KEY WEST, Florida. – Former Monroe County District Administrator Roman Gastesi has become the latest official in the Florida Keys to face criminal charges as prosecutors announced a grand jury indictment on a felony charge.

Friday’s announcement comes in the wake of several arrests in connection with a major drug theft scandal involving the Monroe County Fire Department’s Trauma Star air rescue program.

Prosecutors announced last Friday the indictment of former MCFR medical director Dr. Sandra Schwemmer, 72, and a senior paramedic, 45-year-old division chief Andrea Thompson. Among those previously arrested was Lynda Rusinowski, 58, the former chief nurse at Trauma Star.

Gastesi, 63, retired as county administrator in February after holding the county’s highest unelected office for nearly a decade, Keys Weekly reports. He had been expected to return to the post.

The former top official will be charged with abuse of office, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the public prosecutor’s office said.

Charging documents obtained by Local 10 News do not detail the specific allegations that led to his indictment.

In a press release, the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office said Gastesi, of Islamorada, was “charged with knowingly and willfully obstructing, delaying or preventing the disclosure of information related to the commission of a crime that directly affected the government agency he served.”

“This case, like the recent charges against Dr. Schwemmer and Andrea Thompson, demonstrates our office’s unwavering commitment to holding public officials accountable for their actions,” District Attorney Dennis Ward said in a statement. “Mr. Gastesis’ alleged actions reflect a pattern of misconduct that undermines our community’s trust in government, and we are determined to ensure justice is served.”

The press release states that prosecutors will “continue to work closely with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute cases in which officers violate the law.”

“These ongoing legal proceedings underscore the importance of maintaining the integrity and accountability of local authorities,” it says.

A judge set Gastesi’s bail at $25,000; as of late Friday morning, he had not appeared in Monroe County Jail records.

In unrelated cases, two other people have been arrested in the Keys in recent weeks on various charges related to their employment or ties to public entities.

On July 31, 40-year-old Deputy Jennifer Ketcham of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office was arrested on 19 felony counts after authorities said she illegally used official law enforcement databases to send information about police raids, officers and informants to her 19-year-old boyfriend, a “drug dealer.”

On August 6, Ward’s office announced the arrest of 68-year-old Andy Newman, a public relations representative for the taxpayer-funded Monroe County Tourist Development Council, on charges of making false statements about TDC payments to a nonexistent company.