Sheriff Marceno Under Ethics Probe

HELLO, I'M TEDDY BYRNE. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. AFTER A FEDERAL GRAND JURY WAS TERMINATED WHILE INVESTIGATING LEE COUNTY SHERIFF CARMINE MARCENO LAST YEAR. A NEW INVESTIGATION INVOLVING SIMILAR AM A THIEF JEAN'S HAS BEEN REVEALED THIS TIME COMING FROM THE FLORIDA ETHICS COMMISSION. THE FLORIDA TRIED IN CONFIRMED THE NEW ETHICS INVESTIGATION IN WHICH A FORMER FRIEND OF SHERIFF MARCENO ALLEGES HE PROVIDED GIFTS AND CASH TO THE SHERIFF WHICH WENT UNREPORTED ON FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS. I HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH OFF THE NORM AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER WITH THE FLORIDA TRIED IT, WHO HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE SITUATION FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS BEFORE WE GET INTO THIS LATEST ETHICS IN VIOLATION. CAN YOU JUST GIVE US A PREVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS AN FBI INVESTIGATION WHERE A GRAND JURY WAS CONVENED AND HOW THAT ENDED. >> SURE. THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON. TO UNDERSTAND THE INVESTIGATION HAVE TO UNDERSTAND IT WAS RUDE. IN A FRIENDSHIP AND THAT FRIENDSHIP WAS BETWEEN SHERIFF CARMINE MARCENO AND A LOCAL JEWELER. MAYBE WE CAN ROMANO. AND IT WAS A VERY CLOSE FRIENDSHIP. IN FACT, PRIOR TO THE INVESTIGATION, THE SHERIFF. SO IT ON VIDEO TO DO THAT. ROMANO WAS SAYS. CLOSEST FRIEND THAT MOST LOYAL FRIEND CALLED HIM A BROTHER AND SORT OF DESCRIBED HIM AS A MIX BETWEEN THE FASHION DESIGNER GIANNI VERSACE AND JOHN GUY, WHICH IS AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION. AND YOU CAN SAY THE. THIS CENTRAL PART OF THAT FRIENDSHIP REVOLVED AROUND. GAMBLING IT'S CALLED MARCI KNOW A GAMBLING ADDICT. AND WE DO KNOW THAT. THE SHERIFF IS A BIG GAMBLER. HE DISCLOSED ON HIS FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE MADE ALMOST HALF A MILLION DOLLARS AND A 2 YEAR PERIOD, FAMILY OF DR. SO HE IS AN AVID GAMBLER AND RIMANDO ESSENTIALLY. ALLEGED THAT HE WASN'T HURT. COULD GAMBLER AND THEN HE WOULD HAVE TO BAIL HIM OUT OF GAMBLING DEBTS. >> SO THEN AFTER THERE FRIENDSHIP KIND OF BLOSSOMED, IT ENDED UP BEING THAT MARCY KNOW WAS ACTUALLY PUTTING THEM ON THE LEE COUNTY SHERIFFS PAYROLL. IS THAT CORRECT? THE SHERIFF PUT ROMANO ON THE PAYROLL IN 2022 AS A AS A CONSULTANT. AND YOU KNOW, IT'S TENTATIVELY HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HELP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT'S AND MARKETING. BUT WE MODEL SAYS THERE WAS NO WORK REQUIRED FROM THE JOB. HE'S A JEWELER. SO IT'S A VERY IT'S A THAT'S A VERY QUESTIONABLE CONTRACT. TO START OFF WITH AND AGAIN, ROMANO. ALLEGES THAT HE WAS GIVING THIS MONEY TO PAY BACK. THE GAMBLING DEBTS THAT HE AND TAKEN CARE OF FOR THE SHERIFF. AND THE INVESTIGATION. I WENT TO A GRAND JURY. IT WAS BEING VERY SERIOUSLY INVESTIGATED AGAIN. YOU KNOW, AND SOME POINT WE WERE ALL KIND OF WAITING FOR AN INDICTMENT TO COME DOWN. AND IT'S SUDDENLY JUST SORT OF STOPPED THE CHANGE TO A A STAND STILL, NOBODY WAS WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I'VE SORT OF MY REPORTING COME TO FIND OUT. THAT'S IN A WAY THE MORE SU INVESTIGACION DIED THE DAY THAT TRUMP WAS RE-ELECTED IN NOVEMBER, IF NOT DIRECTLY, CERTAINLY INDIRECTLY. AFTER OF THE ELECTION AND AFTER THE TRUMP TOOK OFFICE. FIRE THE TURNING. IN TAMPA, THE MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE