From lovebirds to jailbirds.
The wife of a Florida county sheriff accused of helping run a massive gambling operation joined her husband behind bars on Monday on similar charges.
Homeland Security Investigations arrested Robin Severance-Lopez, the estranged wife of Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, on state charges for conspiracy to commit racketeering, HSI Tampa announced.
Lopez’s arrest came weeks after her husband was nabbed and slapped with felony racketeering charges for his alleged role in a sprawling gambling operation in and around the home region of Walt Disney World.
Lopez protected the operation in exchange for personal payments and campaign contributions, state prosecutors contend.
Authorities did not reveal further details about Severance-Lopez’s alleged involvement in her husband’s scheme.
As for the sheriff himself, Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Lopez in an executive order and appointed a Florida Highway Patrol official to be the county’s sheriff.
The operation, which involved four other defendants, ran a lottery, slot machines and a “gambling house” out of a business known as Fusion Social Club in a tourist-heavy area of Kissimmee, Florida, according to court documents.
The organization took in more than $21.6 million in illicit proceeds, authorities said.
“As law enforcement, we are held to higher standards of integrity and character than other professions,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass said in a statement. “This case revealed that Lopez violated the trust and integrity expected of him as the duly elected sheriff of Osceola County.”
An inquiry sent to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office wasn’t initially answered.
County Manager Don Fisher said in a statement that the county played no role in the investigation and that county officials were prepared to support the interim sheriff.
In December, Lopez pleaded no contest to violating state records laws and agreed to pay a $250 fine for posting online an image of the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto.
The boyfriend of the girl’s mother has been charged with her death.
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