More than a year after federal authorities launched an investigation into Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, federal authorities have concluded no wrongdoing.
A political opponent had waged a campaign accusing the sheriff of money laundering.
“The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been investigating allegations against your client, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno,” a Nov. 18 letter the U.S. Attorney’s Office sent to Marceno’s attorney, Donald Day, reads in part. “I am writing to inform you that based on information presently known to the government and the principles of federal prosecution, our office and the FBI have closed this investigation as of November 17, 2025.”
Commander Anita Iriarte, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, shared copies of the documents. The News-Press independently reviewed the documents and consulted with Day, who confirmed receipt of the correspondence.
“I believe in the system,” Marceno wrote in a statement. “The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigated and conducted independent investigations. They have found no wrongdoing. It is clear that from the beginning these were politically motivated allegations and completely false.”
During a Nov. 18 phone call, Day said he began to represent Marceno around November 2024.
“We are happy the system worked,” Day said of the two probes.
A subpoena reviewed by The News-Press and Naples Daily News, issued Nov. 16, 2024, by a federal grand jury in Tampa sought building permits, contractor records and payment information tied to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office headquarters and Marceno’s home in Fort Myers.
Marceno’s 2024 election opponent, Michael Hollow, published a recording in the weeks leading to the election accusing Marceno of laundering taxpayer money through a relative.
The recording was of Bonita Springs jeweler and former Lee County Sheriff’s Office consultant Ken Romano, a former Lee County Sheriff’s Office contractor.
Marceno, who was never charged with a crime, has been the Lee County Sheriff since 2018. He was appointed that year by then Gov. Rick Scott and reelected in 2020 and 2024.
SOURCE: NEWS-PRESS, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno cleared, called claims political and false