News from the State Attorney's Office

STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE NEWSLETTER

I am proud to announce the closure of the State Attorney's Office (SAO) first human trafficking case involving the labor trafficking of a minor. The defendant, Feliciano Simon-Jose, pled guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

Our victim was a 13 year old child who came to the United States in 2017. Due to severe hardships in their country of origin, our victim and her mother entered the U.S. with hopes of a better life. Once in the U.S., the victim met the defendant at church. Unbeknownst to her mother, the defendant befriended our victim and began to court her. The defendant was 35 years old. After promising the victim a better life, he convinced the 13 year old child to run away from home and to be his "wife". He also promised to enroll her in school so she could have a better future. The victim believed the defendant and ran away from the home she shared with her mother and multiple other families.

Once the victim began living with the defendant, he beat her, forced himself upon her, and made her work in Homestead in an agricultural field doing manual labor. He then pocketed the money she earned and never allowed her to enroll in school. Our victim's mother, unaware of the laws in the U.S. and fearful, initially sought help and advice from coworkers. Meanwhile, the defendant continued to control the victim and not allow her to contact or see her mother. Eventually the victim managed to run away from the defendant's abuse and disclosed to her mother. Once the victim's mother discovered the extent of what was going on, she confided to a coworker who then guided her on how to report it to the police.

Our SAO Human Trafficking Unit was contacted and worked closely with police, who together unraveled the horrific details of what the victim had endured. The Unit was instrumental not only in securing a conviction on this case and getting the victim and her mother the justice they deserved, but also in steering the prosecution through a victim-centered approach. Accordingly, our charging decisions and prosecution strategies were victim-centered, as were the services secured to ensure victim support throughout the criminal court process. I am happy to report our victim is now going to school for the first time in her life, the family is receiving counseling, and they now have a place to call home that they don't have to share with multiple families.

This case is a grim reminder that human trafficking isn't something that only happens in movies and it also isn't just a foreign problem. It is our problem. While we have been securing convictions in human trafficking in the form of sex trafficking since 2012, labor trafficking is a form of human trafficking which has evaded detection from law enforcement for far too long. We are actively seeking to change this.

It is cases like this one that define our Human Trafficking Unit; dedicated and victim-centered. We are very lucky to have such dedicated SAO team players working together for our victims. I thank each of them for their diligence and persistence in this case.

Sincerely,

Police Officer Charged with Dealing in Stolen Property

An investigation conducted by the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) Professional Compliance Bureau, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Public Corruption Division of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has led to the arrest of 6-year veteran MDPD Officer Orestes Santiago Verdura and an associate, 38-year-old Ariel Sanchez.

The charges stem from an investigation of stolen trucks allegedly delivered by Sanchez and allegedly sold (or brokered) by Verdura. Verdura, presently suspended by MDPD, was formerly assigned to Uniform Patrol in the Town of Miami Lakes. Both individuals are being charged with:

1 count - Conspiracy to Commit Organized Scheme to Defraud - 3rd Degree felony

1 count - Organized Scheme to Defraud - 3rd Degree felony

2 counts - Dealing in Stolen Property - 3rd Degree felonies

Bond is set at $110,000 for each individual with a Nebbia requirement.

The arrest resulted from information provided by a confidential informant who alleged that Officer Verdura was engaged in acts that involved dealing in stolen property, specifically stolen vehicles. Initially, the discussions involved stealing and selling a Lamborghini from an acquaintance they both knew. However, that plan fell through with no action undertaken. Later conversations between Verdura and the informant resulted in Verdura brokering two separate sales of Ford F-250 pickup trucks reported stolen in Palm Beach County. In both instances, payment was made in official Miami-Dade County funds to Verdura, who collected the payment while on duty, dressed in his police uniform, and driving a marked MDPD police vehicle. Verdura was taken into custody immediately after the sale of the second vehicle.

