News

On Dec. 6, Jamal Travon Brown Weathers, 23 of Fort Pierce, Florida, was ordered detained in custody pending trial by U.S. Magistrate Judge Shaniek Mills Maynard, after he was charged by federal criminal complaint for participating in a conspiracy to commit a postal/U.S. Property robbery, armed postal/U.S. Property robbery, illegal theft/possession of a U.S. Postal Service Arrow Key, and use or carrying a firearm during and in relation to, or possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

On Dec. 6, Dion De Cesare, 54, of West Palm Beach, Florida was sentenced to 71 months in prison for operating an illegal sports gambling business, conspiring to commit money laundering, using a facility of interstate commerce to carry on prostitution activities, and tax evasion. As part of his sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Robin L. Rosenberg ordered De Cesare to pay restitution to the IRS in the amount of $$1,046,224.19. The Government is seeking approximately $10,000,000 in the forfeiture of numerous items and money, including two residential properties, two commercial properties, a

On Nov. 28, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida- Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP); Broward Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces; Broward Sheriff’s Office; and Farm Share Inc. hosted a Free Food Drive-Thru Distribution at Franklin Park.

Federal prosecutors have charged Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, of Miami, Florida, a former U.S. Department of State employee who served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 and ultimately as U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, with committing multiple federal crimes by secretly acting for decades as an agent of the government of the Republic of Cuba.

A five-count indictment, lodged against Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 39, was unsealed today during the defendant’s initial appearance in federal court in Miami. Medina Rodriguez was extradited from Colombia to the United States to face federal charges.  Medina Rodriguez was indicted by a Miami federal grand jury in 2022 for charges that include conspiring to murder members of the United States Uniformed Services and attempted murder of members of the United States Uniformed Services.

On Nov. 28, a Lake Placid man entered a guilty plea in federal court to production of visual depictions involving sexual exploitation of minors.

On Nov. 17, a federal jury convicted the former major of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, of abusive sexual contact with a minor under 12 years old.

A federal criminal complaint was filed today charging City of Miami Police Department (MPD) Officer Frenel Cenat, 40, of Boynton Beach, Florida, with Hobbs Act extortion and attempted extortion under color of official right, theft of government funds, and attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

On Nov. 7, a federal jury found a former Florida International University (FIU) student guilty of three counts of cyber harassment. 

Gzuniga Ltd., and its founder, Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi, 70, entered guilty pleas today to federal charges arising from the illegal importation of merchandise made from wildlife into the United States from Colombia. 

On Nov. 14, a New York man was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for surveilling and later planning the shooting of his victim from point-blank range.

Three Indian River County, Florida residents were sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking crimes, following a long-term drug trafficking investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO).