BISCAYNE PARK, Fla. ā When Raimundo AtesianoĀ was the chief of police ofĀ a small village nested between North Miami and Miami Shores, he had a strategy to create a fictitious 100 percent clearance rate for burglaries. It involved arresting innocent black males to pinĀ crimes on them, prosecutors said.Ā
Before joining the department of the Village of Biscayne Park, Atesiano had experience in the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department, and as an officer for the Hialeah Police Department.Ā
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FBI agents and Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators learned Atesiano ordered three of hisĀ subordinates at Biscayne ParkĀ to violate civil rights in three separate occasions.
"Atesiano admitted that on one occasion he instructed an officer to falsely arrest and charge an individual for several vehicle burglaries based upon what AtesianoĀ knew were false confessions," prosecutors said in a statement.Ā
As part of a plea agreement, Atesiano, 52, pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday toĀ conspiring with subordinate officers to violate individualsā civil rights by making false arrests.
Atesiano's trial was set to start on Monday. HadĀ he been found guilty, he could have faced a maximum of 11 years in prison.Ā Prosecutors are now recommending a two year sentence.Ā
Prosecutors identified their victims as "C.D.,"Ā "E.B." and "T.C.," a 16-year-old boy. Although the three victims who were targeted were black, prosecutors did not consider race asĀ a factor in the case.Ā
Three of his accomplices, former Biscayne Park officers Guillermo Ravelo, Charlie DayoubĀ and Raul Fernandez, had already entered guilty pleas for theirĀ roles in the conspiracy.Ā
Records show RaveloĀ arrested "C.D." on Jan. 23, 2013 and "E.B." on Feb. 26, 2014. Despite the lack of evidence incriminating them, Ravelo accused "C.D." and "E.B.," two men in their 30s,Ā of burglaries.Ā
Records show Dayoub and Fernandez arrested the teenage boyĀ on June 13, 2013, and they accused him of being involved in four burglaries.
The two 2013 arrests allowed AtesianoĀ to brag about the department's clearance rate for burglaries during a council meeting on July 9, 2013. After two years at Biscayne Park, AtesianoĀ resigned as chief in 2014.
The sentencing hearings are Oct. 4 for Ravelo, Oct. 16 for Fernandez andĀ Nov. 27 for Atesiano.
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