South Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

Kidnapping Plot Accomplice Sentenced as “Mastermind” Faces Trial

December 18, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Small business owner, Pavlos “Paul” Kaimacliotis was sentenced on Monday to a federal prison term in excess of 10 years for his role in a kidnapping conspiracy that was infiltrated and thwarted by the FBI earlier this year.

Kaimacliotis, 36, of Jupiter, cut a plea deal back in August to an attempted kidnapping charge. Under the terms of the agreement he would testify against his friend Michael Melillo, who the FBI has branded the architect of the plot. Melillo, a Palm Beach Gardens businessman who was previously an attorney in New Jersey, allegedly planned the kidnapping for close to 18 months along with Kaimacliotis who supposedly withdrew his involvement at some point during that time. However, he admitted to agreeing to act as a lookout for Melillo the day the ransom was supposed to be delivered.

Earlier, in June of this year, a federal judge in West Palm Beach refused to set any bail citing Kaimacliotis as a flight risk and too much of a danger to the community to go free before the trial commenced. This was despite an offer of more than $1.25 million worth of property as bond. The courtroom was also packed with several character witnesses prepared to testify on his behalf, of which many were lawyers.

Originally from Cyprus, Kaimacliotis appeared to be forcing back tears from his eyes as his lawyer described a man so well-liked that in excess of seventy people chose to write letters on his behalf. He was the owner of his own flooring business and his immediate family consists of his wife and four young daughters.

U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley said he had not ever witnessed such an assortment of praising letters about an accused defendant, affecting him to feel “totally at a loss” in how Kaimacliotis became a party to such an appalling arrangement. When the judge questioned him further about how he got caught up in such a heinous situation, Kaimacliotis struggled to afford a clear response. “Melillo inserted himself in my life and it was very hard to get rid of him,” Kaimacliotis replied to the Judge’s examination.

Under the suggested federal sentencing guidelines, the 121-month prison sentence was the minimum term of incarceration that Kaimacliotis could have acquired. His lawyer specified that his client will likely be back in front of Judge Hurley in the hopes of a reduction of sentence established by his cooperation with the federal authorities connected to the case.

Melillo, 50, is scheduled to go to trial next month on two kidnapping charges, one of which can carry a sentence of life in prison. According to witness testimony, it was his plan to kidnap a wealthy Palm Beach Gardens man, and then demand a $20 million ransom from his wife for his return. If she didn’t come up with the money fast, he would send a few of her husband’s fingers as an alarming incentive to come up with the cash.

According to court records, what Melillo didn’t know was that the authorities had learned about the plot when the FBI was alerted by two people who came to their West Palm Beach office last May. One of them was a woman who was described as being personally involved with Melillo.

Melillo was then introduced to an undercover FBI agent posing as a sinister character, court records reveal. Melillo then expressed to the undercover agent that he was planning to kidnap a Palm Beach Gardens man who he believed was engineering private high-stakes poker games which had personally cost him more than $100,000, according to the FBI.

After gaining Melillo’s confidence the undercover FBI agent was able to satisfy Melillo that he had kidnapped the target on May 29th. He then exhibited to Melillo a photo of the victim bound in restraints, holding that day’s newspaper to display the date, convincing Melillo that the deed was done, according to court records.

After showing him the staged photo the agent then gave Melillo a cell phone number that he said belonged to the victim’s wife, but was in fact being directed to a female FBI agent, according to federal authorities.

During the investigation, the intended kidnapping target and his family were taken by FBI agents to an undisclosed location to guarantee their protection, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert H. Waters Jr.

The victim’s identity has been kept under wraps by Federal prosecutors and during proceedings, lawyers for both the prosecution and defense have been vigilant to avoid mentioning the name of the victim and his family members.

As the investigation continued Melillo made the phone call to the provided number and initially demanded $20 million from who he believed to be the victim’s wife. But over three hours of negotiation, he dropped his ransom demand to $12.5 million, court records show. He then directed the supposed wife of the victim to bring the money to Palm Beach International Airport and place it in the trunk of a specified vehicle. After Melillo believed this was completed, he and the undercover FBI agent drove to the location to pick it up, federal authorities said.

Melillo was seen by the FBI that day meeting with Kaimacliotis, while under their surveillance. At the time of his arrest, later that evening, Kaimacliotis confessed that Melillo had called him earlier in the day to let him know that the kidnapping was taking place and for him to pose as a lookout.

