A Tampa-based federal grand jury convened Tuesday morning in an investigation that involves Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
A sign outside a room at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tampa Tuesday –– the same room as was noted on a Nov. 16 grand jury subpoena involving Marceno –– urged visitors to stand back so as not to disturb the grand jury proceedings.
When asked if Marceno or his lawyer, Naples criminal defense attorney Donald Day, had been contacted by the FBI or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or received subpoenas regarding this grand jury, Day said in an email Tuesday it “would not be proper to comment while a grand jury is reviewing.
“I am confident he will be cleared soon,” Day said.
Last week, Day said neither he nor Marceno had been contacted by the FBI.
U.S. Tampa Clerk of Courts District Manager Kristin Esposito declined to comment on the grand jury.
Calling it “an elephant in the room” at Tuesday’s meeting of the Lee County Commission, Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass said the grand jury is expected to meet for 10 days. However, he told a reporter Wednesday, they may need less time.
“We’re not going to know anything for a few weeks,” Pendergrass told the commissioners.
The News-Press / Naples Daily News reported last week that Lee County had been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in an FBI investigation that involves Marceno.
A partial copy of the subpoena, dated Nov. 16 and issued by the Tampa-based U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, was reviewed by The News-Press / Naples Daily News.
It directed a representative of the Lee County Building & Permitting Services office to testify before a grand jury at the U.S. District Court on Dec. 3, regarding two addresses: the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the sheriff’s Fort Myers home.
The subpoena directed the representative to produce electronic copies of permit applications, supporting documents, information about contractors, payment information, and more related to those addresses.
In response to a public records request by a reporter for those documents, Lee County said it did not have any responsive records.
The FBI declined to confirm the existence of an investigation last week.
“The FBI does not confirm the existence or status of any investigative work,” Andrea Aprea, with the FBI Tampa field office’s public affairs team, said in an email.
Marceno has not been charged with a crime and has called accusations of money laundering levied against him “baseless” and “politically motivated.”
Kate Cimini is the Florida Investigative Reporter for the USA TODAY-Network Florida, based at The News-Press and The Naples Daily News. Contact her at 239-207-9369 or kcimini@news-press.com.
