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Investigative News
Investigations Bureau
November/December 2002


IN THIS ISSUE:
Detectives Elected to Prestigious Offices

Detective Russ Suess
Detective Suess

Auto Theft Detective Russell Suess is a member and president of the Florida Auto Theft Intelligence Unit. As president of this organization, Detective Suess has become known throughout the state of Florida in the police and political arenas. Just recently he was elected Director of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators, which represents over 3500 members throughout the world. Detective Suess is a 22-year veteran of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department beginning his career at Fort Lauderdale in 1980. Detective Suess has been recognized for many accolades including: Developing training programs aimed at providing patrol officers with a better working knowledge of stolen automobiles; is a recognized expert in the identification of Harley Davidson Motorcycles; and was assigned to the Broward County Multi-Agency Auto Theft Task Force where among other achievements has traveled to Australia, Canada and the Caribbean to teach his expertise to other police agencies. In 1998 Detective Suess rotated out of the Task Force and returned to the Auto Theft Unit where he remains a leader. Since returning he has handled several high profile cases, including the recovery of a million dollar yacht stolen in Fort Lauderdale, found in the Bahamas and the arrest and extradition of the individuals responsible. Detective Suess also broke up a major theft ring stealing high dollar vessels in Fort Lauderdale, which were used to smuggle illegal aliens to South Florida. Detective Suess has received 34 public commendations and 19 departmental commendations. Detective Russell Suess is commended for his good work and the positive notoriety that he brings to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.



Detective Jack Gee
Detective Jack Gee

Burglary Detective Jack Gee is a member and President of the Florida Law Enforcement Property Recovery Unit, a state law enforcement association. The association holds two conferences a year teaching law enforcement officers property crime issues. Detective Gee and the association also work through the legislation to correct and enact property crime related statutes. At this time they are re-writing statute 538, the “second hand dealer” statute to be more law enforcement friendly. The statute will regulate second hand dealers more closely by having them document transactions more efficently. Through FLEPRU Detective Gee has started a pawnbroker training class. He also serves on the advisory and legislative boards of the national association, National Association of Property Recovery Investigators. Detective Gee speaks and teaches on Property Crime Investigations around the country. TACAMO is an operation that Fort Lauderdale, BSO and Probation have been involved in for a number of years. It was to target high-risk subjects on probation and house arrest in Broward County. In that program Detective Gee started an operation where the police run all subjects on house arrest through the Broward County pawn computer. If they are found in the system it shows that they were in violation of their house arrest by being at a pawnshop. This is very successful and hundreds of subjects have been violated using this system. Detective Gee is a 21-year veteran in law enforcement, 9 of those years spent in the Criminal Investigations Division assigned to the Burglary Unit. He has numerous public and departmental commendations. Detective Jack Gee is also frequently commended for his good work and positive notoriety he brings to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.



Boat Burglars Reeled In

In late July, after a routine examination of pawnshop records, Burglary Detective Ray Turley’s curiosity was aroused when he noticed transactions in which a female with Massachusetts identification, Jacqueline Knight, had pawned several high-end fishing reels with the same peculiar markings on each. He brought this to the attention of Officer Lori Seguin, the Burglary Unit’s pawn specialist, who subsequently found that the markings were identifiers of a boat, which had recently been burglarized in Fort Lauderdale. Several items of fishing equipment had been stolen from that boat and pawned at a particular pawnshop.

From that point Officer Seguin, utilizing the Automated Property Recovery System continued researching pawn records, speaking with pawnshop operators and contacting burglary victims. Additional burglaries of yachts and fishing boats were being reported weekly. The losses always involved custom made and high-end fishing reels and related equipment, including electronics. Officer Seguin also discovered that Knight would regularly pawn such items. Addresses used in pawn transactions were found to be fictitious, but Knight had provided her thumbprints during visits to various pawnshops in and around Fort Lauderdale.

A photo was obtained and pawnshop operators positively identified Knight as the person delivering the equipment. Pawnshop operators cooperated completely with Officer Seguin as she pursued the activities of Jacqueline Knight. They provided descriptions of men that were with Knight during pawn transactions. Ultimately Officer Seguin was able to identify those men from other records and a photo of an accomplice was obtained. However, all known addresses associated with the individuals in the past were now outdated. In the meantime, burglaries of large vessels continued and Knight continued pawning the stolen items. Fortunately, Officer Seguin was just a step behind Knight and every transaction led to holds placed on property taken by the pawnshops.

Information regarding the suspects was distributed to police personnel as well as pawnshops. On September 6, the operator of Downtown Pawn alerted detectives to the fact that the suspects had just pawned more fishing reels and left the area. The pawnshop owner watched the suspects as they left in a vehicle and provided the description and license plate. At approximately 1 p.m. that same day, District 1 Patrol Officer Eugene McCoy was inside Gold N Pawn on Commercial Boulevard speaking with its owner. Suddenly a male and female entered the pawnshop and inquired about a ring. Officer McCoy immediately recognized the duo as the suspects portrayed in the flyers. Alone at the time, Officer McCoy engaged them in brief conversation and at the appropriate time and without causing attention, stepped outside and requested assistance. Ultimately Officer McCoy took the two suspects into custody without incident. Their vehicle was found to contain additional stolen fishing rods and reels.

During the interviews, confessions were obtained and a third person implicated and identified. In all, Jacqueline Knight had pawned 96 stolen items over an approximate six-week period. Her partner, William Sharpe, confessed to burglaries of vessels in Fort Lauderdale, Dania and Davie. The two were charged with numerous counts of Dealing in Stolen Property, Burglary, Grand Theft and False Verification of Ownership. A combination of instinct, perseverance and communication led to the identification and apprehension of the suspects and the recovery of stolen property.

FLPD Assists Department of Corrections

During the months of August and September, Fort Lauderdale Police Department TAC and Fugitive Units assisted the Department of Corrections with the serving of several VOP warrants. Original charges included aggravated assault and battery, attempted homicide, narcotics violations, and other assorted felony charges.

Six arrests were made, several warrants had bad or non-existent addresses and several of the warrants were found to be no longer active. Nonetheless, with our department’s help, this newly re-established partnership with DOC should ensure that probation violators would be taken off the streets in a more expedient manner. These sweeps will be a once a month undertaking, with the targeting of violent felons the primary concern.

Juvenile Robbers Caught

During an investigation lead by Violent Crimes Detective Rich Rodriguez, a plan was formulated to reduce the rash of robberies that were occurring in the Riverwalk area. On August 14 with the assistance of District 1, 2 & 3 TAC units, CSD and Officer Steven DeGracia, the plan was put into action. Officers took tactical positions in order to conduct surveillance and observed 3 juvenile males walk into the area. The juveniles matched the description of the suspects from the other robberies. The officers followed the suspects for approximately 20 minutes when they approached a victim, produced a knife and demanded money. The officers moved in and the three suspects were placed into custody after a brief foot chase. There was no loss or injury to the victim or officers. Detective Rodriguez began talking with one of the suspects who gave him a confession as to what happened. One of the juveniles matched the description to the suspect in the other robberies to a tee. Detective Rodriguez will be working with Detective Jack Lokeinsky of the Juvenile Squad in order to conduct lineups with victims from the other incidents. Due to the combined efforts of the units involved, downtown robberies have been cleared up.



Apprehension Attempt Results in Injured Officer

Gary West was being actively sought by the Fort Lauderdale Homicide Unit for battery on a law enforcement officer. On August 23, Officer Mike Smith was involved in a violent alteration with West who resisted arrest during a traffic stop. Officer Smith was seriously injured during the struggle, resulting in a broken leg, cuts and abrasions. Patrol Officers and K-9 Units conducted an initial search for West with negative results. Fugitive Detectives Chuck Morrow and John Curry were contacted and began an investigation into the whereabouts of Gary West. Over the course of several days the detectives began contacting street sources in an attempt to obtain information on his location. Five days later Detective Morrow made contact with a confidential informant who told the detective that West was hiding at a residence in Pompano Beach. Detective Morrow requested the assistance from BSO patrol officers and Fort Lauderdale K-9. Detectives made contact at the residence and advised West to surrender, which he refused. He was then told to surrender or K-9 units would enter the residence. West gave up without incident. He was taken into custody and transported back to Fort Lauderdale Police Department. West has an extensive arrest history which includes several charges of battery on law enforcement officer and aggravated battery.

Auto Thieves Arrested in Operation F.I.D.O.

K9 fidoSince May 2002, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department recognized an increase in the number of stolen vehicles within the city limits. Cars were stolen, taken for joy rides and dropped off without major damage, all the signs of juvenile offenders. In a proactive effort to combat these types of crimes before they progressed to more serious crimes, FLPD Canine Sergeant John Eaves initiated Operation F.I.D.O. (Focused Intelligence Development Operation). With the assistance of Auto Theft Detective Robert Dietrich, the K-9 Unit set out to accomplish their goal to identify and apprehend auto theft criminals and recover as many stolen vehicles as possible in a short amount of time. Despite the lack of adjudication of the juveniles, Operation F.I.D.O. was extremely successful. The operation, which was active May 5 through August 5, was credited with the recovery of 45 vehicles, a total estimated value of $394,200. Of the 45 recovered vehicles, three were taken in carjacking incidents, one in the burglary of a business and one in a residential burglary, where property was recovered. During the operation 46 auto thieves were arrested. “Operation F.I.D.O. was a phenomenal effort put forth by the Canine Unit, “ said Sergeant John Eaves. “The officers involved, met and exceeded the goals set forth in the action plan.”



