Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno put Ken Romano on the public payroll as a consultant in 2022 at $5,700 a month to provide “guidance regarding public relations” and social media at the agency. The consulting agreement, released by LCSO Tuesday, claimed the 55-year-old Romano possessed the “ability, certifications and experience” to do the job and was “duly qualified.”
But Romano isn’t a public relations or social media expert. He’s a Bonita Springs jeweler and former Marceno gambling buddy who said in a recently surfaced audio recording that his LCSO consulting job was a no-work sham and a portion of the money – $1,700 a month – was used to pay for a Mercedes Benz the sheriff bought for his father, Carmine Marceno Sr.