A former Florida lawmaker and political ally of Gov.Ron DeSantis was arrested Tuesday and accused of allegedly molesting a young boy at the child’s home, on fishing excursions and while on a family cruise, arrest records show.Michael Caruso, a 67-year-old Republican whom DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller a year ago, was taken into custody by local police and officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.“Being in a position of public trust provides no shield from accountability,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement Tuesday.After the arrest was announced, DeSantis suspended Caruso from his post and noted in an executive order that the allegations include lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, kidnapping, child abuse causing mental injury, and luring or enticing a child.Caruso had regular and unsupervised access to the child, a probable cause affidavit released by the governor’s office said.Caruso is accused of preying on the boy more than half a dozen times since Thanksgiving 2024, sometimes under the guise of playing “tickle monster,” according to the affidavit.Asked at a news conference whether he was aware of the allegations before Caruso was nominated to the Palm Beach post, DeSantis said, “of course not.”“He had a clean vet, he was well-regarded in the community,” the governor said.
DeSantis said that once he became aware of the allegations against Caruso, “it was a very easy decision for me to yank him from this position.”Noting that Florida now has a death penalty for convicted pedophiles, DeSantis warned that if Caruso is found guilty of the allegations, “he is going to be in a world of hurt.”Caruso is running for re-election in November to retain the top county post that DeSantis appointed him to.Previously, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2018 to 2025.
And when DeSantis ran for president in 2024, Caruso campaigned ...