Former FL Police Chief Accused Of Stealing $560K In Petty Cash, Seized Assets

HIALEAH, FL — The former Hialeah Police Department chief was arrested Monday for structuring transactions to evade reporting or registration requirements, organized fraud, and grand theft, all first-degree felonies, according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement news release.

Sergio Velazquez, 61, served as the department’s chief from 2012 to 2021.

“Officers of the law are held to a higher standard of character and integrity. They are expected to uphold the trust that the public has placed in them. This case revealed that Velazquez violated the trust and integrity expected of him as police chief,” FDLE Miami Special Agent in Charge John Vecchio, FDLE Miami special agent in charge, said. “Our agents and analysts worked diligently on this case, which required in-depth analysis. That excellence in casework is why FDLE is trusted to investigate public officials.”

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An investigation into Velazquez began in November 2021, when FDLE agents were alerted by officials with the department about possible misplaced funds.

Between May and October of that year, about $560,000 in Hialeah Police Department petty cash and seized currency disappeared, FDLE said.

FDLE agents and analysts examined bank accounts controlled by Velazquez and determined that 62 cash deposits were made, totaling more than $140,000.

The agents noted that out of the 62 deposits, not a single deposit over $10,000 was made into any of the accounts that were reviewed.

The pattern of deposits to multiple accounts controlled by Velazquez indicated to agents that he was knowingly avoiding the deposit reporting requirement, FDLE said. All cash deposit activity stopped once he was relieved of duty as police chief.

Velazquez was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center.

“When any serving police officer violates the law, he betrays the community whom he was sworn to serve,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. “But when a police chief is alleged to have stolen from the city and department he has led, this unique betrayal deeply damages the very soul of the community.”

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