken to a hospital Oct. 7 after complaining of back pain. A week later he was back in the jail’s medical building. An autopsy will be conducted.
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