Schweickert hopes to trade murder information for deal with state

TAMPA (FOX 13) - With two murder charges hanging over him, Scott Schweickert hopes to cut a deal with the state - and the state is considering it.

Sources tell FOX 13, Schweickert is offering up facts in the murders in exchange for getting the death penalty off the table.

Attorney Anthony Rickman says when it comes to negotiating plea deals, prosecutors have a lot to weigh.

"He's possibly providing information on other unsolved crimes," Rickman explained.  

Schweickert was convicted on federal charges of drugging two victims, but now he faces murder charges in the deaths of Michael Wachholtz and Jason Galehouse.

Both men disappeared from a gay bar and later Schweickert pointed the finger at Steven Lorenzo, claiming Lorenzo killed the men, but Schweickert helped get rid of the bodies.

Lorenzo is serving a 200-year prison sentence on the federal charges.

Rickman theorizes Schweickert's best bargaining chip could be providing information on other unsolved cases that implicated Lorenzo.

"If he has information against Lorenzo and he is willing to proffer that info to the state attorneys office, it is possible that they are pressing him for other information on other unsolved crime," Rickman said.

The murders of Galehouse and Wachholtz  terrorized the gay community in 2003.

During that time, other gay men went missing and have never been found. If Schweickert knows something, prosecutors may be willing to listen.

"We don't know how many victims there potentially are," Rickman said.