"Officer Verdura betrayed everything and everyone he pledged to honor when he began engaging in his alleged criminal activities," said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "I am proud of the swift action taken by the Miami-Dade Police Department to end Verdura's fraudulent activities and bring him and his associate to justice."

When Hurricane Michael devastated the Florida Panhandle, the Interstate Unit of the SAO Child Support Program (CSP) accepted the challenge of assisting Marianna County and Panama City worksites in reviewing and processing their Interstate Initiating Case Tasks. This was vital to the success of each child support case. These tasks, which took several months to complete, included a total of 605 tasks with a 99% rate of compliance.

Because of this unified effort, this CSP Interstate Unit was recently recognized as the SAO Team of the Month.

"This is another great example of extending teamwork outside our own agency", commented State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "This is why the partnership we have with the Department of Revenue makes our Child Support Program so successful."

SAO Interstate Child Support Program Unit Recognized

As part of the completion of a $30 million renovation project of the Joseph Caleb Center, the State Attorney's Office has opened a Satellite Branch at the modernized center located at 5400 NW 22nd Avenue in the City of Miami.

On the center's 2nd floor is an office staffed with Child Support Program and Criminal Intake personnel. In an ongoing effort to be more accessible to the community, residents can now walk in to the office to open or close a child support case, enter into written agreements, re-instate drivers' licenses, seek enforcement of child support orders, and complete legal child support referrals. Residents can also walk-in with inquiries regarding misdemeanor cases, worthless check inquiries, and eligibility for sealing/expunging of a criminal case.

The Caleb Center SAO office is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8AM - 4:30PM. For additional information, satellite office staff can be reached by calling 305-636-2243.

SAO Satellite Office Now Open to Community

At the center's 2nd floor is an office staffed with child support program and criminal intake personnel. In an ongoing effort to be more accessible to the community, residents can now walk in to the office to open or close a child support case, enter into written agreements, re-instate drivers' licenses, seek enforcement of child support orders, and complete legal child support referrals. Residents can also walk-in with inquiries regarding misdemeanor cases, worthless check inquiries, and seal/expunge of record eligibility.

The Caleb Center SAO office is open to the public from 8AM - 4:30PM. For additional information, satellite office staff can be reached by calling 305-636-2243.

Courthouse Highlights

Chief Assistant Don Horn, Assistant Chief of Special Prosecutions and Legal Unit Christine Zahralban, and Senior Trial Counsel Reid Rubin obtained a Culpable Negligence conviction against a police officer defendant before Judge Fine.

Division Chiefs Ray Araujo and Rachel Morales-Gellis received a guilty verdict in front of Judge Pooler. The defendant was convicted of First-Degree Murder, Burglary with an Assault or Battery, Animal Cruelty, and Aggravated Battery.

ASAs Yara Dodin and Alejandra Bernadet received a guilty verdict in front of Judge Ward. The defendant was charged with Aggravated Battery with Great Bodily Harm enhanced with a Deadly Weapon aggravator.

Gangs Prosecution Unit ASAs Keri Bagala and Stephen Mitchell secured a guilty as charged verdict. The defendant was charged with Armed Burglary with an Assault/Battery, Attempted Armed Robbery while Masked, Armed False Imprisonment, and Conspiracy to Tamper with Physical Evidence.

ASAs Kelly Hartman and Meagan Sarraff were successful in obtaining a guilty verdict in a case in front of Judge Ward. The defendant was Pro Se and the case was very difficult to prove.

ASAs Mackenzie Morey and Khalil Quinan secured a guilty verdict in front of Judge Johnson on a five-year-old cocaine trafficking case. After an extensive narcotics investigation involving a confidential informant and video surveillance, 1.7 kilograms of cocaine and $2,000 were recovered in possession of the defendant. During trial, both state and federal officers testified, and the jury found the defendant guilty as charged.

