ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The estranged wife of former Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez accepted a plea deal Monday, avoiding jail time in exchange for possible testimony against her husband in his racketeering trial.<\/p>\n
Robin Severance-Lopez, initially charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of money laundering and a separate charge of lying to a judge for a bond modification, according to the plea agreement. She will have to serve a minimum of two years of probation and pay $5,356 in investigative fees to the state.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors had accused Severance-Lopez of playing a \u201cministerial\u201d role in a multimillion-dollar illegal gambling enterprise spread across three counties alongside Lopez. He is accused of helping establish an illegal casino in Kissimmee called The Eclipse and using his position as sheriff to protect it in exchange for personal payments and campaign contributions.<\/p>\n
Severance-Lopez was first arrested on a racketeering charge in June, but was released on $400,000 bond in early July. She was arrested again in October after prosecutors said she opened up three bank accounts while on bond and moved thousands of dollars she later told a judge she didn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n
The plea deal comes just weeks after Severance-Lopez rejected<\/a> a similar agreement. Her attorney, Michelle Yard, said at the time she refused that deal because it required her client to be formally convicted of a crime. In contrast, the new deal waives Severance-Lopez\u2019s formal conviction on the charges to which she pleaded.<\/p>\n