Fmr. Compliance Officer Sentenced For Extortion Scam
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The former top Code Compliance Officer for Miami Beach has been sentenced to a little more than four years in prison for accepting bribes.
U.S. District Judge Robert Scola also ordered Jose Alberto forfeit $16,600 – the amount of cash received in the form of pay-offs.
Last June, Alberto pled guilty to extorting money from a Miami Beach nightclub owner in exchange for not enforcing a large fine for a code violation.
When the nightclub owner contacted the FBI about the extortion scam, they began an undercover operation.
During the course of that investigation, Alberto accepted twenty-two separate cash pay-offs for a total of $16,600 from either the nightclub owner or an undercover FBI agent posing as the manager of the nightclub. These cash pay-offs were made in exchange for Alberto's protection from potential code violations and to permit the nightclub to continue operating.
According to statements made during the plea and documents filed with the court, Alberto introduced various other code enforcement officers to the undercover FBI agent to help protect the nightclub. These code enforcement officers, like Alberto, also received cash pay-offs in exchange for their protection of the nightclub.
All of those officers have pled guilty to conspiring with Alberto to extort cash from the club.