Division Chiefs Sara Imm and Nilo Cuervo received a guilty verdict in a case in front of Judge Schlesinger. The defendant was charged with First Degree Attempted Premeditated Murder with a Weapon, Aggravated Battery, and False Imprisonment with a Weapon. In this case, the defendant brutally attacked his roommate whom he met through Craigslist two weeks prior and left her for dead.

ASAs Kerrie Crockett and Jennie Conklin were successful in obtaining a guilty verdict on a Battery on the Elderly and False imprisonment case after two hours of jury deliberation. This case involved a uniformed City of Miami Police Officer who tried to force a Jackson Behavioral Health Hospital staff member to re-admit his niece, who was a juvenile at the time, into the facility.

SAO Alumni Profile


Chadd Lackey, New Jersey State Commission on Investigation Deputy Director/General Counsel

When you mention the name of the former Assistant State Attorney we are highlighting this month, everyone smiles and remembers him fondly. Not only was he a wonderful prosecutor, he was also SAO's first community prosecutor and wrote the grant for our Community Outreach Office at the Caleb Center.

We are very honored to have Chadd Lackey as our SAO Alumni Profile this month.

"Chadd's personal magnetism, combined with his quick wit, creative vision and keen intellect, laid a firm foundation upon which our Community Outreach Division has continued to build its success," noted State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. "Chadd's community efforts helped many see that the justice system in Miami-Dade can and should always work for them."

Originally from the Detroit metropolitan area, Chadd Lackey didn't grow up wanting a career in law. But when he was about 13 years old, that changed. "I was with my dad going to his friend's house to get something. When we got there, the house was huge, and it had a 2-3 car garage. I asked my father what this friend did for a living. He told me that he was a lawyer. That's when I thought to myself that I might want to become a lawyer," he laughs.

Mr. Lackey went to Northwood University, a small college in the area, where he majored in advertising and marketing. "Most of the people that went to school there ended up working in the automotive industry. I ended up working at Toyota."

Even though things were going well at work, Mr. Lackey attended a meeting that changed the course of his life forever. "I was in a meeting and I looked around. I commented to a friend that I was smarter than all those people. My friend said, 'Why don't you go to law school?'. And that is when I decided to go to law school."

Mr. Lackey attended Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1993. It was there that he met someone that would impact the direction his legal career would take: Professor Charles H. Rogovin, who was a well-respected prosecutor in Philadelphia. He was the most influential professor that Lackey had in law school and gave Mr. Lackey "a great appreciation for what the wok of a prosecutor is."

From Temple Law, he was recruited by the SAO. He started at the office in 1996 but he remembers it as if it were yesterday.

"I loved it from day one. From the moment I walked into the building, I knew that this was the place that I was supposed to be. I remember the training room and even the table and chair where I sat."

Mr. Lackey admits to having had a charmed existence at SAO. As he recalls his time with us, you can sense the excitement and joy in his voice as he is interviewed.

"I became an Assistant Chief in County Court along with now US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana Fajardo Orshan. Then I was the 'C', 'B' and subsequently the 'A' lawyer in Judge Roberto Piñeiro's courtroom. He was notorious for having the lowest caseload in the court house. That is because he really pressured the State to really evaluate their cases on the front end. You always had to be super prepared for calendar."

As a 'B' prosecutor, Mr. Lackey had a case that he remembers vividly. It took quick action and persistence to clear up a case of possible mistaken identity.

The defendant was Kevin Smith and it was a straightforward case. Except that the day of the trial, the defense put forward a unique twist. They said that Kevin had not committed the crime; that the true culprit was his identical twin brother.

"I asked the judge for a short continuance and was able to find a woman that used to babysit them as kids and she could tell them apart. One of them had a particular way of walking. I was able to depose the lady. When the defendant found that out, he pled."

After being an 'A' prosecutor, Mr. Lackey left to go to a private firm but was there less than two years. His love for prosecutorial work and the SAO brought him back to the SAO where he embarked on a wonderful journey. He worked on very special projects that are still part of the State Attorney's Office today.