Investigator “Check”ing into Grand Theft Cases

Investigator Ron Gill of the Economics Crimes Division has the endless task of investigating grand theft cases involving worthless checks and identity theft. Investigator Gill spends many hours obtaining information on the cases and presenting photo lineups to victims. Below are just a fraction of the approximately 400 cases he investigates a year.

On Mach 3, 2002 the Rotary Club North Florida held an auction where the culprit David Bright received items totaling $3155.00. He issued the Rotary club a check drawn on his business account. The check was returned for insufficient funds. Investigator Gill began his investigation by calling Bright, followed up by a certified letter. There was no response from Bright. Investigator Gill found that Bright had issued a number of checks to area businesses that had been returned NSF. A photo lineup was shown to the victim where a positive ID was made. The case was filed with the state attorney’s office.

Joelle Dawn Kuhn entered Fresh Produce Sportswear on two occasions and purchased clothing. She used the name of Dawn Kuhn but signed the checks J. Dawn Kuhn. During Investigator Gill’s investigation of this case he discovered another case with the same suspect using checks drawn on a different bank. Both banks returned the checks as account closed. The owner of the clothing store made a positive identification from a photo lineup. The case was files with the state attorney’s office.

During the time period of April 19 through May 2, 2002 the owner of Sans Souci Motel stated that Mark Dinslage paid for his stay with two checks totaling $654.50. Both checks were returned from the bank as account closed. Investigator Gill mailed Dinslage a certified letter, which was signed for, but he has had no response from Dinslage. A photo lineup was shown to the victim and the case was filed with the state attorney’s office.

During the month of May Investigator Gill worked with the U.S. Marshals, Postal Inspectors Office and Secret Service on an identify theft by Shawn R. Pelley, who used the identity of attorneys and doctors in the Boston, Massachusetts area. He would then buy expensive cars, open up bank accounts and obtain credit cards in their names, totaling over one million dollars. Pelley was arrested by the Marshal’s office on August 8 in New York City.



2 Rapists Tracked Down and Apprehended

In the early morning hours of August 9, a 14 year-old girl was walking to school when several males in a gray vehicle confronted her. The culprits pulled the victim into the car at which time one of the culprits in the rear seat restrained her around the throat. She was driven to an abandoned house at 1411 NW 4 Street where she was raped by two of the culprits and held captive for 6 hours. Before the culprits released the victim she was told that if she said anything to anyone they would come back and hurt her. The victim went straight to her parents who called the police. Special Victim’s Detective Lisa Cahir began her investigation and was able to identify two suspects with the assistance of Latent Examiner Alice Benitez who matched prints found at the scene through the AFIS system. Tron Mays and John Fluker, both street gang members learned that they were being sought for this crime and were on the run.

Fugitive Detective Chuck Morrow was asked to assist in locating the two suspects. During the course of the next several days Detective Morrow contacted numerous street sources in an attempt to locate the fugitives. Surveillance was utilized in the 200 Block of NW 8 Avenue where Mays was spotted. After a brief foot chase he was taken into custody. Mays was interviewed and Detective Morrow was able to obtain information that Fluker was hiding out in the Alden Apartments. Detective Morrow immediately requested K-9, TAC Units and Patrol to assist in the apprehension. A confidential informant gave the detective a complete description of Fluker and showed him which apartment he fled into. Fluker was ordered to come out or K-9 would be utilized. After several minutes he emerged from the apartment and taken into custody. Detective Cahir interviewed both suspects trying to determine the identity of a third suspect.



