LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Sheriff Carmine Marceno says he’s moved on from the FBI investigation that one Lee County leader once described as the “elephant in the room.”
Tuesday, Marceno broke his silence for the first time in more than a month since fraud allegations and reports of an FBI investigation surfacing.
WATCH BELOW TO SEE WHAT MARCENO SAID:
But others in the county and national law enforcement stayed silent.
RELATED COVERAGE: Lee County Sheriff says he supplied requested documents to FBI
On Wednesday, Fox 4 Investigates reached out to several Lee County elected officials to get their reactions to Marceno’s statements, which were released on the Sheriff’s Office’s official Facebook page.
RELATED COVERAGE: Amid federal probe, Lee County Commissioner proposes changes to Sheriff's budget
The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, along with leaders from the FBI, held a press conference on an unrelated topic Wednesday morning.
Reporters were told beforehand that officials wouldn’t take questions on Marceno or the FBI investigation.
Fox 4 has confirmed with multiple sources that a federal grand jury has convened.
The FBI will neither confirm nor deny an investigation into the Sheriff or the Sheriff’s office.
RELATED COVERAGE: 'It's a guessing game': How long will it take before we hear from a grand jury?
Marceno admitted Tuesday he has cooperated with the investigation by providing documents he said were requested.
“People always look at the negative. They want the clicks, the clickbait,” Marceno said while referencing news coverage of the FBI investigation.
Marceno defended his office’s budget, which has seen a massive increase from $183.5 million in 2018, when Marceno first took office, to $315 million this most recent year.
“When the population is exploding, we have to pay our law enforcement. We have to have technology,” Marceno said in the Facebook video.
The Sheriff also defended his use of consultants, claiming they save taxpayers money.
“Consultants, hot topic, right?” the Sheriff said, “We are fiscally sound. Consultants actually save the taxpayer money. Wed don’t pay them benefits, huge, we don’t pay retirement. We don’t pay any of that.”
Fox 4 obtained all contracts of consultants working with the Sheriff’s office the past two years.
We found nearly a million dollars has been paid to numerous people for attending meetings, offering advice, and working to increase the department’s fitness.
“There are layers of supervision that handle consultants,” said Marceno. “That make certain they’re doing the job that they are being hired for.”
Marceno says his budget is checked twice a year.
Meanwhile, Lee County Clerk Kevin Karnes has previously raised concerns about potential financial risks to the county after these fraud allegations surfaced.