Mr. Lackey came back to establish State Attorney Fernandez Rundle's vision of a Community Outreach Division. He was the first to hold the position of Community Prosecutor.

"I would go to community meetings, but I would also go after hours and visit community organizations and members in their homes. I remember visiting the folks in Weed &Seed, Brothers of the Same Mind, etc.... This way I really got to know them and build a relationship between the SAO and them."

One of Mr. Lackey's priorities was to attend the community meetings that focused on police shootings.

"We had to develop relationships with all fringes of the community. And this allowed us to implement programs that worked."

One of the projects that is still thriving today is the SAO Sealing and Expungement Program. Mr. Lackey put on the first one ever in our community.

Another program that worked well paired the private sector with youth. "We received a grant that we used for a program that targeted gang-affiliated youth with local contractors. The youth would work and get paid through the grant money and they would rebuild houses. It was a huge success."

"The State Attorney built a certain culture at the office and she is open to new and innovative ideas. She always gave me her full attention and her time when I came to present all of my crazy ideas."

After spending four years as the Community Prosecutor, Mr. Lackey left the office to relocate to New Jersey so that his children could grow up near their family.

He passed the New Jersey Bar and was hired by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI).

The SCI is an independent fact-finding agency that investigates waste, fraud and abuse of government tax dollars. It is empowered to monitor and assess the threat posed by organized crime and to recommend new laws and other systemic remedies to protect the integrity of the governmental process.

The Commission's work has saved taxpayers millions of dollars and has been the catalyst for numerous important statutory, regulatory and administrative reforms bolstering the integrity of government at all levels.

"I enjoy the work that I do and have been able to work on some important investigations," says Mr. Lackey. "But nothing compares to the time that I spent at the SAO."

Mr. Lackey is still very passionate about his time as a prosecutor and the role that prosecutors have in the criminal justice system. "Prosecutors have enormous power and discretion. Our true job is to do justice. Every file you touch is an opportunity to do what is right and impact someone's life. It is not always easy to do, but it is demanded of you."

REPORT PUBLIC CORRUPTION !

Don't Allow the Public's Trust to be Jeopardized.

Hotline:

305-547-3300

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Our Community Outreach Events

July 6 - Resource Frenzy, Legion Park, 6447 NE 7 Avenue, Miami, FL, 33138, 10AM - 2PM

July 10 - ID Theft & Fraud Prevention for Seniors, City of West Miami Senior Community Center, 901 SW 62 Avenue, Miami, FL, 33155, 11AM - 12:PM

July 11 - Coconut Grove Crime Watch Meeting, Greater St. Paul AME, 3680 Thomas Avenue, Miami, FL, 33133, 6PM - 8PM

July 13 - 2019 Community Outreach Fair, The Church of the Incarnation, 1835 NW 54 Street, Miami, FL, 33142, 10AM - 2PM

July 13 - Community Meeting w/Church Leaders & Ministerial Alliance, Greater St. Paul AME Church, 3680 Thomas Avenue, Miami, FL, 33133, 8AM - 11AM

July 17 - Young Economic Development Conference, Miami-Dade North Campus, 11380 NW 27 Avenue, Miami, FL, 33167, 12PM - 2:30PM

July 24 - Annual Community Information Fair, MLK Building, 2525 NW 62 Street, Miami, FL, 33142, 1PM - 5PM

July 25 - Sealing & Expungement, Community Health of South Florida, 10300 SW 216 Street, Miami, FL, 33190, 4PM - 7PM

July 27 - 2019 Health & Safety Expo, MDC Fair Expo Center Fuchs Pavilion, 10901 SW 24 Street, Miami, FL, 33165, 10AM - 4PM

July 27 - Naranja Park Family Fun Day, Naranja Park, 14150 SW 264 Street, Naranja, FL, 33032, 10AM - 3PM

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