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Florida nude pix blackmail case closed

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- An investigation in Florida into whether a lobbyist tried to pressure a county commissioner by threatening to release nude pictures has been closed.

Marlene Ross, who has been a Palm Beach County commissioner for five years, said she felt threatened by David Katz, a former county commissioner and now a lobbyist, The Palm Beach Post reported. She said she feared Katz would release pictures she had sent her boyfriend after he mentioned them at a meeting this month.

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The state's attorney's office closed the case last week, officials said.

"None of the scenarios described by Ms. Ross involved behavior that could be considered criminal extortion," Daniel Funk, a member of the public integrity unit, said.

Boynton Beach Mayor Woodrow Hay called on Ross to resign Tuesday, saying a story in the morning newspaper "scars our city."

Katz called Ross' allegations "laughable at best."

"There's nothing to blackmail her over," he said.

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