LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A co-defendant in the illegal gambling case involving former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez took a plea deal on Monday.
Carol Cote, 31, was adjudicated guilty during a hearing in Lake County. A date for sentencing has not been set yet.
In the plea deal, Cote pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering, in return for up to a year in Lake County Jail, probation, paying court and investigation costs, and agreeing to testify in court proceedings.
However, a judge will decide on the final sentence.
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Cote was one of the people who worked at the Eclipse Social Club in Osceola County, where investigators say Lopez and others operated an illegal gambling house.
A multi-agency investigation found crimes were allegedly committed between August 2019 and at least August 2024.
Cote was arrested in June, along with Lopez, his wife Robin Severance Lopez, and co-defendants Sharon Fedrick and Sheldon Wetherholt.
Investigators are still looking for a sixth defendant, Ying Zhang.