Kissimmee mayoral campaigns lob criminal accusations at each other in nasty election kickoff

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Two candidates running to be the next mayor of Kissimmee have filed police complaints about the other’s campaign, alleging a variety of crimes and civil actions ranging from defamation to extortion.

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The tit-for-tat began Wednesday, when one of the candidates, Olga Cariño, held a press conference at her downtown café and said a man working for rival candidate Jackie Espinosa attempted to blackmail her campaign.

Cariño said the man, longtime Osceola County political operative Jeremy Fetzer, met with one of her allies and threatened to release information about her finances, business and history that threatened her safety and cast her candidacy in a negative light. She said it led to a pattern of harassment online and on Spanish radio channels.

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“It is not fair for any citizen to be targeted like this,” she said. “I will not let crime threats and extortion prevent me from fighting for you.”

Cariño did not provide any proof of her extortion claims, saying all documentation had been turned over to law enforcement.

However, some parts of her story have been publicly documented. One of her issues was that a picture of an October trolley crash downtown that injured several teenagers was circulating alongside a picture of the same trolley with her campaign banner hanging from its rear on a different day. Cariño said she was being blamed for the crash and merely rented the trolley.

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Another component was a recent code enforcement visit to her café, which was confirmed by code enforcement officers in an email reviewed by WFTV. While Cariño accused her opponents of sending code enforcement to her door, the officers said they observed too many patio tables outside her restaurant and sent her a notice asking her to correct the issue.

However, officers acknowledged receiving a video complaint showing Cariño’s campaign kick-off party at her café – again showing too many patio tables – that was separate from their notice.

For their part, FDLE confirmed Cariño filed a complaint with the Kissimmee police department that was then passed to their agents.

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Espinosa and Fetzer both strongly denied Cariño’s accusations Wednesday.

“I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. I look forward to speaking with the city police department and Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” Fetzer said. “I have text messages and proof to show that there was no extortion. Nobody asked her to leave the race. We actually enjoy the competition.”

Fetzer provided screenshots of his messages, showing him advising the Cariño ally, a former Kissimmee city councilman, that Cariño was making financial mistakes with her campaign that he said would get her in trouble with the Florida Department of State.

Other texts advised the ally to hire a professional consultant to “button up” the campaign.

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Fetzer did take ownership of the post about the trolley but denied that he was trying to mislead voters. He said the photo with Cariño’s banner was the only one he could find – a claim Cariño later called a lie, pointing to her name being used in as a tag in the post.

Espinosa and Fetzer met with a Kissimmee police detective Wednesday afternoon to file a complaint of their own.

“When you try to attack someone and defame them, that is certainly not something that our campaign will take lightly,” Espinosa said. “Our attorney has given us specific instructions of what needs to be done at this point.”

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It’s unclear if either complaint will lead to sanctions. As part of their statements, Espinosa and Cariño addressed the negative way their campaigns began – and voters’ distaste for such tactics.

“I think that’s our responsibility – to vet the candidates see their success records and see their failures,” Espinosa said.

Cariño said she would keep fighting.

“I’m here to work with the community [and] to bring unity in our community,” she said.

Voters will cast ballots for this election in November 2024.

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