On January 12, 2000, Richard Variance attacked a cab driver with a hammer during a robbery. He then fled the area on foot. Within 30 minutes Officers Ken Kelley and Vincent Castiglia apprehended Variance. Since the victim suffered a variety of injuries including a fractured skull, he had no memory of the incident and there were no eyewitnesses who were able to positively identify the suspect. The primary evidence was the victim’s blood found on the hands of Variance, as well as his girlfriend’s, Kathleen Walters, placing him in the victim’s yellow cab approximately 10-15 minutes prior to the incident. Violent Crimes Detective Stan Ragin was assigned the case and through his investigation was able to locate Walters. On December 19, 2001 a jury found Variance guilty of attempted murder in the second degree. On February 1, 2002, a judge sentenced him to 30 years in the Florida State Prison as a habitual Violent Felony Offender with a minimum mandatory of 15 years as a prison releasee re-offender and 10 years as a habitual violent felony offender. He was further sentenced to a consecutive 15 years for violation of probation. In a letter to Chief Roberts of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, David Schulson Assistant State Attorney, commended Officers Ken Kelley, Vincent Castiglia, Jerry Fuller and Detective Stan Ragin for their outstanding job and dedicated efforts in the apprehension and successful prosecution of Richard Variance. Mr. Schulson told Chief Roberts that the officers were extremely cooperative and a pleasure to work with during the course of the prosecution of the case.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department's Special Investigations Division has been awarded a federal narcotics grant entitled "Project Ecstasy" for the education, enforcement, intervention and prevention of deadly Club Drugs. Fort Lauderdale City employees were offered discount tickets to see television celebrity Ms. Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie) perform Neil Simon’s "The New Odd Couple” live at the Parker Playhouse on February 07th. After the show, Ms. Eden conducted a "meet and greet" session, allowing autographs and photographs of her and her staff. To complete such a love evening, Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo offered free pizza!

Project Ecstasy coordinator Detective John Liguori presented Ms. Eden with a plaque in appreciation for her contributions in supporting this federal grant in the fight to rid the City of Fort Lauderdale of illegal “Club Drugs”.

During the early part of January 2002, the City of Fort Lauderdale was the victim of several grand larcenies. In excess of 70 parking meters were stolen throughout the city. The meters were taken with the use of a pipe cutter where the suspect would cut through the metal and remove the entire meter and pole. Larceny Detective Ben Donisi was assigned the case and began his investigation into the thefts. Detective Donisi communicated with operations, assisted with action plans and disseminated flyers in an attempt to gain information into the identity of the suspect. Officer Greg Fautas assisted by passing flyers to BSO and Lauderdale By The Sea. On January 24, Detective Donisi received a phone call advising him that BSO had arrested a subject for stealing parking meters. Detective Donisi interviewed the suspect identified as Herbert Raysin. Raysin ended up confessing to not only stealing meters in Fort Lauderdale but other jurisdictions as well. The total loss to the city in parking meter equipment was approximately $32,850. Detective Donisi is commended on a job well done.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has acquired and installed a state of the art Cyanoacrylate Fuming Chamber. The new chamber replaces the existing chamber that was built by unit members some fifteen years earlier. Cyanoacrylate Fuming is a process that has been developed to “harden” latent fingerprints on evidence. Specially formulated “super glue” is heated in a controlled, sealed environment. These heated fumes are allowed to diffuse throughout the chamber. The fumes attach themselves to latent fingerprints on evidence and produce a visible white deposit. Once the fuming is completed the excess fumes are expelled from the chamber via a series of ducts. At this point the chamber is safely evacuated of fumes, the evidence can be removed and examined for latents.

The Original

The Replacement

The planning for the new chamber began during the budget process for the year 2002. It was determined that the existing Cyanoacrylate Chamber no longer fulfilled the needs of the unit, as it was ineffective, unsafe and hazardous to the members. The Crime Scene Unit located various manufacturers of commercially available Cyanoacrylate Chambers. The price for the chambers varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The most expensive chamber was quoted at $43,000 and the least was quoted as $16,000. Armed with the formal quotes the Crime Scene Unit submitted the request for funding the purchase. The funds were not available via the proposed police department budget. Budget limitations were such that it was suggested that the unit seek “alternate” funding sources via the Law Enforcement Trust Fund (grant). The unit submitted the required documentation to the grants coordinator. Late in the process it was learned that the chamber could not be funded by a grant. Knowing the chamber was needed but could not be funded the unit sought out an alternative method of acquiring it.

The City of Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale Facilities Maintenance Department was contacted. The foreman, Jerry Wilson, was presented with an unusual request. Could his cabinet shop build a Cyanoacrylate Chamber? He took on the challenge and assigned Lee Wright to the job. Lee and Forensics Detective Juan Cabrera traveled to the Coral Springs Public Safety Department to view their commercially built chamber. Detailed measurements and photographs were taken. Lee designed and built the new chamber. Assisting in the electrical phase of the project were Electrical Forman Paul Gale and Frank Speciale. The savings to the city was tremendous. The total material cost was less than $1,000. This is not the first time that the Facility Maintenance Department has come to the aid of the police department. They have built custom cabinets for the Crime Scene vans as well as vacuum chambers for the Crime Lab. The Crime Scene Unit is grateful for the skills and ingenuity of these skilled craftsmen. The City of Fort Lauderdale is fortunate to have a resource such as the cabinet shop at its disposal. Without this resource the FLPD Cyanoacrylate Fuming Chamber would not be a reality today.

On January 15, as an unsuspecting victim left her home for an out of town trip, Ryan Barret and his juvenile female accomplice had plans to burglarize her house. Barret served as the lookout while the female went inside. As the alarm was sounding the duo made off with a box full of jewelry and a stereo boom box. When police arrived at the house a neighbor was able to give them a good description of the female and the vehicle. A short time later Patrol Officers Michelle Burgess and Larry Lohsen located the vehicle and both subjects were arrested. Burglary Detective Lisa Cahir was assigned the case and during her interview with the suspects, they both confessed to the burglary. They also told Detective Cahir that they had thrown the jewelry into the Middle River and indicated where she could find it. After patrol located the jewelry the Fort Lauderdale Dive Team was called out to make the recovery. The victim reclaimed her property with very little loss.

On March 6, Mohan Harro of Sunrise flagged down Patrol Officer Rick Temple . Harro was on his way to work when he spotted a gray Chevrolet Caprice that he thought was his stolen car. Harro told Officer Temple that his vehicle had been stolen in 2000 and even identified several areas of body damage. When Officer Temple stopped the vehicle the current owner produced a clear Florida title and registration for a 1987 Chevrolet. He claimed he bought the car from a friend for $1000 8 months ago and got the vehicle registered to him. Auto Theft Detectives Robert Dietrich and Bob Grimm took the vehicle to BSO’s Task Force office and from an examination of the vehicle numbers found the proof that the vehicle was indeed the stolen vehicle of Mr. Harro. The vehicle will be returned to Mr. Harro, as he did not have full coverage insurance on it when it was stolen. The other owner is cooperating with the Task Force to back track the car’s history for the past 15 months. It seems that this car was a “VIN Switch”, where the stolen car’s VIN and ID decals were removed and a good VIN plate of a year older card was replaced onto the stolen car. Thanks to Officer Temple’s keen observation of the VIN plate on the car, another stolen vehicle was recovered.

During the afternoon of March 10, General Duty Detective Rich Rodriguez heard Officer Juan Ho advise that he was following an armed carjacking suspect vehicle. Detective Rodriguez responded to the area and caught up to Officer Ho and two other officers who were following the vehicle occupied by three subjects. Upon reaching the area of Sheridan Street and North 26 Avenue the suspects bailed out of the vehicle. Detective Rodriguez was able to catch one of the passengers and place him into custody. As the detective was placing the suspect in custody he set up a perimeter for the capture of the other two and noticed that the suspect he had in custody had socks on his hands and fit the description of the robbery suspects. A search of the vehicle produced a loaded shotgun and a ski mask. While Detective Rodriguez had the juvenile suspect in custody he was able to gather more information on the other two and pass it onto dispatch. K-9 and Patrol Officers subsequently apprehended them. Upon interviewing the suspects the one identified as Andy Wells admitted to having the shotgun and committing the car jacking. The other suspect identified as Jerome Vardaman refused to give any information. The juvenile admitted to having stolen the vehicle and admitting who and when purchased the shotgun. The investigation will be ongoing in order to bring charges against a female who set up the victim in order for the car jacking to occur. All three suspects were charged with car jacking.

