Florida State Attorney's Office Cleans House After Alleged Drug-Fueled Bachelorette Party

You'll never look at rubber ducks the same way again.

Close up of rubber duck toy with soap bubblesThings get cray-zee up in the Orange-Osceola Florida State Attorney’s office. After an internal investigation that looked into potential drug use at the State Attorney’s office six people were fired.

The investigation stemmed from a New Orleans bachelorette party — and a rubber ducky allegedly filled with cocaine, as the Orlando Sentinel reports:

They were the “Squad,” a group of 20-something friends and co-workers at the State Attorney’s Office in Orlando who went to a bachelorette party in New Orleans, where someone brought a rubber ducky filled with cocaine.

Shannon Solo, a 27-year-old victim advocate, was the bride-to-be.

She did a lot of cocaine that weekend, she would later tell a new boyfriend, according to investigative documents.

He was an Orange County deputy and drug agent, who passed word up the chain of command. As a result Solo and four other members of the Squad were fired.

So this bachelorette party was so crazy it broke up the bride-to-be’s relationship. Her rebound guy turns out to be a snitch, and she gets her “squad” fired — poor Shannon Solo is really batting a thousand. (And really, unironically calling your group of friends “The Squad”? Ugh.)

According to documents released by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s office, two members of The Squad (I cannot believe I’m going along with this moniker) admitted to using drugs:

[The internal investigation] shows that two members of the Squad – Solo and attorney Alicia Virginio – admitted they abused drugs at the bachelorette party. Solo snorted cocaine and used Adderall, a stimulant typically prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder, she admitted.

Virginio contributed money to buy marijuana and told investigators, “I probably did take a puff.”

The investigation also turned up a party in Kissimmee where marijuana was used. Attorney Danielle Wall — apparently good enough to smoke up with, but not good enough to be part of The Squad — was also fired as a result of her alleged drug use at the Kissimmee party. The other three Squad members that were fired were allegedly aware of the drug use, but didn’t tattle, so they got the axe too:

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Another victim advocate and member of the Squad, Casey Perkins, did not go to New Orleans but said she saw Solo and Virginio smoke marijuana at the house in Kissimmee in a bong made out of a Gatorade bottle.

Two other members of the Squad – victim advocates Rachel Shaw and Barbara “Kathleen” Browne – admitted seeing drug use at the bachelorette party.

Evidence is reportedly too weak to support criminal charges, which is the only ray of sunshine for those involved.

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Aramis Ayala made a statement about the firings:

“Based on the power and authority employees of this office possess, I hold each of us to a higher standard,” she said. “They were people who should not be working for the State Attorney’s Office.”

This whole incident is like if the events of The Hangover were about 1/16th as crazy and there were consequences. Real life can be a real bummer.

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Prosecutor: Cocaine of State Attorney’s employee was hidden in rubber ducky at bachelorette party [Orlando Sentinel]


headshotKathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).