{"id":47316,"date":"2020-10-05T16:47:03","date_gmt":"2020-10-05T20:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=47316"},"modified":"2020-10-05T16:47:12","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T20:47:12","slug":"campaign-treasurer-investigated-for-election-criminal-misconduct-has-lee-county-sheriff-marceno-as-client","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2020\/10\/campaign-treasurer-investigated-for-election-criminal-misconduct-has-lee-county-sheriff-marceno-as-client\/","title":{"rendered":"Campaign Treasurer Investigated for Election Criminal Misconduct; has Lee County Sheriff Marceno As Client"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"45908\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2020\/01\/its-time-to-support-real-leadership-for-the-lee-county-sheriff-office\/sheriff-carmine-marceno\/\" class=\"wp-image-45908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sheriff-Carmine-Marceno-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"380\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Eric-Robinson.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"47317\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Eric-Robinson.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?attachment_id=47317\" class=\"wp-image-47317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Eric-Robinson.png 380w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Eric-Robinson-300x273.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Eric Robinson<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric Robinson, who also previously served as campaign treasurer for State Attorney Amira Fox, is the subject of an investigation started in Sarasota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The allegations of wrongdoing were made\u00a0to\u00a0the 12th Circuit State Attorney\u2019s Office by a private individual,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldtribune.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2020\/09\/28\/state-attorney-ed-brodsky-recuses-himself-from-case-involving-his-treasurer-eric-robinson\/3563452001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Sarasota\u00a0Herald-Tribune reported last\u00a0<\/a>week. Robinson\u00a0is a campaign treasurer for State Attorney of the 12th Judicial Circuit\u00a0Ed Brodsky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Ed-Brodsky-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Ed-Brodsky-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Ed-Brodsky-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Ed-Brodsky-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Ed-Brodsky-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Ed-Brodsky-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Ed Brodsky<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Robinson is not an employee of the 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney&#8217;s Office, but he is a certified public accountant who owns Robinson, Gruters &amp; Roberts CPA&nbsp;and provides accounting services for Brodsky&#8217;s re-election campaign, the Herald-Tribune reported.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery&nbsp;complaint lodged against me has been dismissed,\u201d Robinson told the Herald-Tribune. \u201cIt\u2019s been shown to be a character assassination. Everyone has been shown to be politically motivated. I have had so many complaints against me&nbsp;\u2014 not that I\u2019ve negotiated or paid a fine; every single one has been dismissed.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Amira-Fox-Marcenco.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47318\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Amira-Fox-Marcenco.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Amira-Fox-Marcenco-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Amira-Fox-Marcenco-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Amira Fox and Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither Marceno nor Fox are implicated in the investigation. Fox&nbsp;heads the State Attorney&#8217;s Office of the&nbsp;20th Judicial Circuit which includes Lee and Collier counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We have been made aware of an issue involving Mr. Robinson,&#8221; Dennis&nbsp;Perlman, Marcene\u2019s campaign advisor and manager, said Sunday. &#8220;This matter seems to be moving through the proper legal channels. We will continue to monitor its status. &#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robinson, who lives in Venice, was appointed and signed on as the current campaign treasurer for&nbsp;Marceno&#8217;s first full-term campaign in March 2019.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fox, who appointed Robinson as her campaign treasurer in the 2018 election, could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of Robinson&#8217;s CPA partners is State Senator Joe Gruters, who is also chairman of the Florida&nbsp;Republican Party. Gruters&#8217; district covers Sarasota and the western&nbsp;portion of Charlotte County up to Lee County&#8217;s border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robinson is also the primary treasurer for 44 political action committees in Florida, including&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/committees\/ComDetail.asp?account=78991\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bonita Springs Conservatives<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/committees\/ComDetail.asp?account=76364\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Friends of Carmine Marceno<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/committees\/ComDetail.asp?account=74553\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Charlotte Makes Sense<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/committees\/ComDetail.asp?account=74628\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pro Biz Florida<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/committees\/ComDetail.asp?account=70338\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Make America Great Again<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dos.elections.myflorida.com\/committees\/ComDetail.asp?account=69421\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gulf Coast Conservatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A political action committee is an&nbsp;organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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. Eric Robinson, who&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":46698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47316"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}