Meet Marcos Lopez, the now former sheriff of Osceola County, Florida. Marcos Lopez was taken into custody on June 5th, 2025 by federal agents for one count of racketeering, a first-degree felony, and one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, also a first-degree felony. This now ex-sheriff was allegedly running a full-blown illegal casino in Florida that generated over $20 million in profits. Take a look. Our next one takes us to the Southeast, the Sunshine State of Florida, Osceola County in particular. Take a look at this video. All right, this is what we're seeing right now. Marcos Lopez, the suspended sheriff of Osceola County, he made his first court appearance via Zoom from jail this morning on felony racketeering charges. You're watching this video right now. Lopez was taken into custody yesterday in his uniform. Look at that. So, now for more on what he's charged with, we're going to bring in the conversation, our friend and colleague there at Fox 35 Orlando reporter Marie Edinger. She joins me. Um Marie, so good of you to be with us here. Um I would say this was quite shocking. We've covered a lot of arrests in a lot of places, uh but not many uh for law enforcement in particular. What's going on? Sure. So, the sheriff, as you mentioned, has charges for racketeering, also conspiracy to commit racketeering. Those are both first-degree felonies. Each could come with up to 30 years in prison. The um Department of Homeland Security actually led this investigation. It's the Attorney General for the State of Florida who is leading the charges, though. The investigation stems around an illegal gambling house that the sheriff is accused of essentially running. So, he is accused of having um a number of slot machines there, of running a lottery out of it. This is all taking place in Kissimmee, which is in his district, but the investigators say that it also spanned into Lake County. That's where he is in jail right now. The investigators also say that he used his position as sheriff in order to further the gambling station's profits and to obstruct an investigation. There's actually some mention made by prosecutors today about him showing up at or during an investigation while deputies were there at the gambling house and interfering. So, those are allegations they're making as well. Today, he pleaded not guilty. Uh that just came down maybe 20 minutes ago through the court system. He was given a $1 million bail, $500,000 for each of those. I talked with a criminal defense attorney who told me today that in order to post that bail, he'd have to give a bail bondsman $100,000, and he'd have to cover $900,000 in collateral to cover the $1 million total for the bond. The judge said today that in order to post bail or to post bond, that he would have to prove to the court that none of the money that he is posting came from anything having to do with illicit activity. So, he has to have a court date first in order to prove that or to prove that to the state. So, he could be here for quite a while. The man who up until yesterday served as the sheriff of Osceola County today appeared before a judge wearing jailhouse orange. How do I start the bond process? The judge set Sheriff Marcos Lopez's bond at $1 million. A criminal defense attorney told me today he was shocked by that. Why do you feel it's excessive? It's not meant to punish someone. The amount of a bond is to make sure that someone does not, you know, is not a flight risk. Prosecutors argued the nature and circumstances of the case justify the bond, and the judge agreed. The state claims they have texts, WhatsApp messages, wire transfers, and more proving the sheriff earned $600,000 in this alleged criminal enterprise. And they say they have photos that don't just show he was at the gambling house, but that he used his position as the sheriff to obstruct a criminal investigation there. An extreme breach of public trust. Uh the circumstances surrounding his misuse of office as the sheriff of Osceola County are very serious. Two of the four co-defendants also had their first appearances today. Carol Cote was up first. I have three young small children. She was given a $100,000 bond. She's already posted that and been released. Next up, Sharon Denise Fedrick. Sharon Fedrick's criminal history is messy. She has tons of charges and a few convictions for things like identity theft, grand theft, organized fraud, and that's not all. Eight felony grand thefts in Lee County from 1993. She also has federal history. She did 2 years in federal prison for lying to the IRS back in 2005. She's been in and out of jail in Orange County since 2016. She was just arrested again 2 months ago for three active warrants out of Orange County. You want to guess where deputies caught her? The Eclipse, the gambling house at the center of this investigation. Ms. Fedrick remains in custody in Lake County. Well, uh that makes