Trident: Lee County Sheriff’s Office releases alleged “ghost employee” contract with jeweler who claims kickback scheme involving the sheriff

by Bob Norman, Florida Trident

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 Tuesday, 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. 

“I fuckin’ showed up when I wanted,” he said in the recording. “If I went five times in the six months I worked there, it was a lot.”

LCSO records show Romano was hired by the sheriff’s office in January 2022 initially at $4,000 a month, but two months later he received a raise of $1,700 – which supports Romano’s version of events in the audio recording. 

According to an amendment to the agreement, the raise was necessary due to a “scrivener’s error” in the original contract. Romano, however, said in the recording he got the bump in pay specifically to make “secretive” monthly cash payments to Marceno Sr. for a white Mercedes Benz the sheriff had purchased for his father. 

“I got that raise and I was giving Carmine’s father money,” Romano said in the recording. “I know it wasn’t correct.”

The audio recording was made by Mike Hollow, a 17-year LCSO veteran who is running against Marceno as a write-in candidate in the November election. Hollow, a former internal affairs commander, told the Trident the matter is under investigation by the FBI. 

The story has received extensive media attention in Southwest Florida since the Trident first reported it last Thursday. Marceno broke a week of silence on the issue yesterday with a written statement to local media outlets in which he issued a general denial but failed to address any specific allegations.  

“It’s unfortunate that politics have reached this level,” the sheriff said in the statement. “These politically motivated and baseless claims from a disgruntled former employee are untrue. It’s sad that some people would engage in such vicious personal attacks for political purposes.” 

Romano also alleged that Marceno, a casino gambler who reported nearly half a million dollars in gambling proceeds in a two-year period, owed him $250,000, including a $40,000 ring Romano bought for Marceno’s now deceased grandmother, Nan. Hollow said he has a recording of the grandmother acknowledging that Romano had given her the five-carat diamond ring. 

“The kid [Marceno] owes me almost close to a quarter of a million dollars,” said Romano in the recording. “I bailed him out of every single gambling debt. I gave him tons and tons of jewelry.”

The arrangement, according to LCSO records, was terminated on August 2022 after the sheriff’s office became aware Romano was under investigation by an unnamed law enforcement agency. The nature of that investigation is not known. 

“The Lee County Sheriff’s has enjoyed our professional relationship with you,” a July 14 letter to Romano from LCSO Chief Legal Counsel Abbi Smith began. “However, we understand you are currently the subject of an investigation by another law enforcement agency. As a result, per our standard protocol, we are terminating our agreement effective August 14, 2022.”

Hollow said he has been in close contact with Romano for the past six months and accompanied the jeweler to a meeting with FBI agents in May. He said in recent months Romano and Marceno were in talks to revive the contract and the $5,700 payments. Backing this up, Hollow today provided the Trident with a copy of an LCSO contract draft dated July 1 of this year for Romano that was never signed. 

Hollow, who calls Romano a “ghost employee,” said he has learned the FBI recorded controlled calls between Romano and both the sheriff and Marceno Sr. as part of its investigation. 

“Why were they bringing him back as a contractor again after Kenny was under investigation in another matter? Because Carmine was trying to appease Kenny,” said Hollow. “Kenny knows where the bodies are buried figuratively.” 

Marceno has yet to respond to a request from the Trident made last week for an interview. 

This article first appeared on Florida Trident and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.