A Sarasota man under investigation for potential election misconduct serves as campaign treasurer for Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno as well as dozens of other political campaigns.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno 
Eric Robinson
Eric Robinson, who also previously served as campaign treasurer for State Attorney Amira Fox, is the subject of an investigation started in Sarasota.
The allegations of wrongdoing were made to the 12th Circuit State Attorney’s Office by a private individual, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported last week. Robinson is a campaign treasurer for State Attorney of the 12th Judicial Circuit Ed Brodsky.
Robinson is not an employee of the 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, but he is a certified public accountant who owns Robinson, Gruters & Roberts CPA and provides accounting services for Brodsky’s re-election campaign, the Herald-Tribune reported.
“Every complaint lodged against me has been dismissed,” Robinson told the Herald-Tribune. “It’s been shown to be a character assassination. Everyone has been shown to be politically motivated. I have had so many complaints against me — not that I’ve negotiated or paid a fine; every single one has been dismissed.”
Neither Marceno nor Fox are implicated in the investigation. Fox heads the State Attorney’s Office of the 20th Judicial Circuit which includes Lee and Collier counties.
“We have been made aware of an issue involving Mr. Robinson,” Dennis Perlman, Marcene’s campaign advisor and manager, said Sunday. “This matter seems to be moving through the proper legal channels. We will continue to monitor its status. “
Robinson, who lives in Venice, was appointed and signed on as the current campaign treasurer for Marceno’s first full-term campaign in March 2019.
Fox, who appointed Robinson as her campaign treasurer in the 2018 election, could not be reached for comment.
One of Robinson’s CPA partners is State Senator Joe Gruters, who is also chairman of the Florida Republican Party. Gruters’ district covers Sarasota and the western portion of Charlotte County up to Lee County’s border.
Robinson is also the primary treasurer for 44 political action committees in Florida, including Bonita Springs Conservatives, Friends of Carmine Marceno, Charlotte Makes Sense, Pro Biz Florida, Make America Great Again, and Gulf Coast Conservatives.
A political action committee is an organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.