Melillo was arrested when he later went to meet the FBI agent in the parking lot of a Home Depot in West Palm Beach to distribute the fictitious ransom money.

AUSA Waters specified that the intended target and his wife have been deeply damaged by the kidnapping plot attempt, and now are both frequently looking over their shoulders and living in fear.

Defense Attorney cites federal racketeering case as no more than a glorified gambling case

December 4, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

At the onset of arguments heard against presumed mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and five codefendants, Ligambi’s lawyer argued that charges against his client should not be decided based on who the prosecution says they are, but rather on what they’ve done. He went on to tell a federal jury that neither Ligambi nor any of the other defendants named in the case essentially did anything.

As the long-awaited mob racketeering conspiracy trial that began in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia at the end of October, the attorney pronounced in his opening statement that “It’s not a crime to be associated with or to be a member of the Mafia.”

“In America, you can be a member of almost anything. It’s not about being a member. It’s about what you do.”

The “real charges” in the case “wouldn’t support an episode of The Sopranos,” his lawyer said. At another point, he threw in The Godfather, contending that the Philadelphia mob is so ineffective and nonviolent “that Tony Soprano and Don Corleone would laugh at us.” He further stated that the prosecution’s case is built on half-truths and fabrications from cooperating witnesses looking to get out from under their own criminal difficulties and said, on behalf of his clients; “We’re not guilty, we’re victims,” in the trial that is predicted to take eight to twelve weeks to conclude.

However, the prosecution maintains that victims besieged in mob extortions and shakedowns, systematically ordered by Ligambi and his coconspirators are nothing to laugh about.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Labor, told the jury that Ligambi and his co-defendants “exploited” the Philadelphia mob’s violent reputation “to make money” and “to intimidate” victims into paying mob shakedowns and tribute payments in his opening statement.

He then expressed to the jury that Ligambi, 73, and his codefendants were members of an illicit criminal enterprise. “That enterprise”, Labor said, “relied on the aforementioned reputation of the Philadelphia mob to instill fear and intimidate underworld targets.”

Dismissing the defense’s repeatedly stated position that this current case doesn’t contain any of the murder and attempted-murder charges that marked prior mob trials, Labor said that “a dead man” can’t make an extortion payment, but a terrified man can. Also, in his opening statement Labor peppered more than a few potentially incriminating remarks from secretly recorded conversations. The prosecution anticipates playing dozens of recorded dialogues captured by wiretaps and also by wires that were worn by witnesses who cooperated in the investigation. The prosecution purportedly has more than 15,000 recordings and 9,000 surveillance reports collected over a decade of which many refer to this particular case.

In addition to Ligambi, the other five defendants are Joseph “Scoops” Licata, 71, Anthony Staino, 54, George Borgesi, 49, Damion Canalichio, 42, and mob associate Gary Battaglini, 51.

Ligambi is the principal defendant in the case. Authorities contend that he controlled the criminal organization that was involved with unlawful gambling, loansharking and extortion throughout a 12-year period that goes back to 1999.

In one of the recorded conversation with Canalichio, one of the codefendants, Michael F. Orlando Jr., who owed money that he said he couldn’t pay back, asked the alleged loan shark if he might earn credit and good will by working for the organization as a street collector. Canalichio said that Orlando’s loan wasn’t his to forgive. It belonged to “Stevie and Joey,” Orlando presumed this to mean reputed mob boss Joseph Ligambi and one of his lieutenants.

“It’s Uncle Joe’s money?” Orlando asked in the 2002 conversation, which was recorded by the FBI.

“Yeah,” Canalichio answered.

Federal prosecutors played that tape and a grouping of others in their attempt to demonstrate to the jury that even the lesser loans were a portion of a larger organized gambling, extortion and loan-shark racket organized by Ligambi and his associates, and that the money rolled upward.

In another recording, co-defendant George Borgesi, laughed and joked about how he brutally assaulted mob associate Angelo Lutz who lied about trying to cash a check from their pasta business.

“I knocked him out,” Borgesi is heard saying in the phone conversation which was recorded in a Pennsylvania State Police wiretap in November, 1999. “I kicked him so hard he was sleeping… I ripped his shirt off. He was out like a fucking light.”