FIRED THE ACTUAL PROSECUTOR WHO WAS IT? INVESTIGATING AND PROSECUTING THE CASE? MIKE GORDON. HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE INVESTIGATION. AS FAR AS WE KNOW THEM ARE IT WAS BECAUSE MY COURT AND PARTICIPATED IN THE PROSECUTIONS OF THE JANUARY 6 INSURRECTIONS. >> NOW AS THE EVIDENCE IS COLLECTED AND THE GRAND JURY IS TERMINATED HIM. WHAT INVOLVED IN THE FLORIDA ETHICS COMMISSION DECIDING TO COME BACK TO THIS CASE AND PICK IT UP FOR THIS TYPE OF ETHICS PROBE. >> ONE OF THE ACTIONS THAT WAS TAKEN BY RELYING ON SELF WAS TO FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE ETHICS COMMISSION. AND THAT'S THE WAY IT'S DONE. YOU HAVE TO FILE A COMPLAINT OR THAT OR THE ETHICS COMMISSION DOESN'T INVESTIGATE. AND, YOU KNOW, ONCE THAT COMPLAINT IS RE IS UP. ACCEPTED BY THE. ETHICS COMMISSION. IT'S DETERMINED WHETHER NICELY LEGALLY SUFFICIENT TO ALLEGATIONS ON THEIR FACE. WOODS WOULD YOU KNOW? OUR ACTUAL WOULD BE ETHICS VIOLATIONS IS TRUE. AND IN THIS CASE THAT WAS DETERMINED TO BE AND THE INVESTIGATION. WAS STARTED AND WE LEARN THAT. TO VARIOUS SOURCES AND ICE. ALL ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, DOCUMENTED PROOF THAT THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION. >> WITH THESE ETHICS INVESTIGATIONS, THEY HAVE 150 DAYS OF CONCEPTION TO PROCESS THIS AND MAKE A DETERMINATION. SO WHAT POWER DOES THE TEXAS ETHICS COMMISSION HAVE AND DO WE EXPECT ANYTHING TO COME FROM WHAT THEIR FINDINGS WILL BE? >> ONCE THE INVESTIGATION IS COMPLETED. HE GOES TO A LAKE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS ETHICS COMMISSION HEARING WHERE THE ETHICS COMMISSION LOOKS AT THE CASE. LOOKS AT THE REPORT AND THAT HERMAN'S WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S PROBABLE CAUSE TO THE OFFICIAL. FINALLY, THE LAW, IF PROBABLE CAUSE IS FOUND AND THERE WILL BE A HEARING, A PUBLIC HEARING. IN TALLAHASSEE. WHERE THE SHERIFF WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE HIS CASE, WHICH WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T REALLY HEARD THAT YET. SO THAT'S THE NEXT POTENTIAL STEP. IF PROBABLE CAUSE IS FOUND. AND ESSENTIALLY THE OTHER SIDE, THE PROSECUTION AS IT WERE AND THAT CONSIST OF THE REPORT ITSELF LARGELY. AND AT THAT POINT AFTER HEARING BOTH SIDES, THE OF THE COMMISSION WOULD VOTE AND AND THEY WOULD DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT YOU FEEL A VIOLATION OCCURRED OR NOT. AND IF YOU THEY COULD BRING DOWN, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF SENTENCES FROM PUBLIC CENSURE TO FINES AND YOU CAN EVEN GO AS FAR AS TO RECOMMEND A RECOMMENDATION TO REMOVE THAT OFFICIAL FROM OFFICE THEY CAN’T, THE COMMISSION CAN'T REMOVE OFFICIALS THAT THEY CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION AND THAT WOULD BE UP TO THE GOVERNOR WHO'S BEEN VERY QUIET AND THIS, TOO. SO THE INVESTMENT OF A MYSTERY OF FROM THE BEGINNING IS WHERE IT IS. THE GOVERNOR STAND ON THIS. SEE, HE'S REMOVED PUBLIC OFFICIALS FOR SEEMINGLY LESS THAN SOME OF THE ALLEGATIONS ARE OUT THERE SHERIFF MARCENO. SO THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN A WILD CARD AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO SEE. >> WELL, 150 DAYS IS NOT A LONG TIME. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO MORE ON YOUR REPORTING AS THIS INVESTIGATION UNFOLDS. BOB NORMAN OF THE FLORIDA TRIED IT. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH US TODAY. >> I APPRECIATED.