MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A third defendant in a high-profile murder-for-hire plot targeting the estranged wife of prominent South Florida developer Sergio Pino pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court, according to court records obtained by Local 10 News.
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Records show Vernon Green, 53, admitted to conspiracy to commit murder for hire, stalking, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Green entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Miami.
The case stems from a failed assassination attempt prosecutors say was orchestrated by Pino, who died by suicide as agents moved to arrest him on July 16, 2024.
Green, who authorities say was the gunman in the June 2024 attempt to kill Tatiana Pino, is the third man to plead guilty in the case.
According to the plea agreement, Green was part of a crew that had been hired to carry out the killing for $150,000, with the condition that the victim be dead before a critical divorce hearing.
Prosecutors say Sergio Pino and his wife had been locked in a bitter divorce battle since 2022.
Court documents allege that Green attempted to shoot Tatiana Pino on June 23, 2024, as she pulled into her driveway. Authorities said she managed to escape by driving through her backyard, scraping her vehicle against a tree and fence.
They said Green reportedly chased her but ultimately fled after encountering the couple’s adult daughter, who had come outside during the commotion.
Prosecutors said Green also allegedly pointed a gun at the daughter, ordered her back into the house and then fled in a waiting Dodge Ram pickup truck.
“He decided not to shoot the daughter because that was not what the job entailed,” U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe previously said.
Two other men — who investigators identified as Avery Bivins, 36, and Michael Dulfo, 42, — also pleaded guilty back in April to roles in the scheme. Both are scheduled to be sentenced on July 8.
FBI officials said Pino had hired two separate crews in an escalating attempt to have his wife killed.
Authorities said the first crew allegedly attempted to poison her with fentanyl and later rammed her vehicle with a flatbed truck. After that crew was compromised, prosecutors say Sergio Pino continued his efforts, enlisting new intermediaries to execute the hit.
The indictment alleges that roofing contractor Fausto Villar contacted Bivins, whom he knew from prison, and presented the contract. Bivins then brought in Green and others to carry it out.
Court documents show that Green faces up to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of seven years behind bars for the firearm charge alone if convicted, which must run consecutive to the other counts.
Judge Darrin P. Gayles scheduled his sentencing for Sept. 4.
Read the plea agreement here:
