A former Miami-Dade County police chief has been arrested after officials said he embezzled public funds and allegedly spent a good chunk of it at luxury watchmaker Rolex.
Sergio Velazquez, 62, who was taken into custody on Monday as he left his home, served as Hialeah police chief from 2012 until his suspension in 2021. He’s been charged with structuring grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle called the facts of the case “shocking.”
Around the time of his suspension, Velazquez’s salary was $211,000 and he was the second-highest-paid city employee. He was suspended by newly elected Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo in November 2021.
An investigation was spurred after the current police chief, George Fuente, found alleged discrepancies regarding petty cash and seized funds that had been stored in the department’s safe and filed a complaint.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement alleges Velazquez made over 900 cash deposits into several personal bank accounts. The deposits were allegedly all under $10,000, so the chief could avoid federal reporting requirements.
The sources of the money were confidential police operations and court-ordered forfeitures.
After going through the man’s financial records, police found he had made over $300,000 in purchases from Rolex, $11,000 from Cartier, $6,700 at Louis Vuitton and $5,000 at Versace.
The suspicious cash deposits stopped following Velazquez’s suspension in late 2021.
In the final five months of his tenure, roughly $560,000 in funds were unaccounted for, authorities said. About 62 deposits were made into the man’s account at the time.
Officials said the probe required 4,500 hours of investigative work, executing subpoenas of financial records and search warrants and conducting interviews.
Velazquez was being held on $30,000 bond. He appeared in court on Tuesday and was granted bail. His attorney entered a non-guilty plea on his behalf, according to NBC Miami.