Labor also cited defendant Anthony Staino in a conversation about an unwilling debt payer to say “I got two gorillas, gonna chop him up,” in what was said to be revealed when referring to one of the recordings.

The trial continues and more recorded testimony is expected to be heard before U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno before the case is sent to the jury.

Trial to begin in “DCF Nightmare” Rilya Wilson murder case

November 28, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Ten years after the Florida Department of Children and Families was rocked by scandal that resulted in the DCF secretary leaving, its top administrator in Miami resigning and numerous employees being fired, the case again will surge to the top of the headlines. At the time, the case exposed serious failings in Florida’s child-welfare system.

The original cause of the furor was the reported April 2002 disappearance of Rilya Wilson, who was in state custody under the care of the child-welfare agency. Not only had the child gone missing but it took 15 months before anyone at the agency noticed that she was unaccounted for. The child was four years old when she apparently disappeared.

In April 2002, Geralyn Graham, 57, the foster mother, who lived with a roommate, Pamela Graham (no relation), alerted DCF that the girl had been removed from her home by a DCF social worker 15 months previously. The Department of Children and Families then acknowledged that their workers had missed more than a year of required monthly visits to Graham’s foster home. Pamela Graham claimed to be Geralyn’s sister at the time of the incident.

”Apparently the department went to do a follow-up with Graham, and she essentially told them: “Well, I don’t have her. You guys took her from me a year ago,” said Detective Lupo Jimenez of the Miami-Dade Police Department. ”That’s when we were notified. They have no idea where this child is. I’ve never seen this before.”.

Graham told officials that Rilya was last seen in January 2001, when a woman who she assumed was a representative of the DCF appeared at her home and took the child, telling her that the child needed to undergo psychological and neurological testing. She went on to say that a few days later, a second woman arrived at her house, to retrieve some of the girl’s clothes and said that Rilya would stay in the state’s custody for further testing. She then said that a few weeks later, a third individual, showed up at her home and inquired about Rilya’s siblings, who at that time were still in her custody. She mentioned that on that occurrence the person was a man.

Officials of DCF responded that they had no record of any of those events and that Rilya’s caseworker had never approved her removal from Graham’s residence.

District administrator for the Department of Children and Families in Miami, Charles Aulander, said, ”One of the requirements is that a counselor have a face-to-face visit with the child at least once per month, and I did not know that that was not going on.” He added, ”I would have hoped that we would have discovered this much sooner, but we didn’t.”
Jack Levine, president of the Center for Florida’s Children, a child advocacy group in Tallahassee, said the agency’s handling of the case was deplorable.

”I’m shocked by the apparent insufficiency of being able to track the whereabouts of a child who was assumed to be under the watchful eye of our child protection system,” Mr. Levine said. ”Those eyes that should have been watching were closed.”
Soon after the DCF scandal was realized Geralyn Graham, and her roommate Pamela Graham, 37, who at the time alleged they are sisters, were charged with stealing $14,257 worth of food stamps as well as multiple counts of fraud for continuing to collect benefits for the child long after she vanished, according the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office
Geralyn Graham was charged with seven counts of obtaining welfare, food stamps and Medicaid benefits with false identification and documents. Pamela Graham was charged with 12 counts of welfare fraud, aiding and abetting public assistance fraud and related charges all of them not associated with the case. Both women served time in jail.

The latest events
Now, a decade after, prosecutors have built what they believe to be a strong first-degree murder case against Graham. Based on information provided by jailhouse informants including Pamela Graham, and statements from former friends, it is alleged that Rilya Wilson was brutally abused by her caregiver. Prosecutors introduced a cage into evidence where they believe Rilya was placed for the purpose of punishment within Graham’s home. A witness for the prosecution said that she saw scars on Rilya’s arms and head before her disappearance. “There were scrapes on her arms. There was a gash on her head, forehead area,” family friend Laquica Tuff said speaking of Rilya’s condition at that time.

Just last week, the defense motioned for a mistrial citing that prosecutor Joshua Weintraub’s law license had been temporarily suspended due to a failure to meet continuing legal education requirements. He was reinstated Tuesday after showing the requirements were met and the mistrial was denied by Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler-Mendez. Mendez said that previous court rulings have made clear that clerical mistakes such as Weintraub’s were never intended to be the kind of law-license suspension that could prejudice a defendant such as Graham. The judge called it a “ministerial circumstance” and stated that Weintraub had actually earned more than the necessary thirty hours of educational credits.