On Tuesday, February 19, an FDLE special agent and Detective Richard Love of the Special Investigations Division, both members of LEACH (Law Enforcement Against Child Harm) ended a two-month Internet investigation with the arrest of a Riviera Beach police officer. He was charged with transmission of harmful materials to a minor after he made contact with an undercover officer posing as a fourteen year-old boy in an America On Line chat room. The arrestee solicited sexual favors, sent images of himself and had sexually explicit telephone conversation with the detective posing as the fourteen year-old.

During an investigation Burglary Detective Chris Smith received information that one Thomas Howell was advertising the sale of a satellite phone, which he had stolen from his last job as a yacht captain in Georgia. Detective Smith organized a buy bust where Howell was to sell the $6000 phone to undercover Detective Jack Gee. With the whole Burglary Unit assisting, the sale went through as planned outside of a convenience store next to the Riverside Mariana. Howell was taken into custody without incident. Howell confessed to stealing the phone, which was confiscated along with his expensive mountain bike. Howell was charged with dealing in stolen property.

On February 6, Code Enforcement Detective Estelle Abrams responded to the Texaco Express Lube located at 1440 West State Road 84, where asphalt was poured into a drain causing approximately $3000 worth of damage. The call was originally logged in as vandalism. Further investigation revealed this was not only vandalism but also an extortion case. It seemed the owner of the Texaco, Don Hynds, and the owner of the ABCO Paving Company, Anthony Benedict, have had a long running disputes over money allegedly owed to Benedict. Over the last several months Benedict made several demands to Hynds for the money. When the money was not paid within a certain time, coincidentally vandalism would occur the next day. Detective Abrams contacted the Special Investigations Division’s Vice Squad who set up an undercover meeting with the victim and suspect. The suspect once again attempted to extort the victim for $2200. The victim was assured that if the money were paid he would not have any more problems. Benedict was arrested and charged with extortion. Subsequent charges of vandalism will be presented to the State Attorney’s Office.

Norman Beech committed two banks robberies and 7 convenience store robberies during the month of June. During Violent Crimes Detective Steve Palazzo’s investigation Beech was arrested and confessed to all the crimes. He pled guilty to all the charges prior to his trial. He was sentenced to life without parole.

Lee Dixon was being sought by the Violent Crimes Unit for two separate robbery cases committed in the Gateway area. Female victims were attacked as the exited their vehicles. Violent Crimes Detective David Jenkins was assigned the cases and began his investigation by distributing wanted flyers throughout the department. Fugitive Detective Chuck Morrow was contacted and requested to help in locating and apprehending Dixon. Detective Morrow began his investigation and met with several street sources as well as conducting surveillance on an apartment complex, but with no success. A short time later the detective received information that Dixon was visiting a drug area in the 500 block of NW 22 Avenue. Over the course of the next several hours Detective kept Dixon under surveillance observing him walk into a store with several other males. Dixon was taken into custody at that location without incident. He gave a taped confession to Detective Jenkins.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s Special Investigations Division has been awarded a federal narcotics grant entitled “Project Ecstasy” for the education, enforcement, intervention and prevention of deadly Club Drugs. Fort Lauderdale City employees were offered discount tickets to see television celebrity Ms. Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie) perform Neil Simon’s “The New Odd Couple” live at the Parker Playhouse on February 7. After the show, Ms. Eden conducted a “meet and greet” session, allowing autographs and photographs of her and her staff. To complete such a lovely evening, Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo offered free pizza. Project Ecstasy coordinator Detective John Liguori presented Ms. Eden with a plaque in appreciation for her contributions in supporting this federal grant in the fight to rid the City of Fort Lauderdale of illegal “Club Drugs”.

