FOLEY- Focus Of Full Criminal Probe By Florida Authorities

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Florida opens full criminal probe into former Rep. Mark Foley

By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.
Florida authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley broke any laws with sexually explicit computer messages he sent to male teenage pages who worked on Capitol Hill.

"It was a preliminary inquiry before, but we found the basis to open up a criminal investigation," Kristen Perezluha, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said Thursday. She would not elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation. The FBI is also investigating whether Foley broke any federal laws.

Foley resigned from Congress on Sept. 29 after being confronted with the lurid communications. His attorney, David Roth, has said Foley never had inappropriate sexual contact with any minors. He declined to comment Thursday on the criminal investigation.

Meanwhile, Foley has returned to Florida to attend his father's funeral after spending more than a month in an Arizona rehabilitation facility for alcoholism.