The star witness for the prosecution is Robin Lunceford. Lunceford was serving a life sentence, but had it reduced by 10 years when she told authorities that Graham, who she was in jail with, had confessed to killing Wilson by smothering her with a pillow. Lunceford is now scheduled for release in March 2014.

Another unnamed inmate also reported that Graham confessed to the murder.

Prosecutors also have the cooperation of Pamela Graham, although she insists she has never had any knowledge as to what happened to Rilya.

Opening arguments are set for this Monday in what now is a first-degree murder case Graham faces a life sentence if convicted and may even face the death penalty. Other charges lodged against her are kidnapping and child abuse although a body was never found.

Domestic Violence Escalates to Attempted First-Degree Murder

November 21, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

After reports of gunshots at the Barrington Club apartments in Coral Springs, police were called to the complex by a 911 dispatcher. When they arrived, they saw a man leaving a residence and then hurriedly returning inside, authorities said.

Soon after, Katherine Maffei, 40, suffering from a gunshot wound, left the premises and stumbled to the ground. Her father, Robert Ranta, 67 who was firmly carrying his 4-year old daughter’s son out of the residence also collapsed next to his daughter. He was suffering from gunshot wounds as well. The child was unharmed, but Mrs. Maffei, and her father, were both taken in serious condition to Broward Health North.

According to a Coral Springs police statement Thomas Maffei, 45, the victim’s estranged husband allegedly fired a gun through the front door of his wife’s apartment. He then held her captive along with her father and shot at both of them at close range. The shootings occurred in front of their 4-year-old son.

The incident came to light just after 8:00 p.m. last Friday, when a 911 operator received a domestic disturbance call from a woman in the Barrington Club apartments on the 10500 block of Sample Road in Coral Springs. More 911 calls were received from other neighbors who reported that gunshots had been fired.

Police encircled the apartment upon arrival. Mr. Maffei finally surrendered to police after they moved the victims to safety. Mr. Maffei has been charged with multiple offenses including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, armed burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of false imprisonment and child abuse. Police said that the couple is currently separated and undergoing a divorce. Mr. Maffei is a retired US Air Force officer who currently resides in Parkland
“I saw my hand explode. He shot me from point-blank range. I was sort of waiting for that kill shot. I absolutely thought we were going to die.” Mrs. Maffei said. After being released from the hospital, she went on to say that the shooting culminates almost two years of physical and emotional abuse and was something she always feared.

In the 911 tape, Mrs. Maffei is first heard screaming for help telling the dispatcher that her estranged husband was banging at the door trying to shove his way in. Then, for numerous minutes she and others in her apartment are heard in the background screaming. The 911 operator assessing the situation alerts the police who are sent to the scene.

Maffei said on Thursday that her husband was continually screaming “You took my stuff” and then shot her and her father. Both the father and daughter each sustained two gunshot wounds.

The recording also revealed her repeatedly pleading for help and saying she couldn’t move. Her father’s ribs were broken by one of the bullets.

Mrs. Maffei has filed domestic violence cases against her husband five times and has unsuccessfully tried to get restraining orders on three separate occasions, court records show.

Broward bank robbery concludes with arrests in Dade County after police pursuit

November 14, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The quick thinking and response of a UPS driver turned into an essential lead that ended with the arrest of four men charged with a Coral Springs bank robbery. The UPS driver’s attention was captured when he noticed two men hurriedly rush out of a Nissan Sentra, leaving the doors open, and jump into a Silver Dodge Charger driven by a third man. Wary of the men’s actions, the driver called 911 and reported what he felt to be suspicious activity.

The police were already looking for a vehicle that fit that description as the getaway car of the robbery of a SunTrust bank that took place around 10 am that morning. The bank is located at 9501 Wiles Road in Coral Springs.

In addition to the UPS driver, other members of the public are being praised for helping police and FBI agents for their part in the apprehension of the suspects.

The manager of the bank was on the phone with a customer when two armed men rushed into the bank. One of the men pointed a gun at a teller’s head, demanding money. The teller gave the suspects in excess of $20,000.00 before they ran out of the bank to the awaiting Nissan Sentra. As this was unfolding, the manager told the customer on the phone that the bank was being robbed. The customer immediately hung up the phone and called 911.

