Guilty Plea In Opa-locka Corruption Probe

MIAMI, FL — A seventh person has pleaded guilty in the Opa-locka federal corruption investigation. Dante Starks entered his plea before U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez on Monday. He pleaded guilty to charges of extortion under color of official right and federal programs bribery. He also pleaded guilty to failure to file federal income tax returns.

Starks, who prosecutors described as a close associate of former Opa-locka Commissioner Luis Santiago, is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. before Judge Martinez.

"Although Starks was not an official or employee of the city of Opa-locka, he was closely associated with, and had great influence over Santiago," federal prosecutors said. "Starks also had, and exercised significant influence over, numerous other city officials and employees."

The guilty plea was announced on Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg in Miami, FBI Special Agent In Charge Robert F. Lasky of the Miami Field Office and Acting Special Agent In Charge Michael J. DePalma of the IRS Criminal Investigation.

"Starks conspired with former Opa-locka City Commissioner Luis Santiago, former Opa-locka City Manager David Chiverton and former Opa-locka Assistant Public Works Director Gregory Harris, to use the official positions and authority that Santiago, Chiverton, and Harris had with the city of Opa-locka to solicit, demand, and obtain personal payments from businesses and individuals in exchange for taking official actions to assist and benefit those businesses and individuals in their official dealings with the city of Opa-locka," according to federal prosecutors.

In related cases:

• Santiago previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit federal programs bribery and Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. Santiago was sentenced to 51 months in prison.
• Chiverton previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit federal programs bribery and Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. Chiverton was sentenced to 38 months in prison.
• Harris previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit federal programs bribery and Hobbs Act extortion under color of official right. Harris was the first defendant to plead guilty to charges stemming from this investigation and received probation.
• Sosa Sr. and Sosa Jr. previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. They are awaiting sentencing in August before Judge Martinez.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Miami Area Corruption Task Force and IRC Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Miami-Dade Police Department and Hialeah Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward N. Stamm and Maurice Johnson.

Photo courtesy Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse