Mayor's Lopez best friend and political supporter sentenced to 3,1/2 years in prison.

[WE 'RE PEOPLE]

Crime MAY 20, 2015
Former state trooper, towing operator plead guilty in widening FBI corruption case

BY JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com

A state trooper who sold accident reports on the side and a tow-truck operator who paid bribes to city of Miami employees to get business are the latest defendants to plead guilty in a widening FBI investigation of corruption in the local towing industry.

Kirk Chambers, who resigned as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in March, pleaded guilty Wednesday to an extortion conspiracy charge in Miami federal court.

Robert Muriedas, a former business partner of convicted ex-Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño, pleaded guilty last week to conspiring to pay bribes to two public service aides who worked in the city of Miami Police Department.

The suspended aides, Keri Dixon and Aristides Paulino, pocketed at least $20,000 and $35,000 in bribes, respectively, between 2011 and 2014, according to court records. Both recently pleaded guilty, along with four tow-truck drivers.


At least three Miami police officers who were relieved of duty in December stemming from the FBI investigation as well as cops in other local police departments face potential charges of accepting bribes in exchange for steering jobs to towing operators and auto body shops.

Chambers, who worked the north end of Miami-Dade County, moonlighted for years as a corrupt source of information on car accidents for “pirate” tow-truck drivers, according to federal prosecutor Anthony Lacosta.

In his plea agreement, Chambers admitted that he schemed with a local towing operator, Guillermo “Tony” Sepulveda, to sell hundreds of confidential accident reports for $6,200 to a fictitious “Russian chiropractor” in a sting operation run by the FBI.

Chambers, who became a state trooper in 2004, was convicted of accepting $5,000 in bribes in the undercover operation. The FHP declined to comment because Chambers, who made more than $48,000 a year as a trooper, no longer works for the agency.


Sepulveda, accused of pocketing $1,200 in the alleged scheme with Chambers, pleaded not guilty last month.

Florida law prohibits the release of crash reports to third parties before a 60-day period. Providing access to such reports within that time frame is unlawful for the purpose of soliciting business, such as towing, auto repairs or medical care.

Chambers and Sepulveda were arrested in April as part of an FBI investigation into Miami-Dade tow-truck operators suspected of paying bribes to police officers, public service aides and FHP troopers “to steer illicit business in their direction,” according to a criminal affidavit written by FBI special agent Donald Morin.

During the probe, investigators have learned that “corrupt” officers, aides and troopers “can earn money by misusing their official position to assist ‘pirate’ wreckers,” Morin wrote in the affidavit.


FBI agents first learned about Chambers in 2013, when they launched the investigation. A confidential source who worked in the towing business revealed that five years earlier, he had paid the FHP trooper cash multiple times for car accident information to solicit business directly from stranded drivers, according to the FBI affidavit. The source told agents that he had paid Chambers between $500 and $1,000 per accident, depending on the make and model of the vehicle.

Last year, agents learned from a second confidential source that Chambers was involved in a similar scheme with Sepulveda, who owned a wrecker service, American Classic Towing, according to the affidavit.

During this same period investigators also focused on Muriedas, who pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy charge last week. Muriedas had acquired a towing company called Southland from then-Sweetwater Mayor Maroño in 2009 and was involved with him as a partner in other businesses. In an unrelated case, Maroño pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks in a government contract case in 2013 and is serving a nearly 3 1/2-year prison sentence.

In the towing case, Muriedas admitted that he paid thousands of dollars in bribes to the two Miami public service aides in return for tow-job referrals that benefited Southland and affiliated auto body shops, according to court records. He made the illegal payments through the four convicted tow-truck drivers, including Jesus Tello, who worked for Southland, among other towing companies, and played the role of middle man

[WE THE PEOPLE]

ULTIMA HORA SEPT. 3, 2015 Condenan a 40 meses de prisión a ex socio de Manny Maroño
Sur de la Florida SEPTIEMBRE 3, 2015
Condenan a 40 meses de prisión a ex socio de Manny Maroño

La fachada de Southland The Towing Company, investigada por un presunto fraude para realizar remolques no justificados en Sweetwater.

JAY WEAVER
jweaver@MiamiHerald.com

Un antiguo socio de negocios del ex alcalde Manny Maroño fue sentenciado el jueves a casi tres años de prision por pagar miles de dolares en sobornos a auxiliares de la Policía de Miami a cambio de enviar a choferes de vehículos accidentados a talleres de chapistería mediante la cooperación de choferes de grúas.

Robert Muriedas se declaró culpable en mayo como parte de una investigación de corrupción del FBI entre operadores y choferes de grúas, talleres de chapistería y la Policía de Miami.