Newly Deputized Dets Make First OJ Arrest

Detectives Chuck Morrow and John Curry of the Fugitive Apprehension Unit were deputized by the U.S. Marshal’s Office on Thursday, October 10, 2002. On October 11, they arrested a suspect in the city of Lauderdale Lakes. After an extensive investigation involving multi jurisdictional and lengthy surveillances, Angelo Johnson was taken into custody without incident. He was wanted by Fort Lauderdale Police Department for armed robbery and burglary charges and by the Broward Sheriff’s Office for home invasion robbery, burglary and aggravated battery. Johnson is an active Thug Life gang member, so his arrest will ensure that a violent career felon will no longer be roaming our county’s streets. Although Detectives Morrow and Curry are veterans of hundreds violent felony arrests, their newly deputized status will greatly add to their investigative capabilities. Pursuant to the conditions of the Federal Marshal deputization of Detectives Morrow and Curry their investigative efforts can encompass the Southeast region of the United States. Additionally, they will work with the Marshal’s Office on matters such as international fugitives, and are already providing information and some logistical support in regards to several Bahamian homicide suspects believed to be frequenting our area. This close association will also undoubtedly enhance our department’s ability to speed the dissemination of terrorist fugitive information and related activity.

Georgia Drug Group Arrested

During the months prior to October 18, a member of the Fort Lauderdale’s Major Narcotics Unit met with several drug dealers in Albany, Georgia and arranged for a shipment of 15 kilos to be purchased and then transported to Fort Lauderdale. With the help of the Strategic Investigations Unit and the Raiders, members of the Major Narcotics Unit traveled to Georgia to meet with members of the drug organization to finalize the delivery of the cocaine after the leader made payments totaling $147,695. At this meeting 7 subjects were arrested on federal charges for conspiracy. Also seized were 6 cars and 1 handgun. Area narcotics detectives told FLPD that they have had open cases on the leader of this group for almost 17 years and were unable to sustain charges against him.

LCV Assists in OJ Homicide

The former supervisor of the Lake Worth Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit, who was one of this agency’s two crime scene investigators, resigned several months ago, and Lake Worth was left with only one investigator. This became a problem when the city experienced its most complicated homicide in the city’s history. The department borrowed a West Palm Beach Police Investigator, who then suggested asking Fort Lauderdale’s Crime Scene Investigator Tom Hill for assistance. A Fort Lauderdale police employee for 29 years, Tom is an expert in foot print identification and instructs investigators on how to use various chemicals to search for evidence in crime scenes. Detective Hill took his airbrush and a chemical called Leucocrystal Violet to the Lake Worth home and began spraying the fine mist over walls, carpeting and other items in the home looking for any violet hued evidence to present itself. Leucocrystal Violet, also known as LCV, reacts with the hemoglobin in blood. Developed in its current form around 1998 by an Orlando chemist, it is used to enhance latent fingerprints in blood. When LCV is mixed with hydrogen peroxide and encounters the hemoglobin in blood, it turns violet. Detective Hill can then see any fingerprints, footprints, or other marks left in blood. Detective Hill said “it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever used with blood.” Detective Hill was a great asset in this ongoing investigation.

Thief Apologizes

In May of 2002 the owner of Panton and Company Reality, Inc discovered that former employee Richard Moore had embezzled thousands of dollars from her company from May 2001 to May 2002. Economic Crimes Detective Clint Ward began his investigation and found that Moore had forged and or altered several checks from the company’s operating and trust account. He falsified documents during real estate transactions in order to divert funds from the company. Moore also created bogus company bills in order to cover checks that were written to him. The loss of Panton and Company is believed to be $43,332. Detective Ward met with Moore in July where he waived his right to a lawyer and gave the detective a statement concerning his actions against the company. Moore surrendered to Detective Ward and was charged with Grand Theft. After explaining how he made up the bogus bill for the office he apologized for his actions.



Investigative Personnel Recognized


Project Ecstasy Continues to Result in Arrests

October 1, 2001, the Special Investigations Division was awarded a federal grant entitled Project Ecstasy. Project Ecstasy is a community partnership project to impact the proliferation of Club Drugs. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commission on Substance Abuse and the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program funds this Grant. The following investigations and arrests were conducted under the guidelines of Project Ecstasy:



Combined Efforts Apprehend Violent Robbery Culprits

On September 3, 2002 the East Side Pawn Shop at 1569 South Federal Highway was robbed by two males who entered the store armed with handguns. They forced the victim into the back room where he was severely beaten. The suspects took $3000 in cash and jewelry then fled the business. Violent Crimes Detective Rich Rodriguez was assigned the case and developed a suspect by the name of Miguel Beltran. After checking the information Detective Rodriguez was not able to find any further information about the suspect. He then took the pawn slip, which contained the suspect’s thumbprint to Chief Latent Examiner Carl Ciotola. After running the print through the AFIS system a match was made to a subject by the name of Miguel Hernandez. It also provided information that Hollywood PD arrested Hernandez two weeks earlier for a burglary. After Detective Rodriguez pulled all the available information including a picture, he realized that all of the information ever given by the Beltran was bogus. A photograph was shown to the pawnshop victim who positively identified the suspect as Beltran, who has pawned several items at this location.

