From lovebirds to jailbirds.
The spouse of a Florida county sheriff accused of serving to run a large playing operation joined her husband behind bars on Monday on comparable prices.
Homeland Safety Investigations arrested Robin Severance-Lopez, the estranged spouse of Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, on state prices for conspiracy to commit racketeering, HSI Tampa introduced.
Lopez’s arrest got here weeks after her husband was nabbed and slapped with felony racketeering prices for his alleged position in a sprawling playing operation in and across the house area of Walt Disney World.
Lopez protected the operation in trade for private funds and marketing campaign contributions, state prosecutors contend.
Authorities didn’t reveal additional particulars about Severance-Lopez’s alleged involvement in her husband’s scheme.
As for the sheriff himself, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Lopez in an government order and appointed a Florida Freeway Patrol official to be the county’s sheriff.
The operation, which concerned 4 different defendants, ran a lottery, slot machines and a “playing home” out of a enterprise often known as Fusion Social Membership in a tourist-heavy space of Kissimmee, Florida, in response to court docket paperwork.
The group took in additional than $21.6 million in illicit proceeds, authorities mentioned.
“As regulation enforcement, we’re held to increased requirements of integrity and character than different professions,” Florida Division of Regulation Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass mentioned in a press release. “This case revealed that Lopez violated the belief and integrity anticipated of him because the duly elected sheriff of Osceola County.”
An inquiry despatched to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Workplace wasn’t initially answered.
County Supervisor Don Fisher mentioned in a press release that the county performed no position within the investigation and that county officers have been ready to help the interim sheriff.
In December, Lopez pleaded no contest to violating state information legal guidelines and agreed to pay a $250 superb for posting on-line a picture of the physique of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
The boyfriend of the woman’s mom has been charged together with her demise.
