DeSantis ally in Palm Beach arrested on child sex-abuse charges

Michael Allen Caruso, a former state legislator whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller, was arrested early Tuesday morning on allegations of molesting a child.

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The 67-year-old Republican is running for re-election in November to retain the top county post that DeSantis appointed him to last August. But no other Republican is contesting him, meaning his name is not on Tuesday’s primary ballot.

DeSantis has the authority to suspend elected officials accused of crimes — a power he has regularly used. A spokesperson for the governor’s office said Tuesday morning that DeSantis is planning to issue an order suspending Caruso.

Caruso’s first wife — Beverly Caruso, the mother of their seven children — had previously accused him of sexually assaulting a child, according to a Herald review of his divorce case filed in Palm Beach County in 2012, but he had dismissed the allegations as false.

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Caruso’s wife, Tracy Stein Caruso, also did not respond to the Herald’s requests for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

If you have any information or tip, please reach out to Shirsho Dasgupta at [email protected] or Brittany Wallman at [email protected]

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