A California man was arrested in southwest Florida as a suspect in the death of his wife, who disappeared from the cruise ship Island Escape, seven years ago, and her body was found on Italian shores later.

Lonnie Kocontes, 55, was arrested on Friday night by federal agents, who took him to the Pasco County Jail, where he remained without bail, authorities said.

He is charged with one count of murder under special circumstances and for profit, according to Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office in Orange County.

Kocontes ex-wife, Micki Kanesaki, disappeared in Mediterranean on May 26, 2006, sailing on the Island Escape, between Sicily and Naples, according to the FBI. The body was carried by the tide to the coast of Calabria, in the south of Italy.

According to court records the 52 year old woman shared a cabin with Kocontes, her ex-husband. They divorced in 2002 after six years of marriage, but continued to live at his home in Mission Viejo, California, until 2005.

Kanesaki left her cabin around 1:00 am, to pour a cup of tea, shortly after the death said Andy Furlong, spokesman for Island Cruises. Kocontes, who is a lawyer, reported that her ex-wife was missing. He said he had searched the ship, without success, according to Furlong. Italian police boarded the ship, seized several records and videos, and questioned the crew.

Prosecutors said Saturday that Kocontes strangled Kanesaki and threw her overboard.

The investigation started in 2008, when Kocontes began transferring more than one million dollars from the bank accounts of Kanesaki savings with his new wife. This led the FBI to undertake an effort to seize the funds and open a criminal investigation.

If convicted, Kocontes facees at least a life sentence without parole. It could even be sentenced to death.