Los antiguos auxiliares de policía Keri Dixon y Aristides Paulino se declararon culpables de embolsillarse por lo menos $20,000 y $35,000 en sobornos, respectivamente, entre el 2011 y el 2014, según documentos del tribunal. Paulino fue sentenciado a 40 meses de prision y Dixon a 29.

Cuatro choferes de grúas, entre ellos el líder del grupo, Jesús Tello, también se declararon culpables. Tello fue sentenciado el jueves a 32 meses. Otros dos conductores, Reinaldo Martín Cruz y Ronald Alfaro, estuvieron presos 29 meses. El cuarto chofer, Michael Pérez, espera su sentencia en octubre.


“Dado todo lo que se presentó, el juez fue justo y razonable”, dijo el abogado defensor José “Pepe” Herrera, quien representó a Paulino en la audiencia de sentencia el jueves ante la jueza federal de distrito Marcia Cooke.

Los investigadores comenzaron a centrarse el año pasado en Muriedas, quien había adquirido en el 2009 una compañía de grúas llamada Southland de manos Maroño, entonces alcalde de Sweetwater, y era su socio en otros negocios. En un caso no relacionado, Maroño se declaró culpable de recibir sobornos en un caso de un contrato gubernamental en el 2013 y está cumpliendo una sentencia de casi tres años y medio de prisión.

En su negociación de cargos, Muriedas admitió haber pagado miles de dolares en sobornos a los dos auxiliares de la Policía de Miami a cambio de que les refirieran trabajos para su compañía de grúas, que beneficiaron a Southland y a varios talles de chapistería y pintura, según documentos del tribunal.

Muriedas hizo pagos ilegales a través de los cuatro choferes de grúas declarados culpables, incluido Tello, quien trabajaba para Southland, entre otras compañías de grúas “piratas”, y hacía el papel de intermediario.


Los investigadores dicen que las cosas sucedían así: los auxiliares de policía informaban a los operadores piratas de accidentes de tránsito en vez de canalizar esa información a través de los despachadores de la policía, según una declaración jurada del FBI. Los operadores de grúas, a quienes se les asignan referidos de manera rotativa según sus contratos con el gobierno municipal, usaban la información privilegiada para adelantarse a otros operadores en llegar a lugar de los accidentes.

Entonces los operadores piratas —a veces con con los auxiliares Paulino y Dixon presentes— presionaban a los conductores de los vehículos accidentales para que dejaran que los remolcaran a ciertos talleres de chapistería. A su vez, esos talleres aumentaban fraudulentamente el monto de las reclamaciones a los seguros, según la declaración presentada por el agente del FBI Donald Morin. Los talleres entonces compartían parte de las ganancias con los choferes de grúas.

En el tribunal, el fiscal federal adjunto Anthony Lacosta alegó que el cargo de confabulación no sólo abarcaba el robo de dinero, sino que también negaba “servicios honestos” públicos tienen la obligación de ofrecer.

“Paulino y Dixon ofrecieron acceso a información confidencial, acceso a bases de datos policiales, acceso a los lugares de los accidentes e incluyeron información falsa en los reportes policiales para mantener funcionando el sistema”, escribió Lacosta en un documento presentado al tribunal.


“A cambio, los choferes y Muriedas pagaban sobornos directa o indirectamente a funcionarios públicos, ofrecían a los choferes de vehículos accidentados servicios a los que no tenían derecho [y] los llevaban a talleres de chapistería y pintura que pagaban sobornos en efectivo”.

La investigación del FBI se centra ahora en los talleres que hicieron negocio con la compañía de grúas de Muriedas

[WE THE PEOPLE]

Towing was unjustified but lucrative business for some Sweetwater POLICE OFFICERS.

Miami-Dade County DECEMBER 28, 2013
Towing was unjustified but lucrative in Sweetwater

BY MELISSA SANCHEZ AND BRENDA MEDINA

It was not an explicit directive nor was it written in any official documents.

However, Sweetwater police officers knew what was expected of them when they patrolled the streets of this small city in west Miami-Dade.

They were to arrest the highest number possible of suspects in order to tow their vehicles, even if the towing had no connection to the alleged crime.

Towing represented a lucrative business for the city.

Sweetwater depended on the $500 administrative fine it collected from people recovering their vehicles. In fact, the city had set a yearly goal of $168,000 of these fines under the category of “miscellaneous revenue” in its police budget.

And the company, Southland The Towing Company, was partly owned by former Mayor Manuel “Manny” Maroño for quite awhile — although many officers apparently had no knowledge of that.

