Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced on Facebook that he would be addressing the state of the agency and the FBI investigation.
In September, Marceno was accused of laundering money and misappropriating funds by a 17-year LCSO veteran and a former candidate for sheriff.
Marceno was also accused of funneling taxpayer dollars from the department to his family members.
The investigation has been ongoing for months. It all started after allegations of money laundering in which a former LCSO consultant claimed he was part of a kickback scheme he said was orchestrated by the sheriff.
Lehigh Acres Gazette also learned that one of Marceno’s longtime friends claimed he was getting paid almost $6,000 a month for next to no work.
That same friend said he would take $1,700 and funnel it to Marceno’s father so he could pay for a Mercedes.
The sheriff has not made himself available to the media since word of an FBI investigation broke.
On Tuesday, at 5 p.m., Marceno addressed the public regarding the accusations and investigation for the first time.
At the 13:42 mark of the address, the sheriff shared his comments on the FBI investigation.
“People always look for the negative. They want the clicks, the clickbait. The FBI requested documents, we supplied documents, and we move on,” Marceno said. “I’m so happy with what we’ve done in ’24, and going into ’25. It’s going to be the best this county has ever seen.”