Florida will jail transnational criminals

(The Center Square) – From a Romanian thieves’ ring to a notorious “Big Boi” drug trafficking ring, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution continues to pursue cross-border criminal organizations.

She also issued a warning to criminals: “Florida law enforcement will track you down, and my prosecutors across the state will make sure you go to jail.”

In one case, Moody’s office secured 40-year prison sentences for three members of a Romanian crime ring that deliberately stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from schools and churches. A jury in Fort Myers found Panait Dumitru, Catalin Trandafir and Simona Trandafir guilty of multiple crimes, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft, money laundering, serious economic crime and unlawful possession of personal identification information.

The verdict came after a comprehensive investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The Romanians operated from Orlando from 2019 to 2021, targeting schools and churches in six states and stealing a total of more than $800,000 from them, according to the investigation.

“Florida is a law and order state and we work hard to hold criminals accountable,” Moody said. “This Romanian crime ring stole more than $800,000 by stealing checks from the mailboxes of more than 250 churches and schools in six states. Many of the donor victims were senior citizens.”

FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said the case is an example of how police officers followed up on evidence, engaged in detailed analysis, executed search warrants and worked across multiple jurisdictions and regions.

“It also shows the importance we have in court by breaking down complex issues so that jurors can easily understand the case,” he said.

The crime ring stole checks from the mailboxes of more than 250 churches and schools in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. During a three-week trial, more than 60 pastors, ministers, clergy and priests testified about the thefts their congregations experienced. Noticing a pattern, some churches installed mailboxes with locks. The defendants then returned with crowbars to break open the mailboxes, they testified.

The defendants deposited the stolen checks through a network of 59 bank accounts opened by various members of the crime ring using forged documents, investigators found. They then withdrew the money from some accounts and transferred it to other accounts, moving more than $800,000 in money using 1,600 stolen checks.

Three Romanians were charged with multiple crimes and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Two others have escaped and are at large. Another “openly pleaded guilty in court and was sentenced to 10 years in prison,” Moody’s office said.

In another case, a supplier of a major drug ring operating in the Boynton Beach area was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to traffic cocaine. According to the investigation, William Moyo supplied cocaine and fentanyl for a notorious Big Boi drug ring. He is the latest arrest; authorities had already arrested 17 defendants.

“Law enforcement continues to catch poison traffickers and their deadly products off our streets, and this latest arrest should serve as a warning to anyone seeking to smuggle drugs in our state,” Moody said.

According to the investigation, Moyo supplied several kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl to a drug trafficking ring run by Johnson Joseph. After executing a search warrant, authorities found more than 20 kilograms of cocaine in Moyo’s apartment.

The Big Boi drug ring is known to law enforcement for distributing fentanyl and cocaine throughout the Palm Beach County area. During the course of the investigation, authorities seized a total of 50 pounds of cocaine and other illegal substances.

The investigation is ongoing and is funded by a grant from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement State Assistance Enforcement for Fentanyl Eradication.

Published on August 28, 2024.