Arresting, then towing became the norm in Sweetwater, according to several officers who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Figures show 37 percent of all arrests in Sweetwater last year resulted in towing.

The Trends

An analysis by El Nuevo Herald of the more than 460 arrests involving towing in 2012 found several trends. Among them:

• Two-thirds of the arrests were for traffic violations, including driving with a suspended license or without a license. In cases of criminal charges, 77 percent ended up dismissed by the state attorney’s office or a judge. Some 11 percent led to criminal convictions.
• One in four arrests with towing took place at the Dolphin Mall, a shopping center annexed into Sweetwater in 2010. That same year, Southland obtained the monopoly to operate in the city. Although the majority of the Dolphin Mall arrests occurred in the parking lot, the arresting officers did not allow subjects to leave their vehicles there. Even in the cases of shoplifting inside the stores, officers apparently went outside to the parking lot to search for the subjects’ vehicles to tow.
• The suspects usually had limited incomes and could not afford the $500 fine the city charged, in addition to the storage fee they had to pay Southland to get their vehicle back. Nearly one-third of the arrests were unemployed people, while 35 percent said they were workers or students. Many drove popular cars, like Nissan Altimas and Honda Civics, which were a majority of the cars towed by Southland.

• In 40 percent of the cases — most of which were for driving without a license or for possession of marijuana — officers released the suspects with a "promise to appear in court." Typically, charges were dropped before a public defender was assigned to the case.
“This is how things lead to so many unjustified arrests for misdemeanors that avoid an examination by a lawyer,” said Carlos Martínez, Miami-Dade’s public defender. “These people had no defense.”

The Towing Business

Over the past few months, federal authorities have intensified an investigation of the relationship between Maroño, Southland and Sweetwater Police, as well as the abusive behavior of some officers against residents.

Maroño had been one of the owners of the company until the middle of 2009, according to state records, though sources familiar with the case have said that he remained as a silent partner in the business.

Despite its link to Maroño, Southland began to operate in Sweetwater on a rotation, months before its name ceased to appear in state registers. The agreement between the city and Southland was never formalized into an official contract.

No one has been charged in the case so far. The feds arrested Maroño in August in an unrelated case of public corruption. And Police Chief Roberto Fulgueira retired two months later.

The city’s new leadership has severed the links with Southland and is in the process of creating a public bidding system for the towing contract business.

Fulgueira did not respond messages from El Nuevo Herald this week. Armando Rosquete, Maroño’s attorney, said that he could not comment about his client’s role in the towing business.

Sweetwater’s new police chief, Jesús Menocal took over on Oct. 24. He has already instructed officers on when towing is justified in an arrest. Since he assumed his post, there have been only seven arrests in which towing was justified.

This number represents less than 10 percent of what was previously considered normal in the city.

“I cannot justify what happened in the previous administration, but I want to make clear that we are not in the towing business,” Menocal said. “And we don’t want to steal vehicles from people, confiscate their titles or receive money from that company.”

The Documents

Over the past several months, El Nuevo Herald and CBS-4 have obtained hundreds of documents from Sweetwater during the past decade on arrest reports, towing activity and receipts for the $500 administrative fine.

El Nuevo Herald created a database with the 2012 documents and combined that with information from court cases to make its analysis of how things were run in the city.

The records are incomplete. Sweetwater’s police department could not find nearly a quarter of the arrest reports linked to towing. A few cases, such as the confiscation of a Porsche Panamera that ended up becoming the property of Southland, have disappeared from city records.

However, cases with complete records show a clear and disturbing pattern. In many cases, police called the towing company even when the vehicles were legally parked or when passengers had valid licenses.

The Cases

“I could not understand why this happened,” said Christopher Lam, whose 2000 Mercury Cougar was towed after his arrest in the parking lot of an apartment complex in his neighborhood for having a marijuana cigarette in the car — though he says that it didn’t belong to him.

“They told me I had to take my belongings out of the trunk and that, instead of going to jail, I could sign a paper and walk home, but that they would take the car.”

Instead of allowing him to park the car, or have his passenger drive it away, police insisted on calling Southland.

Lam, 23, had to walk home and ended up paying more than $2,000 to Southland to recover his car a few weeks later. He had to borrow the money.

In another case, the police arrested a woman who had just parked in front of her parents’ home in a trailer park. She was accused of driving with a suspended license.

“It seems that they could have taken me and leave the car there,” said Mirtha, who did not want her last name used. “My car was legally parked in front of the house.”

That was also the case of Moisés Robaina, arrested while having coffee in his Nissan Rogue in the parking lot of the cafeteria where his former girlfriend worked. Officers accused him of threatening and harassing the woman.