“We got the customer’s call before the silent alarm came in to our agency,” Coral Springs Police Sgt. Carla Mertes said. She went on to comment: “One of our officers spotted the car on the Sawgrass and started chasing it to Miami.”

The police then chased the car south on the Sawgrass Expressway and then Interstate 75. According to the F.B.I. who assisted in the pursuit, the suspects then exited east onto Gratigny Parkway in Miami where it crashed into two vehicles near the N.W. 32nd Ave. exit.

One of the individuals in the crash was Derek Mendez, 33, of Hialeah. Ironically, he was driving to a Crime Scene Investigation course at Miami Dade College when he became entangled in the midst of a crime scene investigation. A veteran of the war in Iraq, Mendez suffered injuries to his neck, back and elbow when his car was rear-ended by the suspects’ vehicle. “It freaked me out a little bit but it could have been worse,” Mendez said. “They could have had a gun and start shooting and I could have been in the middle of that.” Mendez went on to say: “I remember some guys getting out of the car and fleeing from the scene. They tried to run away and tried to jump a fence and I saw the cops grab them.

The F.B.I. said that at least three of the four men were suspected in five other bank robberies in Broward County.

In total, four men were arrested for the crime. Gregory Richardson, 34, and Edward Rogers, 40, are accused of robbing the bank. Carlos Jenkins, 24, is accused of driving the two cars used in their escape. Quinton Johnson, 29, is the owner of the Charger; although he claimed at the time of his arrest that it was stolen prior to the crime.

Coral Springs police spokesman Joseph McHugh said that the call from the UPS driver was crucial. “Without that call, we would have been looking for the vehicle they were driving when they left the bank,” he said.

The four men who are now accused of planning and robbing the bank appeared in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Thursday morning. Quinton Johnson who originally reported his car stolen 15 minutes after the robbery then allegedly changed his story and said that he loaned his Dodge Charger to Carlos Jenkins. Johnson then admitted driving his friends to the bank the night before, but denied any participation in the robbery. The four men will be back in court next week when a judge will decide if they will be eligible for bail.

Numerous agencies assisted in the pursuit through Broward and Dade counties, comprising police from Coral Springs, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Miami Dade, Hialeah, Miramar, Miami Gardens, Opa-locka, as well as the FBI.

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Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Guilty of Perjury

November 7, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

James Thompson’s lawyer maintained that the allegations made against his client that lead to his arrest by Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Jefferson Alvarez were a total fabrication.
Alvarez wrote in his report “While on patrol I saw the listed vehicle traveling westbound on W. Broward Blvd. By looking at the sticker and then confirming it on teletype I discovered that the tag was expired. I conducted a traffic stop on the 3600 block of W. Broward Blvd.”
According to the report, Alvarez also stated that he then ran a check of Thompson’s driver’s license and when found that it was suspended arrested him at the scene.
The truth of the matter was that Alvarez was one of two backup officers who arrived at the area well after Officer Larry Reyes, who first saw and investigated a car that was in the parking lot of an abandoned gas station.
Thompson’s attorney who is with the Broward Public Defenders Office, said “Alvarez never saw him driving and he never made any traffic stop.” He went on to say “My client was changing a flat tire and two other officers drove up and ran a license check. Alvarez arrived on the scene later and they allowed him to make the arrest.” Police records verified that Alvarez was the last officer to arrive.
Thompson maintained he was never driving the car. He said he went to its location in the parking lot of the abandoned gas station, where his cousin had left it, to fix a flat tire. According to Thompson, it was 3 o’clock in the morning when police officer, Larry Reyes saw him by the vehicle, stopped his patrol car, and began to question him.
Reyes ran a check and determined that Thompson’s driver’s license was suspended.
Alvarez works in the patrol division and has been with the department for a little more than two years. It appears that he was on a kind of probation during the incident and was given the opportunity to arrest Thompson to strengthen his own statistics. On July 15, he was placed on paid suspension pending further investigation.
Five months later, when Thompson’s defense lawyer questioned Alvarez, he said he didn’t recall the incident and depended on his original report to refresh his memory.
During the course of Thompson’s investigation, his lawyer obtained records from the global position system (GPS) installed on Fort Lauderdale police squad cars, along with dispatch logs, and other evidence that confirmed the reported scenario to be wholly fictitious.

