Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez has been charged with racketeering and suspended from office for involvement in a “massive” illegal gambling operation spanning Central Florida, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Thursday.The document said charges center around what’s described as a money-laundering operation through an illegal gambling house in Kissimmee known as the Fusion Social Club said to have been run by Lopez and his co-conspirators. The establishment conducted illegal lotteries while illicitly possessing slot machines as part of the operation that enriched the sheriff while in office.
The county’s first Hispanic sheriff, he used his office to expand and protect the enterprise. To that end, he’s further accused of using confidential law enforcement information to evade accountability — though details of how that was done have not been released.
The organization generated more than $21.6 million in illicit proceeds, prosecutors said.
www.clickorlando.com