“I begged them several times to let my father drive the car and he lived only two blocks from there,” he said. “But the officer yelled at me, saying no, that the car could not be touched.”

The case against Robaina was dismissed, but he had to pay nearly $1,700 to Southland and the city to recover his vehicle.

Procedures in Miami

Sweetwater’s unwritten towing rules would not be considered justified in other cities where there are clear directives about towing during an arrest.

In Miami, towing could only be called when the vehicle can be considered evidence, as in a case of vehicle manslaughter, said Juancarlo Erigoyen, the officer in charge of towing cases. In the rest of the cases, police allowed suspects to leave the car with a passenger — if that person has a valid driver’s license — or park it in a safe place.

“If we have to arrest someone and there is a place where the car can be parked, then we ask the suspect to sign a document agreeing to leave the car there,” Erigoyen said.

Not everyone whose car was towed after an arrest in Sweetwater paid the fine to recover it.

In dozens of cases — particularly when a woman came to recover her car or the car of one of her children or her husband — the fine was annulled. Deputy chief Roberto Ochoa, who approved some of those cancellations, said that he made that decision when he happened to hear someone complaining and he had the opportunity to review the case.

An Absurd Arrest

In at least one case, then Chief Fulgueira himself refunded the $500 when a person threatened to file a lawsuit.

Christopher Aymerich was arrested for not having the telephone number on his pickup truck of the company that cleaned home sewers. He spent a night in jail. On the following day, he paid the $500 fine to the city and another $420 to Southland. Aymerich said he thought the arrest was absurd, but did not want to complain to police.

However, his wife was furious and wrote a long letter of complaint to Fulgueira.

“She wrote him that the arrest didn’t make any sense, that they were stealing money from working people,”Aymerich said. “And three days later, the police chief himself called me saying he was sorry, that there had been a mistake and that the $500 would be returned.”

Making good on his promise, Fulgueira personally returned the money, in cash , Aymerich said.

The chief apologized and asked Aymerich to“forget everything,” Aymerich said. “It seemed that he was afraid.

[Unregistered]

MANNY MAROÑO (in jail), ROBERTO MURIEDA (in jail), ORLANDO LÓPEZ (waiting in line).
MANNY MAROÑO (in jail), ROBERTO MURIEDA (in jail), ORLANDO LÓPEZ (waiting in line)

ROBERTO MURIEDA
"NEGOTIATION OF CHARGES"

HE NEGOTIATED WITH THE FEDERAL AUTHORITIES IN THE MIAMI CASE OF ILEGAL TOWINGS.

ORLANDO DID YOU KNOW IF YOUR FRIEND AND POLITICAL SUPPORTED ROBERTO MURIEDA IS NEGOTIATING WITH THE SAME AUTHORITIES IN THE CITY OF SWEETWATER CASE OF ILEGAL TOWINGS?.

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MIAMI HERALD TODAY SEPTEMBER 4th 2015.
"The FBI agents began to centre the investigation last year on Roberto Muriedas, who had acquired a towing company called Southland The Towing Company in 2009 from Manuel "Manny" Maroño, mayor at that time of the City of Sweetwater, and he was his partner in other business.

In a not related case, the ex Mayor of Sweetwater Manuel "Manny" Maroño he declared himself guilty of receiving bribes in a Federal case of a governmental contract in 2013 and it he is fulfilling a judgment of almost three years and a half in a Federal Prison.

In his "negotiation of charges", Roberto Muriedas admitted to have paid thousands of dollars in bribes to two Public Service Aids from the City of Miami Police Department in return to their business referrals to his towing company, which they benefited to Southland the Towing Company."
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ORLANDO LOPEZ YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXTONE IN LINE
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[Unregistered]

Future arrests in the City of Sweetwater.
Based on the investigations beginning in 2013, there are rumors among city employees that authorities of the federal and state government will begin to arrest some of the ex-policemen of the City like ex-commander Mario Miranda, the ex-policeman and ex-commissioner Catalino Rodríguez, and the active lieutenant Roberto Ochoa,
as well the ex-chief of Police Roberto Fulgueiras.

[Unregistered]

Watch- last three commission meetings 08/18/15, 08/28/15 & 09/04/15.
WATCH- LAST THREE COMMISSION MEETINGS
08/18/15, 08/28/15 & 09/04/15

CITY OF SWEETWATER.

WATCH,Special Commission Meeting September 4th, 2015
CLICK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHvfa2zGViU&sns=em

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The Commission cut out the line items for Mayor Lopez's Command staff. Watch on You
The Commission cut out the line items for Mayor Lopez's Command staff.

