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Press Release
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JUDIE OLIVERA was sentenced today to a term of 40 years in prison for her role in the May 2012 home-invasion robbery of victim Miles Klein, which resulted in Klein’s death. On June 26, 2018, GIBRON LOPEZ was sentenced to a term of 40 years in prison, which must run consecutively to a prior prison sentence of five years, for his role in the home-invasion robbery. Both sentences were imposed by United States District Judge Katherine Polk Failla. LOPEZ and OLIVERA were convicted of Hobbs Act robbery and Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy following a jury trial in October 2017 before Judge Failla.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “The defendants committed a violent home-invasion robbery, resulting in the brutal death of Miles Klein. Having been convicted at trial, the defendants will now spend decades in prison for this horrific crime. We thank our remarkable partners at the ATF and NYPD for their tireless efforts to bring these defendants to justice.”
According to the Indictment, other filings in Manhattan federal court, and the evidence admitted at trial:
In May 2012, OLIVERA, who had a preexisting relationship with Klein, set up a home invasion robbery, which targeted Klein’s drugs and drug proceeds. OLIVERA recruited LOPEZ and another man to commit the robbery. On May 15, 2012, OLIVERA gained access to Klein’s apartment in the Bronx, and LOPEZ and the other man, armed with a wrench and a rubber mallet, respectively, followed her there. LOPEZ and the other man struggled with Klein at the door, striking him in the head repeatedly with the wrench and the mallet, binding his eyes and mouth with duct tape, and gagging him. During the assault, OLIVERA stole a safe containing cash, among other items, from Klein’s apartment. LOPEZ and the other man then dragged Klein’s body to the bathroom, where they left him. They discarded the murder weapons and their bloody clothes in a sewer, and later split the proceeds of the robbery. Police responded to the scene on May 16, 2012, after receiving a 911 call from concerned family members. Klein was ultimately pronounced dead as a result of the blunt force trauma to the head and obstruction of his airway.
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In addition to prison terms, LOPEZ, 37, and OLIVERA, 40, both of the Bronx, New York, were each sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Strategic Pattern Armed Robbery Task Force, and the New York City Police Department.
This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Gina M. Castellano, Christopher J. DiMase, and Justina L. Geraci are in charge of the prosecution.