Lee County Sheriff's Office

A run-in at the Luminary Hotel put an honorary deputy's badge to the test for a friend of Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

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 today, 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.

Bonita Springs jeweler Ken Romano didn’t hide his association with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.The two men were allegedly close friends who shared a taste for gambling, bling and high-end cars. The 55-year-old Romano defended the sheriff in social media posts and displayed a framed “Keep Carmine Marceno Sheriff” campaign poster and badge-bedecked plaque from the sheriff’s office at his jewelry store on Bonita Beach Road.But the friendship blew up recently, and audio recordings allegedly show Romano making serious allegations against the sheriff involving Romano’s own employment as a “consultant” with LCSO. In the recordings, Romano alleged Marceno gave him a no-work contract at LCSO paying him $5,700 a month, $1,700 of which was paid to the sheriff’s father, Carmine Marceno Sr., for car payments on a Mercedes Benz.

A 25-year-old Cape Coral man is facing homicide, robbery and other charges in connection with a fatal shooting on Three Oaks Parkway Thursday.Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno reported the arrest of Khylil Draine came Saturday.“We knew our suspect in minutes, we arrested him in hours," the sheriff said. "This case still has a lot of work, it’s a fresh case.”

More than 50 pieces of heavy equipment as well as law enforcement vehicles including helicopters, ambulances and fire trucks, will be spread out inside Hertz Arena Saturday for what’s being called SW Florida’s Largest Touch-A-Truck Event.The event is a collaboration between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Sheriff Chad Chronister signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday that would provide aid to each agency during Hurricane Season, should the need arise.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office removed the ability to comment on some social media posts last year, something that's well within their right to do, but prompting some to wonder why.Instagram comments ceased on July 28 of last year, but it’s unknown when the same occurred on Facebook. Law enforcement and citizen perspectives varied on the lack of comment availability on the Sheriff's Office's social media sites.

On paper, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno and alleged serial swindler Malek Khalil line up as natural adversaries, not friends.Marceno is a popular lawman who grandstands over drug offenders and other defendants sent to the Lee County Jail, or “Marceno’s Motel,” as he calls it. Khalil has been found by civil courts to have committed fraud, racketeering, and theft in ripping off at least $2 million dollars from his victims in the murky world of pain and rehab clinics that cater to plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits.

Lee County deputies will be getting body cams, a cost of $2.5 million over 5 years, joining other SWFL law enforcement agencies that have been using them for years.

When Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno needs to unwind, he likes to gamble – and his financial disclosure forms indicate it’s been an extremely lucrative vice for him.When Marceno filed his 2022 financial disclosure forms with the state last month, he listed $168,696 in extra income from gambling at Seminole Tribe casinos, including the Hard Rock in Hollywood.