it difficult for her to appear in Orange County. So, there's a fair logistical problem there. The judge didn't buy that argument. Fedrick got a $300,000 bail. The judge said today that if Sheriff Lopez is able to bond out, he would have to wear an ankle monitor. He'd have to turn over his passport. He would have to turn over his guns as well and would not be allowed to any contact with any of the four co-defendants. As I mentioned, two appeared in court today, but two have not yet been booked into the Lake County jail, so we're still awaiting that. I'll also mention that the Attorney General's office says there could be more charges or more people charged. This investigation is still ongoing. Andrew? Marie, just one question for you. Who's in charge in Osceola County right now? Who's the top cop? Yeah, so the governor appointed somebody who um was a head for the Florida Highway Patrol in this area to take over in the interim. There would be a special election, but that wouldn't be until the next 2026 election um as scheduled. All right, Marie Edinger there live for us with Fox 35 Orlando. Uh Marie, thanks for bringing us this important story. We'll talk soon. Have a good weekend. Sure thing, you too. Okay, in the meantime, though, uh checking in with yet another one of our colleagues at Fox 35 Orlando reporter Randy Hildreth. She's monitoring the reaction there from the community to this arrest. Let's listen. Friday looked like a regular day at the Osceola County Sheriff's Office with citizens coming and going. I'm coming here to pick up a police report. Phone was taken from me and I need to get it back. But it wasn't a regular day. The man that once led deputies here faced a judge this morning on his felony racketeering charges. Marcos Lopez is suspended and off the job as sheriff as his case plays out. That's crazy. That's crazy. I I would never think a cop would do that. People told Fox 35 they still believe in the overall integrity of the sheriff's office and hope no other staff are roped into the allegations. A massive agency, hundreds if not thousands of employees, and this one guy. Governor Ron DeSantis named Christopher Blackman as the interim Osceola County Sheriff shortly after Lopez was arrested. Blackman is a 35-year law enforcement veteran and was serving as the Central Region Chief for the Florida Highway Patrol. People are happy new leadership was put in place quickly. For them to be able to replace him this quickly is a good thing. I think if they he's gone in a day, it's pretty impressive in my opinion. We reached out to the sheriff's office to find out if there have been any internal leadership changes since Lopez's arrest. Still waiting to hear back. Lopez began his career with the Osceola County Sheriff's Office in 2003. In 2020, he made history by being elected as the county's first Hispanic sheriff. Three more co-defendants have been arrested and charged: Sheldon Weatherholt, Carol Cote, and Sharon Fedrick, who have already been booked into the Lake County jail for the illegal gambling operation in Central Florida. All of the co-defendants are out of jail on bond, and the only remaining person in jail is Marcos Lopez. Marcos Lopez has a bond amount that is set at $1 million with the judge's requirement for Lopez to show proof the bond money isn't from illegal activities. All of the defendants are charged with two second-degree felony charges, which are racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering. According to the criminal complaint, Lopez and at least four others, Ying Zhang, Sharon Fedrick, Sheldon Weatherholt, and Carol Cote owned or operated the million-dollar social club in Kissimmee. Documents indicate there were many police calls to the reported location of the illegal gambling operation that former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was allegedly involved in. Dozens of calls were made over the years, yet the establishment was not shut down. There were also several reports of shootings, fraud, armed robbery, and drugs. This list appears to confirm deputies were at least aware of the existence of some sort of casino on Erlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee. That's because for years they had been responding to emergency calls long before former Sheriff Lopez's arrest. There is suspicion that the other staff in the sheriff's office has some sort of involvement with this crime, even if the involvement was turning a blind eye. There are many citizens and authority personnel that would like to see the entire sheriff's office under investigation to see who else was involved with hiding the crimes or whatever other possible involvement of any staff. As of now, there aren't any more details on this case. When updates arrive, I will bring those updates to you. Give a comment below on your thoughts about this, and also click like and subscribe with notifications on for future related videos.