During a deposition, Alvarez affirmed it was he who made the traffic stop and delivered several other details about it, but the GPS data did not support his testimony. Reyes, in his deposition, disputed Alvarez and the information he wrote in his arrest report.

“Um, Officer Alvarez stated that he stopped the vehicle when, in fact, I stopped the, uh, – I was the first officer to stop the vehicle,” Reyes attested.

Reyes also confirmed that Alvarez was not on the scene at the time of the traffic stop.
During proceedings, Alvarez said he mistakenly believed he was supposed to place himself in Reyes’ shoes when describing the events that led to the arrest.
Prepared with this testimony and the GPS statistics, Thompson’s lawyer offered the evidence to Assistant State Attorney Steve Litvack, who then dropped all charges against Thompson.
With the evidence now signifying that Officer Alvarez’s statements were clear cut falsehoods he then became the target of a criminal investigation and was charged with perjury.
At Alvarez’s trial, jurors listened to a 40-minute recording of the deposition and requested to hear it again during their deliberations. Alvarez also answered questions about pulling over Thompson’s car, although on the stand he said that he was relying on his report and not on his actual memory.
After just four hours of deliberations the jury came back with a guilty verdict of falsifying a police report and perjury.
The maximum penalty for perjury and falsifying records, combined, is six years. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 19 in front of Broward Circuit Judge Paul Backman. Alvarez remains free on bond until the sentencing hearing.
Thompson did not testify at Officer Alvarez’s trial.

Miami Man Behind Bars Accused of Sexual Assaulting Elderly Woman

November 2, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A man who police say has a record including battery, grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary, and possession of burglary tools can now add the charge of sexual battery with force on a person over 65 years of age.

Miguel Chavez, 57, has been charged with this latest offense, as well as burglary with assault, battery on a police officer or fire rescue personnel, and resisting arrest with violence.

This latest episode happened on Tuesday, Sept. 24th, in the 1200 block of SW 23rd Street in Miami. According to investigators, the man broke into the woman’s house, climbed on top of her, and began to choke her with one hand while he took off her underwear with the other. He then fondled the victim before running away.

When interviewed, the elderly woman told police she was asleep when a man, wearing only briefs and an undershirt around his face, broke into her home just after 5 a.m. She described her attacker as a Latin male who after getting on top of her, removed the undershirt from his face and began to masturbate as he kissed her. The woman said he then sexually molested her.

Before Chavez’s arrest, last week, police released a sketch that described the man as being bald, standing about 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing between 230 to 245 pounds. The police also said that they had some DNA evidence that was sent out to the laboratory. He was said to be still wearing the undershirt around his face as he fled the scene. It was not specified whether the analyzed DNA led to his arrest.

Vamshi Rojas, a neighbor of the victim was shocked that the woman was targeted in the first place. “What kind of mentality do you have to break into an elderly woman’s house”, she said.

Miami police Sgt. Freddie Cruz stated “His actions were, I mean, so aggressive, choking her, ripping her clothes off, and fondling her and he also attempted to penetrate her.”

The case against Chavez will be heard by Circuit Court Judge Stacy D. Glick on November 13th.

“Stand Your Ground” Manslaughter Road-Rage Shooting Case to Begin

October 25, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

An apparent case of road-rage escalated to the shooting of an off-duty federal Customs and Border Protection agent when the agent followed the suspect pulling his car into a post office parking lot. The agent was killed as a result of the shooting.

James Patrick Wonder, 69, a retired Miramar man allegedly shot and killed Donald Pettit after an intense argument as the two men were driving in Pembroke Pines back in 2008.

Court officials returned to the post office crime scene on Monday, located at Pines Boulevard and Dykes Road.

According to the police report, on the morning of Aug. 5, 2008, Wonder and Pettit got into a shouting match, pointing fingers at each other while driving in the vicinity. Pettit, who was 52 at the time and who worked as a polygrapher for the agency, then got out of his car to confront Wonder in the parking lot. It was then, when Petit left his vehicle, that Wonder shot the agent once in the head.

