Florida Trident

A grand jury investigating the diversion of millions of dollars in public funds to the Hope Florida Foundation has produced a presentment that remains confidential while a legal challenge plays out, the Florida Trident has learned through official responses to public records requests.

After Sarasota County staff was preparing to deny a permit to remove protected mangroves from publicly owned shoreline along Lemon Bay in December 2023, Commissioner Ron Cutsinger pushed to have the county abandon that same land next to property he owned and a nearby parcel he later purchased, newly obtained public records show. The public land — conveyed to the county in 1998 as part of a preservation gift — later disappeared from the Property Appraiser’s public map after a meeting prompted by Cutsinger.

This year there are roughly 40 proposals before the Florida Legislature seeking to create exemptions to public records. Historically, the state has been considered a national leader in making its system of government accessible to its citizens — but no more. Open government advocates are dismayed by the many new attempts at whittling down the state’s transparency.

When Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno won the Republican primary on Aug. 18, 2020, he celebrated in a Bonita Springs hotel suite, where close colleagues and friends stood in a circle around the room as he addressed each one. Among those in the circle were fellow sheriff’s office employees like Capt. Chris Lalor, whom he called “heaven sent,” and John Holloway, who would later become his undersheriff and whom he dubbed the “brains of the operation.” But saved for the end was someone Marceno said came from “a different place,” his closest friend, 56-year-old Ken Romano, a New Jersey-raised jeweler with both the look and voice of a backroom character on "The Sopranos."

Florida’s state and local tax structure makes Florida an excellent place to be an affluent retiree or a wealthy investor, but not so great for working families or young couples starting out.

Local government officials statewide are wary of plans by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Legislature to slash or abolish homestead property taxes, but one group of counties is particularly worried. They are Florida’s “fiscally constrained” counties: 29 mostly rural counties with small populations, few industries and lots of agricultural or conservation land — and therefore small tax bases.

Bonita Springs jeweler Ken Romano, a key witness in the federal investigation of Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, stares into the camera and addresses an audience of one about rumors circulating that the corruption case against Marceno is going to be killed by the Trump Administration.In the video, Romano, whom Marceno once called his “most loyal friend,” singles out trash mogul Anthony Lomangino – a large campaign donor to both the sheriff and President Donald Trump – and U.S. Attorney General Palm Bondi.

Sarasota Assistant County Administrator Mark Cunningham resigned on Wednesday, becoming the highest-ranking official to step down in the wake of revelations about widespread failures in the county’s stormwater management system.County officials did not disclose the reason for Cunningham’s resignation but said in an emailed statement that County Administrator Jonathan Lewis had accepted it.

Ben Quartermaine has been selected as the county’s director of the newly structured Stormwater Department. Sarasota County leaders voted Tuesday to create a separate stormwater department — breaking it off from Public Works — just days after a joint investigation by Florida Trident and Suncoast Searchlight revealed systemic mismanagement ahead of catastrophic flooding from Tropical Storm Debby.The decision, which includes hiring a new department head, came during a tense budget workshop marked by blistering public criticism. Residents packed the small meeting chambers, demanding accountability from Public Works Director Spencer Anderson and County Administrator Jonathan Lewis for what they described as years of neglect and failed leadership.