MIAMI (WSVN) - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has arrested a current Sweetwater police officer and a former Sweetwater police officer on charges of fraud and racketeering.
Those arrested have been identified as current Sweetwater Police Sgt. Reny Armando Garcia and former Sweetwater Detective William Garcia. Both face charges of organized scheme to defraud, racketeering and conspiracy to commit racketeering.
The FDLE, along with Miami-Dade Police and the FBI, interviewed multiple victims and witnesses and said evidence and allegations showed an ongoing pattern of criminal activity that spanned several years, affecting dozens of victims.
The investigation also showed that the pattern of racketeering activity including battery, theft, fraud burglary and other violent crimes against civilians. The FDLE said victims were foreign-born with a limited understanding of the English language and the U.S. legal system.
The arrests came after a larger investigation of corruption in the Sweetwater Police Department. The investigation has not revealed any criminal wrongdoing of the current police administration, and the chief cooperated fully in the investigation.
The current Sweetwater officer was arrested and booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Facility. The former, who is currently incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Virginia, will be brought to Miami to face charges.
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