Home»US»The Guardian Finally Makes A National Story About Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno’s Crimes That We’ve Reported On For Months! – Will Gloria Allred Be Next?
The Guardian Finally Makes A National Story About Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno’s Crimes That We’ve Reported On For Months! – Will Gloria Allred Be Next?
I was informed this story was coming down over a month ago. However, I have been reporting on it for months and it’s good to see that The Guardian is now reporting on the unethical and criminal behavior of then-Governor Rick Scott-appointed Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno. On Wednesday, The Guardian dropped a bombshell that has been being reported for months, but now a major national publication is picking up the story which does not bode well for Marceno, but will aid one of his victims, Deanna Williams, as the truth comes out. And there’s nowhere to hide for the “conservatives” who have been quiet about his lack of ethics and crimes.
First and foremost, even though The Guardian is left-leaning, they got the story exactly right, and named conservative talk show host Sean Hannity first in their report as one complicit by his silence, something that I have done also.
Carmine Marceno was a rising Republican star in Florida a year ago, having leveraged his crime-fighting prowess, celebrity friendships and knack for self-promotion to secure the job of Lee county sheriff.
Sean Hannity told viewers of his primetime Fox News show that Marceno was a “dear friend”. On Marceno’s recommendation, Hannity was made an “honorary deputy” of the county and given a gold star badge.
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Marceno spent a decade as a deputy in Collier county and became friends with Hannity, who has owned a $4.75m beachside penthouse in Naples, Collier’s biggest city, since 2009. Hannity has called Naples a “paradise” and said he will eventually move there. Shell companies linked to the Fox News host own at least four other homes in the city and sold a fifth last year for $2.9m, according to county records.
In 2013, Marceno moved to neighboring Lee county as a lieutenant. He climbed the ranks remarkably fast, rising to captain and then under-sheriff – effectively the second in command.
Hannity seemed to beam with pride. When a local newspaper noted Marceno was becoming the department’s public face, the Fox News host shared the article on Twitter. “My buddy Carmine,” he wrote.
Then the previous sheriff abruptly announced his retirement. When Scott selected Marceno to take over, a happy Hannity tweeted again. “Two great men, a great choice!” he said. Hannity has since mass-deleted old tweets.
Additionally, over half a dozen emails and calls to Sean Hannity regarding comment as to why he did these things and silently backed away from Marceno, including removing approving Tweets from his page went unreturned.
However, Swaine clearly pointed out the close connection.
Hannity was apparently rewarded for all his support with the “honorary deputy” badge while Marceno was still the department’s second in command.
The sheriff’s office declined to say when and why Hannity was given the award. It omitted Hannity’s name from a list of badge recipients released to the Guardian in response to a public records request, before later confirming when pressed that he received one.
The Fox News host said he attributed the award to his “30-plus public years of support for people who put their lives on the line to serve and protect”.
He said: “The sheriff knows my mom was a prison guard, my dad a family court probation officer, many close relatives serve in the New York police department, and two of my family members served in the FBI. I have nothing but the highest respect for law enforcement.”
Swaine confirmed what Deanna Williams had alleged about the friendship between Hannity and Marceno, that it was more than mere acquaintances because she overheard them speaking at length on the speakerphone in Marceno’s police vehicle when they were out on dates that would be considered unethical by FDLE standards.
Swaine also touched on the documents that I revealed that Marceno never qualified as a police officer in Florida and has been committing a felony every time he put on the uniform, badge and his gun when no one in the media was willing to step out and report on them.
The sheriff is facing allegations that he did not properly qualify as a Florida police officer. One of his predecessors has warned that if confirmed, the finding could void every arrest Marceno made and vacate convictions he helped secure.
These are not mere allegations. They are facts backed up by extensive documentation and the law.
That’s not all. The claims that Deanna Williams has consistently made about how Marceno used his position to abuse his authority to pursue her for a sexual relationship, as well as many other women in the area who contacted her regarding his unethical approaches towards them were revealed by The Guardian along with questionable contributions to his campaign to be elected.
The Guardian has identified unusual payments of $24,000apparently made to another close friend of Marceno from a political committee with connections to his election campaign, and misreported to Florida authorities.
And Marceno has been accused of inappropriate conduct towards a woman he dated after she reported a crime to his office. The woman alleges the sheriff abused his position and begged her to have an abortion after she became pregnant.
In a statement, Hannity said Marceno was an “incredibly hard-working, law-abiding official who is a dedicated public servant”. The Fox News host said his friend had frequently gone beyond his duties to keep the people of Lee county safe.
Except, of course, when it came to following the law concerning illegal aliens.
