On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Orlando is expected to meet and hear what evidence the FBI has gathered against Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, who is said to be at the center of an alleged money laundering scheme.
NBC2 reported last week that Lee County received a subpoena from the FBI requesting documents from the Lee County Building and Permitting Services office.
It's just some of the evidence the feds are looking to present to the grand jury, which meets in secrecy.
Defense attorney and former state Prosecutor Michael Hornung explained that federal grand juries meet monthly.
“If you're the target of a grand jury investigation, all you know is that you're a target. You don't know exactly what they're going after,” Hornung said.
Hornung explained that grand juries meet for three days to hear the cases that have been gathered over the previous 30-day period.
He pointed out that it's quite possible any evidence the grand jury hears won't be made public right away, noting, however, that there are exceptions.
“Some things can be expedited maybe in the interest of public security or public interest that they believe this case should go forward. That happens a lot of times with elected officials,” Hornung said.
The grand jury consists of 23 people, and only 13 must agree that the feds have enough evidence to charge someone.
“The government is about 96% to 97% successful when they bring a case to a grand jury,” Hornung explained.
He also pointed out that the person at the center of the investigation almost never shows up.
“It would be very risky. It would not be heard of it. It's a no-win situation,” Hornung said.
For clarity, Hornung is speaking broadly about grand jury cases. He has no information on any grand jury matter that may involve Marceno.
He explained that a grand jury meeting is more informal. It's not a courtroom setting where people get a chance for cross-examination.
The only people in the room are the grand jurors, the prosecutor, anyone testifying and a court reporter.
These proceedings are not open to the public whatsoever.