Michael Caruso spent years building a reputation as one of Tallahassee's toughest voices against child predators. Now the 67-year-old sits in a jail cell accused of being one.
Caruso, the sitting Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, was arrested on the morning of Tuesday, August 18, on five felony counts connected to the alleged abuse of a young relative. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest personally, framing it as proof that no title shields anyone from scrutiny. Governor Ron DeSantis, who had personally elevated Caruso to the post a year earlier, suspended him from office within hours.