Originally, authorities wanted to charge Wonder with premeditated first degree murder. However he has since been indicted on manslaughter charges by a Florida grand jury. He was then released after posting bond in the amount of $10,000.00. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted
Wonder’s defense lawyers argue that he is immune from prosecution under Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense law. They have stated that Wonder feared for his life as the larger, younger and stronger man walked quickly toward him, yelling “Who do you think you are, slick?”
Wonder has claimed self-defense since his arrest, and his lawyers have given a low profile of his actions since the shooting occurred. However, records show that Wonder fled the scene and kept a dialysis appointment forty minutes later in Miramar. The next day, he greased his hair, making it appear darker, and then rented a car instead of using his own so he would not be seen in the vehicle described by Pettit’s 12-year-old daughter. Pettit’s daughter witnessed the road rage incident and overheard the shooting.

The prosecution submits that Wonder was angry and not in fear for his life.

Last Tuesday, in opening statements before Broward Circuit Judge Bernard Bober, Assistant State Attorney Michelle Boutros said “the Stand Your Ground defense should not be applied merely because Wonder says he felt threatened. It’s not what Wonder would believe,” she said. “It’s what a reasonable person would believe. Not an angry person.”

Boutros’ comments raised the probability that prosecutors will count on the testimony of nurses at the kidney dialysis center in Davie, where Wonder was arrested the following day. According to the nurses, Wonder confessed to having anger management issues, investigators said.

Wonder’s self-defense claim is relying on Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which states that individuals who are following the law have no duty to retreat in the face of a threat, and that those individuals may meet force with force if they believe it is necessary to protect themselves or another, or to prevent a forcible felony.

In a Stand Your Ground case, a judge listens to the evidence without a jury present and decides whether it is likely that the defendant was acting to prevent death or grievous bodily harm to himself or another person in an area he had the right to be. If the defense succeeds, the judge will usually dismiss the case.

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law came into the National spotlight when police became the target of anger and protest for initially failing to arrest George Zimmerman after he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.

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Trio to Be Charged in Deadly Two County Crime Spree involving Armed Robberies and Murder

October 18, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

After serving two years for an armed robbery, Willie Barney was released from state prison in July. The crime spree began a short time later, investigators say.

Willie Barney, 19, Dedrick Brown, 20 and Travares Santiago, 20, were arrested on Sept. 23 after police say they robbed and shot Officer Herman Joseph, sparking a massive manhunt.

Joseph, a six year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department was off-duty, doing volunteer maintenance work on Saturday, Sept. 22nd at the Union Christian Bible church, 6701 NW Seventh Ave, in the little Haiti neighborhood adjacent to Liberty city when three men approached him in the parking lot. They demanded his jewelry and then shot him in the chest with a .45-caliber pistol. As the shot was fired, Officer Joseph quickly rotated his body, most likely saving him from being critically injured.

Joseph managed to call 911, telling the dispatcher “Ok, uh. Stop me at 3-15 at 6701 NW 7th Avenue. Off-duty officer shot.” The reference to a 3-15 is police code for an emergency, need assistance immediately. After the dispatcher asked the officer to tell her his name, and which Police Agency he worked for, fire rescue was sent to the scene and Officer Joseph was taken to the hospital. The officer was released from the hospital a few days later.

Joseph described his assailants as “three black males about five foot 7 or five foot 8, light complexion”. He also told the dispatcher that they were all wearing black clothing.
Click here to listen to the entire 911 exchange and the 911 dispatcher’s subsequent call for assistance from fire rescue

Officer Joseph’s concise description of his attackers has now been linked to a string of robberies, and at least one murder. Although Joseph stated that the men left on foot, police began their search for a maroon Pontiac that was used in other crimes that fit the description given by Officer Joseph of the three men.

On Aug. 9, three men robbed a man who was working on his truck in the Brownsville section of Miami, south of Hialeah. Jewelry and his cell phone were taken. The victim identified the men as the same corresponding to Officer Joseph’s portrayal.

On Sept. 18, police say at least two of the same three men robbed Barrington Kerr, 55, and another man in the 300 block of Northwest 190th Street. The men stole Kerr’s chain, and then shot him, leading to his death, according to a Miami Gardens police report.

Another unspecified man was shot in the incident. He survived and identified Barney and Brown as his attackers. Since Santiago was known as the usual driver of the getaway vehicle it is suspected that he was more than likely involved in this crime as well. Police believe it was 19-year-old Barney who pulled the trigger.

