
Former Police Chief Raimundo Atesiano
Miami, FL — Former Biscayne Park Police Chief Raimundo Atesiano confessed at his plea hearing in Miami federal court last Friday that he ordered three of his officers to frame three African-American men for burglaries in order to achieve a seemingly perfect property crimes record in his department in 2013. Due to his admission, his sentence is expected to be lessened — much to the dismay of the Black community.
Atesiano’s conviction initially carried a sentence of up to 10 years, but because of his guilty plea, prosecutors are now recommending only a two-year sentence.
Atesiano, who is now 52-years old, resigned in 2014 from the police force. He is about to face trial last Monday when he changed his plea. His lawyer, Richard Docobo, negotiated the plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Although the federal case does not consider race as a factor, it is important to note that all the three victims were Black. One of those is Clarens Desrouleaux, who had to spend 5 years in jail for a crime he did not commit and was deported to Haiti last year.
Desrouleaux, who is now 41 years old, is filing a separate lawsuit against the police department for false imprisonment and civil rights violations after the Biscayne Park police chief and his officers basically ruined his life.
He said two of the indicted cops, Charlie Dayoub and Guillermo Ravelo, targeted him on purpose because of his past history of arrests. According to the lawsuit, he was threatened with even more jail time if he doesn’t own up to the burglaries so he pleaded guilty to a crime he didn’t really commit only to avoid spending most of his life behind bars.
Moreover, Atesiano’s cops told internal investigators that the chief said that “if you see anybody black walking through our streets and they have somewhat of a record, arrest them so we can pin them for all the burglaries.”
Atesiano is scheduled to appear in court for his sentencing on November 27.
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