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FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― In the wake of Sheriff Ken Jenne's resignation on Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Crist temporarily appointed Major Alfred T. Lamberti as Acting Sheriff of Broward County for a term beginning Tuesday, and ending upon the appointment of a replacement.

Lamberti, a 29-year veteran of the sheriff's office, will reportedly speak publicly on Wednesday.

In a statement to our news partners at the Miami Herald Lamberti said "The main thing is to restore the public confidence to the people of Broward County. The BSO is not about one person but about the 6,300 men and
women who work here. I've been through seven sheriffs in my time at BSO and we will get through this."

The 54-year old Lamberti joined the BSO in 1977 and served as the interim Hollywood Police Chief for about nine months after the former police chief, Rick Stone, resigned under pressure in November 1998. Lamberti also served as North Lauderdale's top law enforcement officer until city officials found a permanent replacement for Chief Jim Uhde.

Ken Jenne resigned Tuesday and agreed to plead guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud charges after a corruption investigation uncovered crimes in his outside business dealings. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.

The plea deal came as Jenne faced possible grand jury indictment on more serious money-laundering and other charges after the two-year investigation. But the agreement also likely will land the longtime force in state Democratic politics in prison for at least a year under federal sentencing guidelines.

Under the agreement, Jenne pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion and one count of mail fraud conspiracy, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta.

"Ken Jenne has been a staple of South Florida government for decades. For many years, he served Broward County well," Acosta said. "But he stayed too long, and in the end, he lost sight of what it means to serve the public."

Jenne made his resignation official Tuesday morning in an e-mail to his employees and in a separate letter to Gov. Charlie Crist.

"Today, I'm retiring from public service," Jenne wrote in the e-mail. "I need to turn my attention to myself and my family." He ended it this way: "Stand tall. Stand proud. Stay safe."

Last week, former U.S. Attorney Thomas Scott joined Jenne's longtime attorney, David Bogenschutz, in plea negotiations with prosecutors who were seeking a grand jury indictment on federal corruption and tax evasion charges.

Jenne will surrender to authorities as early as Wednesday. He will also likely have to serve some prison time as well as pay back taxes and fines to the Internal Revenue Service.

If Jenne had declined the deal, he would have faced a grand jury indictment on more serious fraud and money-laundering offenses.

The resignation and guilty plea means that Jenne also would likely lose his license to practice law and would be barred from seeking public office in the future. It could also impact his state pension.

Former Governor Jeb Bush ordered the Jenne investigation in 2005 after allegations were made that the sheriff used his position to obtain contracts for his personal consulting business. During a federal grand jury investigation, documents were uncovered that showed Jenne accepted of more than $100-thousand in unreported payments from BSO contractors who do business with his agency.

Among them was developer Phillip Procacci, who owns a building that leases space to the sheriff's office and to a federal-state drug task force. Procacci loaned $20-thousand to one of Jenne's secretaries, who in turn loaned it to Jenne to help the sheriff pay his income taxes in 2004 said lawyers involved in the case said. Procacci's attorney, Edward O'Donnell Jr., said his client thought the money was for the secretary and that there was no link between the sheriff's office lease and the loan.

"He didn't do anything wrong at all," O'Donnell said. "The records are all there. None of this was done in a surreptitious
manner."

As sheriff, Jenne also set up a private security consulting firm called Havloc with two of his commanders and another firm, Knodishall, that his state ethics forms indicate was mainly an entity used for reporting purposes on his income taxes. The ethics forms show the firms made about $64-thousand.

As the investigation intensified, the sheriff's office turned to former Miami U.S. attorney Guy Lewis to represent the agency's interests. Lewis confirmed the sheriff's office has paid his firm about $272-thousand for its work in the Jenne
probe and another issue involving questions about crime statistics reporting.

"We have done a lot of work long-term," Lewis said. "BSO has been fully cooperating. It has a tremendous disruptive effect on the agency."

Sheriff's records show another $107,000 in agency funds has been paid to other outside attorneys representing employees who were either questioned by investigators or testified before the grand jury.

Before becoming sheriff, Jenne was a state senator for nearly 20 years, serving as the Senate's Democratic leader from 1994 to 1998 and occasionally mentioned as a candidate for statewide or federal office. Jenne also served as a state prosecutor and county commissioner.

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CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this repo)