Two more of Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty for their roles in a multi-county illegal gambling operation, underscoring the legal jeopardy faced by Lopez himself.
Sheldon Wetherholt, whose name appeared on business entities tied to casinos involved in the scheme, and Sharon Fedrick, who paid bills for the enterprise, inked plea agreements in Lake County court on Monday afternoon.
Wetherholt pleaded no contest to charges of racketeering and conspiring to commit racketeering in exchange for a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail. The 59-year-old man from Inverness was adjudicated guilty, which means he was convicted of the crimes.
Wetherholt helped secure property leases and utility services for the casinos across several counties and received regular compensation for his role, investigators say. His name appeared on the lease for The Eclipse, an Osceola County casino that investigators say Lopez used his power as sheriff to protect, and his Citrus County residence is listed in business records as the primary address for Fusion Social Club LLC, the entity that did business as The Eclipse.
Fedrick, 50, pleaded guilty to accusations stemming from the gambling enterprise as well as other, unrelated felony charges out of Orange County. Fedrick was not originally scheduled to appear during Monday’s court hearing and the details of her plea were not available immediately afterward.
Wetherholt’s and Fedrick’s moves follow last week’s guilty plea from Carol Cote, the bookkeeper for the enterprise, to charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering in exchange for testimony and a maximum 364-day sentence in jail. It’s unclear whether Wetherholt and Fedrick agreed to testify against Lopez in exchange for getting lighter sentences than they likely would have received if they had been convicted during a trial.
The trio of guilty pleas add to the mounting obstacles for Lopez, once one of Central Florida’s best-known law enforcement officers, in his bid to stay out of prison. Cote’s plea agreement includes a promise to testify. It could not be determined whether Wetherholt or Fedrick made a similar commitment.
A 255-page arrest affidavit released last month cited dozens of incriminating electronic messages, financial records and interviews, including powerful material alleging Lopez’ leading role from the businessman at the center of the illicit enterprise, Krishna Deokaran.
Investigators allege in the affidavit that in 2019, Lopez, who at the time was a deputy running for office, expressed interest in setting up the illegal game rooms after meeting with Deokaran through a personal friend and security guard at one of Deokaran’s establishments in Leesburg. From there, he linked Deokaran with Ying Zhang, a local realtor and investor in the enterprise, and the three allegedly went into business together in exchange for thousands of dollars a month used as campaign contributions for Lopez, most apparently unreported in financial disclosures.
Once Lopez was elected, the affidavit noted, he and his associates began seeking locations for a casino in Osceola County. The months-long effort eventually settled on a building at 4561 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, which the Orlando Sentinel reported had caught Lopez’s eye in the wake of a young woman’s murder there in October 2021.
The Eclipse opened seven months later and benefited from Lopez being in office. He used his position to buffer the business from law enforcement scrutiny, including his own deputies, by calling them off when Deokaran flagged their presence inside, according to the affidavit.
It all came crashing down on June 5, when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations began arresting the co-conspirators. Lopez was handcuffed by federal agents while dressed in his sheriff’s uniform.
Lopez and his estranged wife, Robin Severance-Lopez, have pleaded not guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, each of which carry 30-year prison sentences. Wetherholt, Fedrick and Cote initially pleaded not guilty to those charges as well. Zhang has allegedly fled to China to evade prosecution.
Lopez has filed a motion to change the location of his trial to Osceola County, which Judge Brian Welke is scheduled to hear on Tuesday afternoon. The trial is set for November and expected to last about two weeks.
anmartin@orlandosentinel.com