In January of 2002, Keno Gaitor fraudulently obtained a Florida drivers license and social security number, which was the legitimate identification of one Kevin Strickland. Gaitor and Henry Jones used this identification to go to Maroone Chevrolet at 1300 North Federal Highway and purchase a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe, valued at $42,000. The same day, the duo went to Power Sports of Fort Lauderdale and used the same identification to purchase a brand new 2001 Suzuki motorcycle, valued at $13,000. When the pair left they stopped at the Badcock Furniture store at 870 West Sunrise Boulevard and completed a credit application in an attempt to obtain furniture, but were scared away by a curious salesman. On February 7, the real Kevin Strickland, “Trooper” Kevin Strickland was contacted by the credit bureau and made aware of the unusual activity. Trooper Strickland was provided with his credit report and confronted Maroone Chevrolet and discovered he was the owner of a new vehicle, of which he has never seen. Auto Theft Detective Russ Suess responded to the dealership and met with Strickland and the representatives of Maroone Chevrolet. It was learned that Gaitor and Jones would be heading to a small insurance company in Margate to obtain an insurance policy for the stolen Tahoe so that they would be able to receive a metal license plate they needed to drive the vehicle. Detective Suess and Trooper Strickland (a former LET of Margate PD) contacted the Margate PD for assistance. The insurance company was survieled and on February 7, Gaitor and Jones arrived driving the Tahoe. Both were arrested without incident. Both admitted to the thefts and fraud. The confessions led to the recovery of the Tahoe and the motorcycle.

On February 5, 2002 Crime Scene Investigator Kim Pavlik responded to a fraud that had been committed at the Galleria Mall and processed the scene. Latent prints were lifted from a counter top, a check was chemically processed and a few various items were collected and later processed in the lab. Prints were submitted into the AFIS system, searched on the state database with FDLE. Within a few minutes Chief Examiner Carl Ciotola made a hit. Subject identified was one Julio Ramon Ortega out of Miami having numerous arrests out of Dade County. This marks the 200th AFIS criminal hit without any other investigative information. Once again the technology purchased by the City of Fort Lauderdale proves itself.

During the month of January, Patrol Officers Mark Parnell and Scott Neily responded to 1100 NE 14 Avenue in the Lake Ridge area in reference to a domestic disturbance. The officers began a field investigation and were able to determine that a possible narcotics trafficking organization was operating from within the residence. Officers immediately contacted SIU where a narcotics investigation was initiated. As the investigation progressed the detectives discovered that suspects in the organization were shipping several thousands Oxycontin pills from the South Florida area to Boston, Massachusetts via Federal Express. Detectives were able to interdict a package bound for Boston with an excess of 1000 pills. The detectives executed a search warrant and arranged to have the package delivered in an undercover capacity to the Boston area with the assistance of Massachusetts State Police and DEA. As a result the money source in Boston and three other suspects were arrested. Two more search warrants were executed in the South Florida area with the assistance of FLPD Drug Trafficking Unit. As a result 8 suspects were arrested on drug trafficking charges. Approximately 1 kilo of Oxycontin pills, 3 pounds of cannabis, 1000 ecstasy pills, 500 Xanax pills, ¼ kilo of cocaine, 2 vehicles and $11,000 in currency was seized.

In January Willard Corbett was fired from his job as a maintenance worker with All Service Refuse. Within the next several weeks Corbett visited several tool companies and purchased hundreds of tools using a fraudulent All Service Refuse purchase order. Corbett then pawned the tools at local pawnshops all across Broward County. All American Tool became suspicious of the repeated purchases and called the police. Larceny Detective Ben Donisi did the follow-up and subsequent charges in that case. Economic Crimes Detective Mike Arbit was assigned a portion of the case and learned that Corbett had purchased tools from Granger Industrial Supplies and pawned them at Federal Estate Buyers and Discount pawnshop the same day. Corbett ended up stealing $2,961 worth of tools from Grainger Industrial Supply. He was charged with Grand Theft and Dealing in Stolen Property. Burglary Detective Cheryl Donisi was assigned the remaining portion of the case, charging Corbett with two counts of grand theft for charging $10,000 worth of tools to All Service Refuse and 9 charges of dealing in stolen property where she recovered $3000 worth of tools from pawnshops.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s Special Investigations Division Raiders continue to make an impact on cleaning up the areas of the city that drug dealers frequent. Below are some of the search warrants executed by the unit.