On Sept. 20, the same men apparently robbed a Miami Shores man who was in front of his home mowing his lawn. A neighbor, who chased the car, was able to make a note of the license plate number and describe the vehicle to police as a maroon Pontiac.

The three suspects were captured in the Pontiac shortly after the last shooting.

In a Thursday afternoon news conference State Attorney’s Katherine Fernandez Rundle said “We call them the “Crime Spree Trio,” and also said “It took a lot of work in connecting the dots.”

Fernandez Rundle also said the three men showed no regard for human life when they robbed their victims. “Two victims, in two of the separate incidents purported that gunman Willie Barney had the look of death in his eyes as he pointed the gun at them,” said Fernandez-Rundle.

Barney is no stranger to the law. When he was 16, he was arrested for armed robbery and was sentenced to one year in prison as a “youthful offender,” court records show.

The three men are now facing a number of very serious charges after prosecutors say they are now able to tie them to at least five violent robberies, and a murder; their actions culminating in the shooting of Officer Joseph. The charges are expected to include murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and armed robbery.

Police have also charged the men with another robbery dating back to late July.

Detectives from three separate police agencies; Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Hialeah are investigating other robberies possibly linked to the threesome.

Medicare Fraud; Federal probe spotlights South Florida clinics

October 4, 2012 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

South Florida healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses were detained and charged with submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare; totaling in excess of two-hundred million dollars.

Federal judge Peter Palermo set bail on most of the defendants between $100,000 and $150,000 each. A total of 33 South Florida health care professionals were arrested as part of the ongoing federal investigation.

In federal court one of the accused members of the group seemed confused, saying to Palermo “I don’t even know what I’m charged with.” Palermo told him, “You’re charged in a conspiracy to receive health care kickbacks.” Some of the defendants will face a hearing on Friday. .

Also in Miami, Federal authorities said that three people were arrested at LTC Professional Consultants and charged in a scheme to swindle the system. Authorities said that another nearby Miami based healthcare facility; Professional Homecare Solutions was involved with fraudulent billing for home health care; totaling in excess of 74 million dollars.

Another facility: Hollywood Pavilion, a psychiatric hospital, was also said to have been involved in $67 million of suspected fraudulent billing. Five people affiliated with the hospital, including its chief executive officer, were charged in this case, one of the nation’s largest strikes ever against Medicare fraud. The defendants allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare paying bribes and kickbacks to patient brokers, then creating false documents to cover their tracks.

Medicare scams involving medical equipment and physical therapy has prospered in South Florida for years, making the area a national focus for Medicare exploitation.

At a press conference on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder said the case revealed an alarming trend of criminal attempts to steal billions of taxpayer dollars Holder labeled Thursday’s action against Medicare fraud one of the largest of its kind.
“The total includes over $230 million in home health care fraud, more than $100 million in mental health care fraud, and approximately $49 million in ambulance transportation fraud.

“Thanks to the outstanding work of federal authorities – and the assistance of state and local partners – as of today, most of these individuals have been arrested or surrendered,” Holder said.

“Such an act not only takes precious resources but it drives up health care costs and affects the strength of Medicare,” Holder said. “And it disproportionately victimizes some of the most vulnerable people in our society: the elderly and impoverished Americans.”

“Many of those arrested violated the sacred oath they took to be medical practitioners,” said Holder.

Holder further went on to say that the federal government was determined to be very aggressive in its ongoing crackdown on Medicare fraud.

The arrests revealed were a share of a nationwide take down of Medicare fraud suspects in Baton Rouge, La, Brooklyn, N.Y, Chicago, IL, Dallas and Houston, TX as well as Los Angeles, CA. More than 60 medical professionals were arrested in the operation and allegedly responsible for more than a total of $429 million in fraudulent claims. A federal strike force charged more than 90 people in total.

In addition to Thursday’s arrests, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius mentioned that her agency used new authority under the federal health care law to stop future payments to many of the health care providers suspected of fraud.

She unwaveringly stated that the arrests target “criminal enterprises that have been lining their pockets with funds from the Medicare trust fund.”

“We’ve taken down enterprises that in some cases have been robbing taxpayers for years,” she said.

This week’s Medicare fraud bust follows another colossal takedown in May, when officials arrested more than 100 people and charged them with defrauding the government of more than $450 million.