WATCH "Special Commission Meeting August 26th, 2015" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/WDZTeSq9AFA

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WATCH,- Special Commission Meeting August 18th, 2015
CITY OF SWEETWATER.
https://youtu.be/ZtUsc2sn-4I

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[Unregistered]

New federal charges for racketeering & violation of civil rights" are coming.

[Unregistered]

(RICO) Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.

Racketeering is when organized groups run illegal businesses, known as “rackets,” or when an organized crime ring uses legitimate organizations to embezzle funds. Such activities can have devastating consequences for both public and private institutions.

Consequently, the federal government and numerous state governments have created systems of laws designed to prosecute these criminals.

Typical Rackets and Their Consequences

Using RICO to Prosecute Racketeers

Before Congress enacted laws that specifically combat organized crime, prosecutors found it very difficult to end these rackets. Prosecutors could often convict the lower ranked members of the organizations, because they were the ones who actually performed the illegal activities. However, the masterminds behind the organized crime rings were often much harder to prosecute because they couldn’t be directly connected to any of the crimes.

In 1978, Congress enacted the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, providing prosecutors with the tool they needed to fight organized crime. Many states have enacted similar laws. In order to convict someone under RICO or a state equivalent, it’s no longer necessary to prove the suspect personally committed an illegal activity. Instead, prosecutors must prove:
The defendant owns and/or manages an organization

[Unregistered]

City budget overdrawn due to unbugeted campaing promised positions. By mayor lopez.
CITY BUDGET OVERDRAWN DUE TO UNBUGETED CAMPAING PROMISED POSITIONS. BY MAYOR LOPEZ.

1-PLACIDO DIAZ- CHIEF POLICE DEPT.

2-THELMA LOPETEGUI-POLICE DEPT.

3-RICARDO ROQUE- POLICE DEPT.

4-RODOLFO HERBELLO- POLICE DEPT.

5-AQUILES CARMONA-POLICE DEPT.

6-RALPH VENTURA CHIEF OF STAFF, ADMINISTRATION.

7-CLAUDIA MIRO-PUBLIC INF. OFFICER.

8- INDIRA PARDILLO-EXC.ASST. TO MAYOR.

9-YAIMA VEGA- PERS. ASST TO MAYOR LOPEZ.

Unbugeted campaing promised positions, including the chief of police and his gang.
Force the city commissioners to ratify all unbugeted campaing promised positions, inc
It is not necessary to be very intelligent or political expert to realize that this is a political situation created with malicious intentions by Mayor Orlando López with the intention TO FORCE AND INTIMIDATEDTHE CITY COMMISSIONERS TO RATIFY ALL UNBUGETED CAMPAING PROMISED POSITIONS, INCLUDING THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND HIS GANG ND THE NEW MAYOR'S PRESS INFORMATION ASST

[Unregistered]

CITY BUDGET OVERDRAWN DUE TO UNBUGETED CAMPAING PROMISED POSITIONS. BY MAYOR LOPEZ.

1-PLACIDO DIAZ- CHIEF POLICE DEPT.

2-THELMA LOPETEGUI-POLICE DEPT.

3-RICARDO ROQUE- POLICE DEPT.

4-RODOLFO HERBELLO- POLICE DEPT.

5-AQUILES CARMONA-POLICE DEPT.

6-RALPH VENTURA CHIEF OF STAFF, ADMINISTRATION.

7-CLAUDIA MIRO-PUBLIC INF. OFFICER.

8- INDIRA PARDILLO-EXC.ASST. TO MAYOR.

9-YAIMA VEGA- PERS. ASST TO MAYOR LOPEZ.

Unbugeted campaing promised positions, including the chief of police and his gang.
Force the city commissioners to ratify all unbugeted campaing promised positions, inc
It is not necessary to be very intelligent or political expert to realize that this is a political situation created with malicious intentions by Mayor Orlando López with the intention TO FORCE AND INTIMIDATEDTHE CITY COMMISSIONERS TO RATIFY ALL UNBUGETED CAMPAING PROMISED POSITIONS, INCLUDING THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND HIS GANG ND THE NEW MAYOR'S PRESS INFORMATION ASST.

If we go to the past records of The Miami Dade County will see that Mayor Gimenez try to apply the same type of intimidation and expression to the Miami Dade County Commissioners including threatened with dismissals or fired employees and of reduction of the police force, because according to the Mayor, the voting of the commissioners was deepening the fiscal deficit.

For that reason, Mayor Giménez like Mayor Lopez use the veto as a weapon to block or delay any decision of the commissioners creating a financial crisis.

Last week The Supreme Court of Florida ratified that Mayor Gimenez negotiating in a bad faith with malicious intentions exceeding the powers of the Mayor