The federal corruption investigation against him was terminated last November, but Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno faces a new inquiry into some of the same allegations — this time by the Florida Ethics Commission.
The Florida Trident has confirmed the ethics commission is investigating Marceno based on a wide-ranging complaint filed by Bonita Springs jeweler Ken Romano, the sheriff’s longtime former pal who was also the chief witness in the federal investigation.
Romano, whom Marceno once called his “most loyal friend,” alleges he provided substantial gifts and cash to the sheriff that went unreported on the elected official’s financial disclosure forms. Florida ethics law requires public officials disclose all gifts they receive with a value of $100 or more.
In the complaint, Romano dubs Marceno a “gambling addict” and alleges he covered betting losses the sheriff incurred during their high-stakes gambling sessions at Seminole Hard Rock casinos. In addition, Romano alleges he provided Marceno a $9,035 grand piano in 2020 and $2,377.03 in furniture during a shopping trip to El Dorado Furniture in Fort Myers on Jan. 20, 2022, both of which the sheriff failed to disclose.
The grand piano has since exceeded the five-year statute of limitations, but the furniture, which Romano says he paid for on his Visa credit card, is fair game for state investigators.
Retired Lee County sheriff’s Dep. Mike Hollow said he was with Romano when he met with senior ethics investigator Ronald Moalli on March 17. The questions appeared to be centered on undisclosed gifts, said Hollow, a former commander of LCSO’s internal affairs division who ran against Marceno in 2024 and was deeply involved in the FBI investigation as well.
Hollow said the ethics probe appears to be touching on issues still unresolved following the FBI investigation, which went to a grand jury but was terminated following the firing of Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Gordon, who led the case. Gordon was one of many assistant U.S. attorneys who worked on January 6 prosecutions sacked by the Trump Administration.
In January 2022, just three days after the El Dorado furniture was delivered to the sheriff’s home, Marceno gave Romano an LCSO consulting contract initially paying the jeweler $4,000 a month in taxpayers’ funds. Romano, who has shared videos online of Marceno playing high-stakes slots, alleges in the complaint that the contract was inked as a way for the sheriff to repay his gambling debts. Romano was supposedly receiving the pay to provide “guidance” on public relations and social media, but he claims there were no requirements that he do any work.
“Romano was not required to maintain a log of his work hours, nor even had to appear at LCSO on any regular basis, as a paid employee,” the complaint alleges. “Romano’s name was never listed on any email chain regarding “consultant” meetings within LCSO. Romano had no assigned duties. Marceno specifically told Romano: ‘show up when you want.’”
In March 2022 the sheriff added $1,700 per month to Romano’s pay, bringing the total to $5,700 a month. Romano alleges Marceno supplied him the extra money to then give to the sheriff’s father, Carmine Marceno Sr., for monthly car payments on a Mercedes Benz. Marceno Sr., who had a troubled history himself, died at the age of 74 in December 2024, during the height of the federal investigation.
“Marceno instructed Romano to take $1700 each month and to provide that to Marceno Sr. to pay for the vehicle and car insurance,” reads the complaint. “Each month, Romano would either put cash (paper clip with all ‘hundreds’) on the top of his medicine cabinet at Romano’s jewelry store, or directly hand Marceno Sr. the cash.”
Those payments to Marceno Sr., if proven, could be construed as an indirect unreported gift as well, said Hollow. Romano alleges in his complaint that during the FBI investigation, he did a controlled call with Marceno Sr. in which the sheriff’s since-deceased father admitted on tape he accepted the car money.
In recordings of FBI calls shared by Romano, the sheriff can be heard assuring the jeweler he has his “back” regarding payments that may have been made to his father and assuring Romano the public had no way of discovering they were made.
“Buddy, what you do with your personal money is your personal business, no one knows what you do with your personal money,” Marceno said in the recording. “… [W]hatever you use your money on, you and my father’s relationship has nothing to do with me.”
By law, ethics investigations must be completed within 150 days of conception — if found to be in violation, public officials are subject to administrative penalties including fines and potential removal from office. Kerrie Stillman, the executive director of the ethics commission, said she could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an active investigation of the sheriff.
A request for comment sent to Marceno via LCSO’s public relations department has gone with no response; this story will be updated if one is received.
About the Author: Bob Norman is a senior editor for the Florida Trident. His work as an investigative reporter has won dozens of awards and led to criminal charges and the removal of several corrupt public officials. He can be reached at norman@flcga.org. The Florida Trident is an investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.
