Former Marco Island City Council Vice Chair Victor N. Rios is accused of forgery committed during the election of the Belize Condominium Association in 2019, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement news release.
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Marco Island City Councilor Victor N. Rios speaks during a council meeting on Oct. 5, 2020 |
"I'm very pleased with the work of the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement," Fleming said.
Rios turned himself into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office
Department of Corrections on Friday and has since been
released upon posting a $30,000 bond, according to the
release. FDLE said the case will be prosecuted by the Office
of the State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit.
City Councilor Erik Brechnitz, who was chairman of the City
Council at the time of the alleged incident, said he is
unhappy to learn what Rios is accused of.
"I'm saddened by it, but I really have to assume that he is
innocent until proven guilty," Brechnitz said.
How the investigation started
In 2019, Fleming filed a complaint April 26 with the
Department of Business and Professional Regulation claiming
that Rios "engaged in a fraudulent scheme of ballot-forging"
during the condo's election in March.
Fleming claimed Rios did it to get another candidate and
himself reelected to the condo's board of directors.
The allegations were forwarded to the Marco Island Police
Department and then to FDLE because Rios was a sitting city
councilor.
Rios resigned from the condo's board of directors in May
2019.
In an interview with the Marco Eagle in 2019, Rios
characterized the complaint filed against him as a
"defamation of character" and denied he did anything
unlawful.
"I swear on the Bible I have never committed an illegal
act," Rios said at the time.
From 2020: Marco Island City Councilor Victor Rios to resign
for 'personal reasons'
In October of last year, Rios resigned as councilor, citing
personal reasons, and announced he was moving away from
Marco Island.
Rios told the Marco Eagle at the time of his resignation
that he did not want to go into detail about why he
resigned.
"It's personal family issues that I have to deal with," Rios
said.
Rios was first elected to City Council in 2014 and was
reelected in 2018, serving as vice chairman in 2019. His
second term was set to expire in 2022.
Prior to his time as councilor, Rios volunteered with the
city's beach advisory committee for three years and Collier
County's coastal advisory committee for eight years,
according to the city's website.