(José Niño, Headline USA) Fred Piccolo, who once shaped the public messaging for Governor Ron DeSantis, now faces criminal charges after authorities say he exposed himself to several women in a string of unsettling encounters.
Fred Piccolo, who briefly served as communications director for Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-FL, in 2020, was arrested last Tuesday, for allegedly exposing himself to a woman in Manatee County.
According to arrest records, the incident took place at the end of March, when Piccolo allegedly stopped his vehicle in the gated Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club community to ask a woman for directions.
Looks like Fred Piccolo, @NewCollegeofFL Director of Marketing & Media, Strategic Communications was arrested last night on charges of "exposure of sexual organs." pic.twitter.com/7gzafIiYIY
— Steven Walker (@swalker_7) April 16, 2025
The victim reported that when Piccolo first approached her, he claimed he needed directions to Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota because “he just found out his girlfriend was married. Her husband came home ‘in the middle’ and he ran out with just a shirt he grabbed.”
After receiving directions, Piccolo allegedly drove off, turned around, and pulled up alongside her again, asking her to repeat the directions. It was at this point that the woman noticed Piccolo was naked and “holding his erect penis in his hand.”
Deputies noted in their report that Piccolo’s residence was only about 2.4 miles from the incident location, “contradicting the story he told [the victim] as to why he would be naked and why he would need to stop in his own neighborhood to ask for directions.” The woman later “confidently and quickly” identified Piccolo as the suspect in a photo lineup in early April.
This incident is not isolated. Piccolo is currently facing three additional charges of indecent exposure from incidents that allegedly occurred in Sarasota County between August and September 2024:
- On August 22, 2024, Piccolo allegedly exposed himself to a female employee at Banana Republic in the University Town Center Mall. According to the probable cause affidavit, he was “using one hand in a stroking manner to masturbate as he was looking at her through the opened fitting room door.”
- On September 3, 2024, Piccolo allegedly exposed himself to a female employee at Dillard’s department store in the same mall, where witnesses reported he was “naked from ‘head to toe'”.
- The following day, September 4, 2024, Piccolo allegedly returned to the same Dillard’s store and exposed himself to another female employee in a fitting/
Sarasota County authorities filed charges for these incidents in October 2024, but Piccolo was not arrested at that time. Instead, he was issued summonses to appear in court, where he has pleaded not guilty to all three charges. A trial date has been set for May 27, 2025.
In response to these allegations, Piccolo’s attorney, Eric Reisinger, has attributed his client’s behavior to a medical condition. “I would like to inform you that my client, Frederick Piccolo, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,” Reisinger stated. The attorney claims that “medications prescribed by his medical team have, regrettably, resulted in compulsive behavior and hypersexuality as side effects.”
Piccolo’s father, Rick Piccolo, corroborated this claim, stating that his son was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease about 10 years ago. In a statement, the elder Piccolo expressed remorse: “We are very sorry that any individuals were subjected to any inappropriate conduct and we will seek the medical and mental health services necessary to return him to the wonderful and caring individual we knew before this decade of medication he has endured.”
Beyond the current criminal charges, Piccolo has faced other allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2022, former State Rep. Jackie Toledo, a Republican based out of the Tampa area, filed a lawsuit against Piccolo claiming he sent her “unwanted, unsolicited, inappropriate and grossly offensive harassing text messages and images.”
According to the lawsuit, while Piccolo was serving as Toledo’s campaign manager during her congressional run, he sent her bare-chested selfies, comments about his wife’s breast augmentation surgery, and “at least one image… of his erection, while others involved Mr. Piccolo in various states of undress.” Toledo later dropped the lawsuit.
At the time, Piccolo denied Toledo’s allegations, claiming they had a friendly relationship and that “at no time did she express any outrage or offense at any of our banter.”
Fred Piccolo has had a long career in Florida Republican politics. He served as communications director for the Florida Speaker of the House under former speakers Jose Oliva and Richard Corcoran.
In July 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed him as the governor’s communications director, a role he held until January 2021, when he departed the office following controversy over a tweet he posted suggesting that for every photo of a COVID-19 victim, there should be 99 photos of individuals who survived the virus to provide balance.
After leaving the governor’s office, Piccolo joined the Florida Department of Education as an executive vice chancellor under then-Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. Most recently, he served as director of marketing and media strategy at New College of Florida, where Corcoran currently holds the position of president.
Following his arrest, New College of Florida confirmed that Piccolo “is no longer employed by the college,” and his contact information was removed from the school’s website.
With Piccolo’s court date approaching, the scandal continues to cast a shadow over DeSantis’s political circle and the processes used to vet top officials.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
