Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno is due in Tallahassee on Friday for a hearing regarding a second Florida Commission on Ethics investigation into him and his department, the Florida Trident has learned.

While the Trident previously reported on an ongoing ethics investigation into allegations Marceno received gifts and kickbacks from a former friend he put on the LCSO payroll, the newly revealed probe concerns a complaint regarding former LCSO commander James Bogliole, according to official documents and sources.

Bogliole was serving as watch commander when he was called to the scene. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office) Bogliole, a former NYPD detective, claims in his complaint, which can be read here, he was pressured by higher-ups to lie and alter official reports in the now notorious case of an off-duty deputy pulled over for speeding over 100 mph and suspicion of driving under the influence in 2023.

In the complaint Bogliole alleges Marceno and other high-ranking sheriff’s officials misused their public positions in the case to provide a special benefit to the now-former Dep. Michael Soto, who was driven home rather than criminally charged in the case. The former commander also alleges the cover-up was meant to shield Marceno and the sheriff’s office from bad publicity.

Included as the narrative for Bogliole’s complaint is a whistleblower letter he wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2024 that was reported by WINK News last year. Friday’s ethics hearing will be held in executive session – behind closed doors – as the commission hears the findings of the ethics investigation as well as a recommendation from staff as to whether there is probable cause for action to be taken against the sheriff or other LCSO staff members in the case. The investigation is currently sealed but will become public when the case is resolved.

In the whistleblower letter, Bogliole wrote he was called to the scene of now-former Dep. Michael Soto’s initial arrest for suspicion of DUI after he was stopped going over 100 mph. Deputies on the scene, including Sgt. Travis Jelly and Dep. Christopher Link, told Bogliole that Soto smelled of alcohol and had failed a field sobriety test “miserably” before being handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car, according to the complaint.

Based on those accounts, Bogliole ordered that Soto be placed under arrest and transported to the jail for further investigation. He then contacted higher-up Col. Robert Casale, who ultimately told him not to stand by and not take Soto to jail.

Bogliole was then placed on a conference call with Casale, Chief James Rankine, whom Marceno has since named undersheriff, and then-Maj. Christopher Reeves, who instructed Bogliole to “reevaluate” the situation because Soto might be sick.

“I did inform Chief Rankine, Major Reeves and Commander Casale that Soto reeked of alcohol and was very belligerent towards deputies,” Bogliole wrote the ethics commission. “They continued to reiterate that Soto is sick and he needs a ride home. It was also mentioned due to the recent arrests of two deputies for DUI, this would cause unnecessary attention to the sheriff and it is not needed at this point.”

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Soto was uncuffed and given a ride home. Following that, members of the sheriff’s top brass pressured Bogliole to “conform to their narrative for the sake of the public’s image,” he wrote in the letter. Bogliole alleged he ultimately signed a bogus report written by Undersheriff John Holloway on Bogliole’s computer confirming Soto was not impaired.

“Undersheriff Holloway wrote the narrative using my computer at which time Chief [Matthew] Sands proofread and handed it to me for signature,” Bogliole wrote. “I want to emphasize that my actions were taken under duress, and I feel conflicted about the implications of the report that was produced.”

As questions swirled in the media in the days following the incident, Marceno told reporters Soto may have had a medical issue, and pointed to Bogliole’s allegedly bogus report as evidence he wasn’t impaired.

Marceno’s highest-ranking officers are named in the complaint. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office) “In [Bogliole’s] training, in his belief, Deputy Soto is having a medical event,” Marceno said at the time. “[Bogliole] then determines that he wants to get Deputy Soto home to his family so he can take care of whatever that medical condition was at the scene.”

Link, the deputy who pulled Soto over, has since testified in a deposition that Soto, who resigned from the agency in 2024 after unrelated criminal charges and an ultimate conviction, “reeked” of alcohol and was “unarrested” that night, essentially backing up Bogliole’s version of events. Nearly all of the sheriff’s officers involved in the alleged DUI cover-up remain in Marceno’s command staff.

An audio recording subsequently obtained by the Trident captured an obscene rant from Marceno aimed at Bogliole, who retired from the agency in 2024.

“I hope he dies in his sleep, the m—-f—-,” Marceno can be heard saying of his former commander. “… I have his ass, so I don’t give a flying f–k. He can suck my d–k and f–kin’ blow a load in his face.”

The recording was made by Ken Romano, the sheriff’s former close friend and contracted sheriff’s office consultant. The ethics commission is also actively investigating Romano’s complaint that Marceno arranged to provide him a $5,700-per-month LCSO consulting contract with $1,700 a month being paid in cash to Marceno’s late father, Carmine Marceno Sr., for a Mercedes Benz gifted by the sheriff. The ethics commission recently extended its investigation into those allegations by 60 days in June as investigators sought additional evidence.

Romano is also a complainant in the Bogliole case set for ethics hearing on Friday. Marceno didn’t respond to an interview request on the matter.

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 non-profit investigative, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.