Aide to state Sen. Jim Norman pleads not guilty in tax return case

TAMPA — An aide to state Sen. Jim Norman charged with failing to file tax returns from 2006 to 2010 has pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanor counts.

The plea by Benjamin Kelly was entered in U.S. District Court in Tampa by Kelly's attorney, Todd Foster. A judge has scheduled a trial for April 2.

Kelly was Norman's aide for much of Norman's 18-year tenure as a Hillsborough County commissioner, which ended in 2010. He followed Norman to the state Senate later that year.

An indictment says Kelly earned from $76,738 to $108,037 annually during five years, but failed to file tax returns. He is not accused of failing to pay taxes.

Norman was the subject of a federal investigation over his wife's 2006 purchase of an Arkansas home. A lawsuit revealed Mearline Norman had accepted $500,000 from one of her husband's political benefactors to buy the house. The investigation closed without any charges.