Former Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez was arrested Monday morning on a number of fees associated to monetary crimes, in keeping with the Miami-Dade State Lawyer’s Workplace.
Velazquez, 61, was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Middle on fees of cash laundering, organized fraud, and first-degree grand theft. His bond was set at $30,000.
“Regulation enforcement officers are held to the next commonplace of diploma and character. They count on to uphold the belief that the general public is positioned in them. On this case, it revealed that Velasquez himself violated the belief integrity anticipated of him because the police chief,” stated John Beck, particular agent in cost, throughout a Monday afternoon press convention.
Velazquez served as Hialeah’s high cop from 2012 till his removing by former Mayor Esteban Bovo in 2021. An arrest warrant reveals that following his departure, the Hialeah Police Division was “unable to account for big quantities of ‘petty money’ utilized by the HPD Particular Investigations Part (SIS) for narcotics investigations that was disbursed throughout Velazquez’s tenure.”
Between 2015 and 2021, investigators say roughly 100 petty money checks had been cashed, totaling greater than $2.8 million. Solely about $209,000—roughly 7.3%—was documented as official SIS bills. That leaves practically $2.6 million unaccounted for.
The warrant additionally highlights one other $1 million lacking from 20 court-awarded civil forfeitures between 2016 and 2021. Investigators say that cash “was by no means submitted to the HPD property unit” and was as an alternative “held in a secure inside Velazquez’s administrative suite pending fruits of the forfeiture proceedings.”
Throughout that very same time interval, detectives say Velazquez made a collection of structured money deposits into private financial institution accounts to keep away from federal foreign money reporting necessities. The warrant states that 153 deposits totaling over $293,000 had been made, with roughly $265,000 going towards bank card and different debt funds.
Authorities famous that Velazquez had no important money deposits after October 29, 2021—simply 10 days earlier than he was relieved of obligation.
As of Monday afternoon, Velazquez remained in custody on the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Middle.