• Detective Todd Hill led the investigation at 825 NW 10 Terrace in Home Beautiful Park, cocaine and $800 was seized along with 3 arrests.
• Detective Kathy Fromm led the investigation at 704 NW 12 Avenue in the Durrs area, cannabis and gun was seized along with one arrest.
• Detective Jerry Fuller led the investigation at 1611 NW 16 Street in Lauderdale Manors, Cannabis, 2 guns and $1800 in cash was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective Robert Norvis led the investigation at 1107 NW 4 Avenue in South Middle River.
• Detective RussSanders led the investigation at 725 NW 11 Avenue in Home Beautiful Park, 1 arrest was made.
• Detective Carl Hannold led the investigation at 1706 NW 9 St in the Durrs area, 21 crack rocks and 1 bag cocaine was seized along with 2 arrests.
• Detective Pat Hart led the investigation at 177 SW 9 Terrace in Sailboat Bend, 5 crack rocks and 1 bag of marijuana was seized along with 2 arrests.
• Detective Luis Alvarez led the investigation at 516 NW 18 Avenue in Dorsey Riverbend, 1 bag of marijuana was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective Tim Shields led the investigation at 615 NW 18 Street in South Middle River, 15 pounds of marijuana and $1500 was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective Luis Alvarez led the investigation at 1431 NW 21 Street in Lauderdale Manors, 120 grams of marijuana and $170 was seized along with 2 arrests.
• Detective Jerry Fuller led the investigation 1451 NW 21 Street in Lauderdale Manors, 50 bags of cocaine was seized.
• Detective Mike Heller led the investigation at 1037 NW 5 Avenue, 91 crack rocks and 64 bags of marijuana was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective Luis Alvarez led the investigation at 1517 NW 19 Avenue in Lauderdale Manors, 1 pound of marijuana, 2 shotguns and $1400 was seized along with 2 arrests.
• Detective Jerry Fuller led the investigation at 705 NW 2 Street, 109 bags of marijuana was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective Jerry Fuller led the investigation at 736 NW 15 Terrace in the Durrs area, 27 bags of marijuana was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective John Jensen led the investigation at 1132 NW 5 Court in South Middle River, 5 grams of crack and 4 grams of marijuana was seized along with 1 arrest.
• Detective Ignacio Jackson led the investigation in the 700 block of NW 15 Terrace in the Durrs area. Along with Officer Allen Diamond and Officer Clay Barrett 9 vehicles and $1300 was seized along with 14 arrests.

• 2 kilos of cocaine and $100,000 in cash

  On February 1, FLPD’s Major Narcotics Unit conducted a reverse sting at 1827 N. Dixie Highway in Middle River Terrace. Surveillance of the subjects led to a hotel room and the discovery of 2 kilos of cocaine and $100,000 in cash. Along with the seizure, 4 arrests were made.

• Members of the Strategic Investigations Unit along with members of the Major Narcotics Unit ended a two month long investigation into a ring of entertainers selling cocaine in the Fort Lauderdale nightclubs. Several cocaine buys were made and a search warrant was executed at 1033 NW 15 Street, the subject’s residence. A total of three arrests were made along with 24 grams of cocaine, GHB and Crystal Methamphetamine was seized. Approximately $500 in drug proceeds were located and seized as well.

Top 10 Stolen Vehicles: 1. 1986-1991 Toyota Camry 2. 1994-2000 Honda Accord 3. 1987-1000 Toyota Corolla 4. 1989-1997 Ford Van 5. 1989-2000 Ford F150 6. 1997-2000 Ford Taurus 7. 1991-2000 Ford Mustang 8. 1992-1999 Honda Civic 9. 1997-2000 Mitsubishi Mirage 10. 1976-1979 Olds Cutlass

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has implemented various crime prevention programs to reduce and eliminate auto theft. Operation TATTOO (Targeting Auto Theft Through Overt Operations) is a strategy that focuses on predicting and analyzing potential trends in auto theft. The efforts are also aimed at reducing auto thefts of the ten most stolen vehicles in Fort Lauderdale while increasing arrest for auto theft offenses. If you live or work in the City of Fort Lauderdale and own a car in the top 10 stolen car group detailed here, you are eligible to receive a free steering wheel locking device. You must provide car registration and complete a form when you receive this device. The CAT (Combat Auto Theft) decal program is yet another tool car owners can take advantage of. The CAT decal is a highly reflective sticker that is designed to be placed in the lower left side of the rear window. By obtaining a CAT decal, the owner authorized and gives consent to any law enforcement officer to stop the vehicle and question the driver between the hours of 1 am – 5 am if the vehicle is on the road. VIN etching is yet another strategy used to identify a car if it is stolen. At a Fort Lauderdale Police Department Auto Rally you can have your vehicle VIN etched for free. To obtain your vehicle decals or to get information on the next VIN etching event contact Detective Eddie Robinson at 828-5519. Helping you to take an active role in the reduction of auto thefts.

