A central Florida sheriff was arrested as part of a gambling probe

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — A sheriff in central Florida was arrested Thursday on charges of racketeering and conspiracy as part of what state authorities described as a probe into a massive gambling operation.

Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was arrested on first-degree felonies and taken to the jail in nearby Lake County, Florida. Osceola County is south of Orlando, and part of the county is home to Walt Disney World.

Lopez took campaign contributions and personal payments as well as protected the gambling operation, according to a statement put out by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.

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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This story has been corrected to reflect that the counts were first-degree felonies, not second-degree felonies.