The former police chief of Hialeah, Florida, was arrested Monday for allegedly defrauding the city after a state law enforcement investigation uncovered millions in missing cash from the department's narcotics unit.
Sergio Velazquez, the police chief of Hialeah from 2012 until 2021, is facing felony charges of grand theft, organized fraud, and structuring bank deposits to evade reporting requirements. Prosecutors allege he siphoned off at least $600,000 from narcotics funds and seized cash from 2020 to 2021, then attempted to launder the money through multiple bank accounts and a corporate entity he registered.
Although Velazquez is only charged for alleged conduct over a roughly one-year period, investigators say that they can't account for several million dollars more that disappeared since 2015.