February 15 ended a three-month undercover investigation by the LEACH Task Force. The task force arrested Samuel Alan Morton at 608 SE 6 Street, a convicted sex offender who had served prison time in Radford for sexually assaulting a minor. He is alleged to have transmitted numerous child pornography images and had numerous sexually explicit telephone conversations with a undercover female officer posing as a fourteen year old girl. When Morton exited his residence state and federal officers arrested him. Because of Morton’s past criminal record, he is facing 20 years to life in federal prison.

Phillip Calveri was on the run from Arizona authorities for numerous arrest warrants with charges involving the operation of a Meth lab. Calveri fled to South Florida and was in hiding. Authorities contacted Fugitive Detective Chuck Morrow to request his assistance in locating and arresting the fugitive. Detective Morrow began his investigation and during the course of a one-week surveillance, as utilized on two separate locations. Associates of Calveri’s were found in Plantation and NE Fort Lauderdale. Along with K-9 and patrol units Detective Morrow responded to a residence at 3012 NE 49 Street only to find that Calveri just left and was enroute to Plantation. With the assistance of Plantation K-9 and patrol units the fugitive was located and arrested without incident.

Forensics Detective Tom Hill, an expert in footwear analysis, assisted Hollywood Police Department in a double homicide in which two suspects were involved. One impression was a faint partial blood print on a quilt. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s More Hits System allowed Detective Hill to turn a faint image into a high contrast, easy to see image. Although Detective Hill was not able to make a positive identification on the image it did enable him to narrow down one of the suspects shoes to a 95% chance of probability that the shoe was the one that made the impression. Oddly enough it was only this one image that Hollywood was interested in. After Detective Hill reviewed the case with Hollywood he learned that there were additional faint partial lifts from the bathroom floor, which they thought were of no value. The detective examined those as well and was able to make a positive ID on a second suspect. It was this second suspect that they were having a problem putting inside the scene but can now do so. The More Hits System was also utilized to examine these lifts during Detective Hill’s analysis. Detective Hill is commended for his outstanding forensic work while assisting another jurisdiction.

On March 14, Detective Rich Love was recognized as the 2001 L.E.A.C.H. OFFICER OF THE YEAR. LEACH stands for Law Enforcement Against Child Harm and is a task force made up of detectives from the tri-county area. Detective Love was the lead detective in many child pornography Internet cases during the past year, most notably the Anthony Gentile case (Broward County Teachers Union President). Gentile was prosecuted federally and sentenced to 4 years. His peers recognize Detective Love as an expert in this field. It is an award well deserved.

During the month of February, members of the Strategic Investigations Unit along with members of the Major Narcotics Unit received information from a confidential informant that an ecstasy dealer in Palm Beach was distributing ecstasy, marijuana and other club drugs throughout the local high schools. As the investigation began, a SIU Detective posed as an ecstasy supplier and was introduced to the dealer. The dealer requested a trade involving Hydroponics Marijuana and Ecstasy. The dealer placed an order with the detective for liquid LSD to make Gel Tabs so he could easily sell them in the high schools and clubs. On February 18, the dealer drove down to Fort Lauderdale from Palm Beach Gardens to complete the transaction. The exchange took place and he was arrested and charged with Trafficking Ecstasy, Delivery Cannabis and Possession of Cannabis. The dealer quickly chose to cooperate and the investigation is continuing.

