TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office today announced the arrests of eight individuals in connection to a criminal enterprise, based in St. Lucie County, with a network stretching from Tampa to the Florida Keys. According to the investigation, the defendants participated in cocaine trafficking, dealing in stolen property, insurance fraud and extortion. The defendants allegedly used false claims to defraud insurance companies and provided loans to individuals who the defendants then extorted using threats of violence.
“This criminal enterprise put Floridians statewide in danger, by not only stealing and channeling drugs throughout our state, but also, extorting and intimidating innocent Floridians to advance their scheme,” said Attorney General Bondi. “Thanks to local, state and federal law enforcement partnership, this enterprise has been shutdown and these individuals are incarcerated.”
“Due to the strong and collaborative partnerships between our agency and the others included in this investigation, a significant criminal enterprise has been stopped, several unsolved grand theft cases have been solved and a pipeline for drugs and other criminal activities have been terminated,” said the St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken J. Mascara.
All eight defendants face charges related to racketeering. Additional charges include dealing in stolen property, extortion, false report of a crime, insurance fraud and trafficking cocaine.
The following individuals face multiple charges in connection to the criminal enterprise:
· Henry Blanco-Avila, 45, Seminole;
· Ivan Blanco-Avila, 40, Port Saint Lucie;
· Richard Henry Byrd, 46, Palm City;
· Melissa Garcia, 41, Miami;
· Silvia Garcia, 60, Miami;
· Rolando Garcia Garmedia, 44, Miami;
· Newman Marquez, 23, Miami; and
· Rolando Tranquilino Garcia Ruiz, 67, Miami.
Attorney General Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting the cases. The Department of Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office and the Miami-Dade Police Department assisted the Office of Statewide Prosecution and the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.
