TAVARES, Fla. — Thursday marked one week since now-suspended Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez was arrested. He’s accused of protecting and expanding a multimillion-dollar illegal gambling operation in Lake and Osceola counties.
As of Thursday, Lopez had not posted his $1 million bail and remains in the Lake County Jail while three of his co-defendants were released on bail.
Sheldon Wetherholt, 58, is among the three co-defendants who have bailed out.
According to state records, Wetherholt managed the Kissimmee-based Eclipse Social Club at the center of the investigation.
Channel 9 learned that while Wetherholt doesn’t have a criminal history, he was tied to another investigation into illegal casinos in 2022.
State records list Wetherholt as the manager of Game X Arcade LLC.
Investigators with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office said the LLC operated multiple illegal casinos.
That business eventually shut down in 2023 after court records show the owner, Dhara Bhalodia, was arrested on more than 150 counts related to operating an illegal casino.
An arrest document accuses Bhalodia of committing money laundering while “operating the gaming businesses in plain sight.”
Wetherholt was named in Bhalodia’s arrest affidavit but never faced any charges in the Palm Beach County case.
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