At this point Detective Rodriguez notified Fugitive Detectives Chuck Morrow and John Curry to assist in the location of Miguel and help identify the second subject. During surveillance by Detective Morrow, Miguel was seen entering an apartment complex in Pembroke Pines. He was taken into custody without incident. Detective Rodriguez responded to the area to interview the suspect and he agreed to assist the detective in locating the second suspect. Detective Jack DiCristofalo was notified to assist. While driving in the area for information that might be needed for a warrant, the suspect who was being transported by Detectives Morrow and Curry, told the detectives that the second suspect drove a green Trans Am. As luck would have it the suspect in the green Trans Am pulled in front of Detective Curry at which time Beltran (Hernandez) stated to the detectives “Hey that’s him and the car”. Patrol, TAC and K-9 Units were called to assist. Eduardo Leon-Sanchez was taken into custody without incident. For the second time the pawn shop victim was asked to look at a photo lineup where he positively identified the second subject as the second of the two who robbed and beat him. Hernandez gave a full confession to the detectives but Leon refused to give any statement. US Immigration was notified of the arrest as both suspects are Cuban Nationals and in the country illegally.

Due to the combined efforts of Detectives Morrow, Curry, DiCristofalo, Latent Examiner Carl Ciotola, TAC, K-9 and Patrol Units 2 dangerous suspects have been apprehended.

Tuesday morning, October 8 Motor Officers Jeff Hendricks and Rick Dabe pulled over a vehicle during a traffic stop. In the vehicle they found three masks, duct tape and cash hidden under the seat. The officers contact Violent Crimes Detectives Mike Hoelbrandt and Rich Rodriguez to respond to the scene. After responding, the detectives began to interview the suspects and subsequently found out where the robbery occurred that morning and where the firearm was located. A warrant was obtained to retrieve the weapon from the vehicle.

After working collectively as a unit, violent crimes detectives have been able to identity two other suspects that have been committing armed robberies throughout the city. The two suspects in custody gave the detectives information on several robberies that have been committed in the Midtown section of Fort Lauderdale as well as other suspects that have committed robberies. With this information detectives have been able to clear 4 robberies cases with more pending.

With the combined efforts of Detectives Jenkins, DiCristofalo, Hoelbrandt, Rodriguez, Stack, Detective Kerr from BSO, and Motor Officers Hendricks and Dabe, 4 violent offenders are taken off the streets.



Elderly Victims Targeted

Fort Lauderdale Police Department arrested Michael Angove in the early 1990’s for running a major plumbing fraud operation in South Florida that targeted elderly people. The plumber would deceive the victims into believing that their sewer pipes beneath the foundation of the houses were broken. He would hire laborers to tunnel beneath the foundation of the houses and extort tens of thousands of dollars from the victims with the threat of not completing the job, thus threatening structural failure of the homes. Angove was convicted and served several years in prison. On October 20 Angove was arrested again by FLPD, charged with exploitation of the elderly, for using the same scheme against an elderly woman living on North Andrews Extension. Her plumbing was fine but he obtained over $10,000 from her. Fortunately he only tunneled several feet beneath her house before her nephew became aware of the scam and notified the police. Angove is being held on $10,000 bond.



CRIME PREVENTION TIPS

Street Sense….



Successful VIN Etching
VIN Etch
Members of the police department assisting with the VIN Etching include: Detective Bob Grimm, Frankie Lockett, Detective Robert Dietrich, Detective Ed Robinson, Lori Miller, Kim Temple, Valerie Moore, Sergeant Steve Lerman, Lola Hardister, Rosie Somers, and Detective Russ Suess.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department hosted another VIN Etching at Holiday Park on September 14. The event was a great success with 23 vehicles being etched, 14 clubs distributed and 16 residents signing up for the “CAT” (Combat Auto Theft) program. Look for another VIN Etching Event coming soon.
vin etch


Detective Chuck Morrow

Fugitive Detective Chuck Morrow and John Curry continue to succeed in the apprehension of wanted criminals.



Narcotic Seizures

Members of SID arrested George Constantin at 1235 NE 5 Terrace after he agreed to let the detectives come inside. 26 grams of powder cocaine, 2 ounces of mushrooms and cannabis were seized. 4 illegal snakes were also confiscated and turned over to Fish and Game.

On September 19, 2 members of the Major Narcotics Unit closed out an investigation with the arrest of Chris Cimino who lives at 3000 Riomar, where one drug transaction took place. Cimino was in possession of 10 grams of cocaine and charged with delivery and possession with intent to deliver.

Come back and visit us next month.

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