Editorial
“Over the last five years, Carmine [Marceno] and I have worked extremely closely together in our respective roles of Lee County Undersheriff and Chief Assistant State Attorney. He is without a doubt one of the best law enforcement officers I have had the pleasure of working with.”
Amira D. Fox, Letter to the Governor, 9/13/2018
In 2018, Amira D. Fox faced a difficult election in the Republican primary for State Attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit. Fox was under investigation for campaigning on state time, had a pitiful 38% conviction rate as Chief Deputy prosecutor, failed in prosecuting the leaders of the Lake Boyz drug gang, and questioned Fox’s family ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Fox was facing massive criticism for refusing to prosecute large-scale animal cruelty in Buckingham, as well as her refusal to prosecute the killer of Ryan Modell in Estero.
Fox decided to resolve her political shortcomings by raising an unprecedented amount of campaign case, both through her campaign account and political action committee. These combined committees raised well over five hundred thousand dollars, all to get elected to serve as the local prosecutor for Southwest Florida. Many successful candidates for Congress raise less to get elected.
A major source of Amira Fox’s fundraising success was then Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno. Marceno and his family have a long list of political and celebrities ready to help bankroll Amira Fox’s campaign. Marceno has close ties to Sean Hannity, Shaquille O’Neal, and Judge Judy. Marceno had Conservative Icon and rock singer Ted Nugent appear and speak at a fundraiser for Amira Fox’s political action committee. The Marceno political machine used all its connections and pull to bankroll Amira Fox’s election campaign.
In return for the Marceno machine raising these thousands of campaign dollars, he guaranteed Amira Fox would effectively give Marceno blanket immunity from all criminal prosecution. Since being appointed as Lee County Sheriff, Marceno has used his office to enrich himself, with no-show employees giving thousands in kickbacks to Marceno’s family. Marceno set up a charity for kickbacks, modeled after the Clinton Foundation. Marceno illegally demands over a hundred of his LSCO employees give campaign contributions to Marceno’s cronies on the county commission.
It was well reported by Fox 4 television that Carmine Marceno lied on his sworn applications for both the Lee and Collier County Sheriff’s offices. Marceno used his office to prey on a female crime victim, then bullied her to abort his own child. Marcene was a part-time Long Island park ranger, who failed repeated polygraph tests when she first applied for law enforcement and admitted to abusing steroids in his past. Despite Marceno’s checkered past and lack of any qualifications, he lied and finagled his way into getting appointed Sheriff of the eighth largest county in Florida.
For Marceno to commit his ethical and illegal activities, he required a local prosecutor willing to give him a free hall pass to enact his criminal scheme. Corrupt Carmine Marceno created a firm and lasting political partnership with crooked Amira Fox. The two have served each other well, ensuring Amira Fox’s full campaign coffers in exchange for Marceno having a permanent Get-Out-Jail free card.
Hopefully, the Federal Grand jury will do its job, finally making Marceno pay for his many crimes. It is disappointing that the U.S. Attorney’s office is picking up the Marceno corruption mess, all because Amira Fox refused to do her job. It is time for the good citizens of Southwest Florida to demand this corrupt political partnership be finally ended.