On February 21, Broward County had an armed robbery that occurred at 2119 NW 29 Avenue where two male subjects operating a white 4-door vehicle had robbed a victim who exited a corner store. Fugitive Detective Chuck Morrow was following up leads reference several wanted subjects in the area of the County Madison Apartments when he observed a white Lincoln occupied by two male subjects. BSO had put a bolo for the robbery subjects just hours earlier. Detective Morrow followed the vehicle into Fort Lauderdale at the same time requesting assistance from patrol to utilize a felony stop on the vehicle. The traffic stop was made and the two subjects detained. BSO responded with the victim to the scene and a positive identification was made. Located inside the suspect vehicle was the victim’s wallet and property. Both subjects were turned over to BSO and charged with armed robbery. Detective Morrow learned that Manolit Sewel and Leon Johnson might be responsible for two other robberies in Fort Lauderdale.

During the month of February 2002, SIU Detectives received a narcotics complaint advising that there were two students from the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute living at Sunrise Hall dormitory at 1055 North Federal Highway, who were selling narcotics to the students residing at the dormitory. In order to investigate this complaint, SIU Detectives assumed undercover identities posing as students at the Art Institute and took up residence at Sunrise Hall. Through continued investigation, detectives identified both targets and were able to infiltrate their operation. SIU detectives were successful in completing several undercover narcotics buys from both targets for cannabis. As a result of this investigation, both subjects were arrested and approximately 45 grams of cannabis and 25 grams of Xanax pills were seized.

During a burglary call Patrol Officer Gino Ferri processed a BBQ grill that was lying up against three bikes that were stolen out of a carport. This burglary would be the second time the victim was burglarized. Burglary Detective James Halleran began his investigation, submitted the prints in which an AFIS Hit was made. An area juvenile was arrested and charged with burglary.

• Detective Ben Donisi…by Captain Bob Lamberti, for his patience, talent in interviewing and willingness to work as a team during the case involving stolen parking meters.
• Detectives Chris Herbert, Stan Ragin and Tom Hill…by Captain Bob Lamberti, for their outstanding teamwork and dedication to duty during the case involving the robbery of a cab driver.
• Detective Chuck Morrow…by Ralph Page, President of Crime Stoppers, for his outstanding service, dedication and commitment while working in partnership with Crime Stoppers. Along with Officer Jerry Fuller they executed the most arrests during the 2001 calendar year.
• Detective Gabe Carmichael…by Lois and Bob Giesel of Inverness, for his professional, calming and reassuring demeanor during time of turmoil.
• Detective Jack DiCristofalo…by Linda Mykietyn, for his professional, kind and caring concern during a robbery she was a victim of.
• Captain (then Detective Sergeant) Ralph Nelson…by Gail Gillenwaters Chief Operations Officer at BGH, for being a part of BGH and Wackenhut Security’s Safety Awareness Fair Expo.
• Detectives Rich Rodriguez and Jack DiCristofalo…by Assistant Chief Al Ortenzo, for their outstanding job on the NW 1st Avenue carjacking.
• Detective Bob Grimm…by Assistant Chief Al Ortenzo, for his outstanding investigative work on the Nesly Jean auto theft operation.
• Detectives Gabe Carmichael and Chuck Morrow …by Captain Bob Lamberti, for dedication, professionalism and utmost compassion involving the robbery case at the McDonalds.
• Detective Chuck Morrow…by Captain Bob Lamberti, for his dedication, persistence and investigative expertise during the Michael Johnson case.
• Detective Steve Palazzo…by Captain Bob Lamberti, for his tenacity, outstanding interrogation skills and powers of observation during the Racetrack robbery case.
• Detectives Cheryl Donisi and Jack Gee…by Assistant Chief Al Ortenzo, for their tenacity, motivation and professionalism during the Sistrunk Meat Market case.
• Detective Victor London…by Captain Bob Lamberti, for dedication to duty, powers of observation and sound police tactics during the Shawn King robbery cases.
• Detective Juan Cabrera…by Assistant Chief Al Ortenzo, for his initiative and determination in securing the More Hits System.
• The Fort Lauderdale Police Department held is Annual Civilian Awards Banquet February 21st at the beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach Community Center at 3351 NE 33 Avenue. Chief Bruce Roberts honored all civilian employees of the month and honorable mentions. Three employees of the detective bureau were honored:

Crime Analyst Sharon Eaves Honorable Mention for April

Victim Advocate Mozell Battle Employee of the Month for September

Victim Advocate Elizabeth Bradshaw Employee of the Month for February