Swaine recounts that Marceno was not eligible per state law to become a police officer.
Born and raised in New York City, Marceno worked as a parks police officer on Long Island in the late 1990s before moving to Naples, in south-west Florida. He worked for a tanning salon run by his father and joined the city police department in 1999.
It is not clear, however, that he should have been allowed to.
Marceno with Donald and Melania Trump during a presidential visit to Florida. Photograph: Lee County sheriff’s office
Marceno took advantage of a rule allowing officers who move to Florida from other states to skip the standard five months of training if they have already worked full-time in law enforcement for a year elsewhere. Yet records obtained by reporters at the affiliate Fox 4 say Marceno was only a part-time or seasonal officer on Long Island.
Rodney Shoap, Lee county’s sheriff until 2004, said the discovery could have dire consequences. “Any arrest he made could be invalid,” Shoap said in an interview. “The courts would be crazy with people challenging their convictions.”
The discrepancies do not end there. Records say Marceno was dismissed by Naples in 2000, having twice failed a required exam. Yet when he later applied successfully for a job at Collier county sheriff’s office in 2002, Marceno claimed in his paperwork that the reason he had left the earlier job was to “help family in New York”.
Shoap has also received numerous documents and filed several complaints to Governor Ron De Santis, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Commission on Ethics and US Senator Rick Scott to implore that there be no endorsement of Carmine Marceno for sheriff and that there be a thorough investigation into his crimes, lack of ethics and possible removal from office and charged with crimes following the investigations. Shoap has been notified that an investigator has been assigned to look into the documents and allegations against Marceno.
Additionally, a retired and respected Captain with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office agrees with Shoap’s response. Robert Forrest spoke out about Marceno’s lack of ethics and criminal activity.
Swaine also wrote about Marceno’s abuse of power with Deanna Williams, citing the text messages that we posted concerning his desire to murder his own unborn child in order to “not ruin my life,” as he put it.
Remember, Marceno is supposed to be a pro-life Republican and is supported by “pro-life Republicans.”
Ultimately, through the pressure put on her by Marceno, the constant attacks by the Lee County judicial system and the contriving of Ft. Lauderdale attorney Scott Mager, who is knowingly in possession of $300,000 of her money by using the court as a weapon against Ms. Williams to have her arrested via Marceno’s Sheriff’s Office, she gave birth to a stillborn baby boy.
It should be noted that though Marceno is expected to be the Republican nomination for sheriff in Lee County that the majority of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he has received actually came in a PAC set up by former Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, who had his own indiscretions and unethical practices.
Even Marceno’s money is questionable.
Swaine wrote:
In addition, a political committee led by the influential Republican operative who is overseeing Marceno’s official campaign has raised a remarkable $369,000, prompting opponents to fear it may be used to crush any challengers. The committee has not officially declared who or what it will support, but its haul includes contributions from 13 of Marceno’s deputies and the spouses of three others.
The committee, Conservative Champion Leaders, has in recent months reported paying $24,000 for consulting services to a company that appears to not exist.
The money was reportedly paid in three installments to “Amcar Consulting LLC”. No such company could be located in the US, and the location given as the company’s address is not recognised as active by county authorities.
But a friend of Marceno’s, Carmine Dell Aquila, has a Florida company with a similar name, Amcar LLC, which owns a property with a similar address. When making political donations in the past, Amcar LLC was said to be in the business of car sales.
It was not clear what the payments were for. Two sources said Dell Aquila appeared to be helping Marceno’s campaign and was frequently at the sheriff’s headquarters. A spokesman confirmed Dell Aquila had an entry pass for the building.
Dell Aquila is also Marceno’s campaign manager. Seems like a serious conflict of interest, but there’s more.
Dell Aquila has contributed at least $10,000 to Marceno’s PAC. He is also attempting to get Lee County to provide him with acreage for the construction of a $30 million racetrack. This has been confirmed to me by several sources, and Swaine lays this out as well.
Reached by phone, Dell Aquila declined to comment, hung up and then did not respond to messages.
Dell Aquila took over a Nissan dealership in New York having loaned almost $2m to the former owners at short notice and then sued when they failed to repay. He is also attempting to develop a $30m racetrack and motorsports facility in Lee county.
The motorsports development needs support from elected officials in the county who, in turn, tend to seek the sheriff’s endorsement for their own election campaigns.
This is really big news! However, what’s coming next concerning attorney Gloria Allred and her treatment of Deanna Williams will make Michael Avenatti look like a choir boy.
The Guardian Finally Makes A National Story About Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno’s Crimes That We’ve Reported On For Months! – Will Gloria Allred Be Next?
