Sweetwater Police Chief Roberto Fulgueira Resigns
SWEETWATER (CBSMiami/El Nuevo Herald) - CBS4 News has learned embattled Sweetwater Police Chief Roberto Fulgueira has stepped down effective immediately. His retirement is expected to be announced Thursday morning along with appointment of the interim police chief.
Fulgueira departure occurs while his department is in the midst of a wide-ranging investigation by state and federal agents examining allegations of both public corruption and civil rights violations by its officers.
Fulgueira has come under scrutiny in recent months because of his decision several years ago to give of a controversial, no bid, towing contract to a former business partner of then-Mayor Manny Marono. Fulgueira abruptly ended the agreement with the company, Southland Towing, in February. But as CBS4 News and El Nuevo Herald reported this month that oral agreement between Fulgueira and Southland's owner, Robert Muriedas remains under investigation by the FBI.
Click here to read El Nuevo Herald article.
Neither Fulgueira nor Muriedas have been accused of any wrongdoing. Mayor Marono was removed from office earlier this year after he was indicted on an unrelated public corruption case.
Fulgueira started with the Sweetwater Police Department in 1980 as an auxiliary officer and rose through the ranks before being named Chief by then-Mayor Marono in 2005.
As part of his retirement, Fulgueira, 54, reportedly worked out a deal with city officials to maintain his health insurance and other benefits for three years. Fulgueira's retirement also comes just days after his mother passed away. She died over the weekend.
