1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: Murder in Miami is a production of iHeartRadio. We touched 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,319 Speaker 1: upon the potential for corruption that swirls around the drug 3 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: trade in our last bonus. It's a topic that came 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: up with former Miami Day detective Jeff Lewis and was 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: particularly evident during Miami's darkest policing period in the late 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, when at one point, nearly ten percent of 7 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,840 Speaker 1: the entire Miami Police Department was suspended or fired after 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: a drug related scandal. It seems to me like that 9 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 1: was a perfect storm because you had this influx of 10 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: drug money pouring into the area and you had a 11 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: need to increase the policing of it, just in terms 12 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: of the sheer number of the volume of officers who 13 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: were hired at that time. And did that negatively impact 14 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: the force? 15 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,680 Speaker 2: I think it was both a positive and a negative. 16 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 2: Both our department and the City of Miami Police Department 17 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 2: were in a rush to hire police officers to fill 18 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 2: the void, both departments on a national recruiting effort, and 19 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 2: at that time also I believe, like some departments up 20 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,040 Speaker 2: North New York in that area, they were laying off officers. 21 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 2: So it kind of worked out and Miami Dade ended 22 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 2: up with officers from all over the north and northeast, 23 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 2: as well as the City of Miami, although I think 24 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 2: the City of Miami ended up with more local individuals 25 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 2: becoming police officers. The problem with that was I don't 26 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 2: think they were able to do thorough background investigations or 27 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 2: really delve into who they were hiring just because they 28 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 2: needed to again fill the void, and as a result, 29 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 2: the individuals slipped through the cracks that turned out to 30 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 2: be actually criminals doing police work, and that came to 31 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 2: fruition later on with the River Cops case, an area 32 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 2: and some other incidents involving police officers. Now, the plus 33 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 2: side was they also ended up hiring quite a few 34 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 2: excellent police officers that I worked with that came on 35 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 2: with me, became detectives and became ranking individuals within the 36 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 2: department and were able to guide the department. It was 37 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,560 Speaker 2: a plus an a negative. Fortunately, I think the plus 38 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 2: side came out ahead in the long run. 39 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: Could you just, in a nutshell explain what the River 40 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: Cops case was? 41 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,400 Speaker 2: Yes, the River Cops case was a group of City 42 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 2: Miami uniform police officers working the midnight shift would go 43 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 2: to the Miami River and rob the locations that were 44 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 2: board the Haitian traders that were coming to Miami. Usually 45 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 2: they had multiple kilos of cocaine on board, and they 46 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 2: would literally load up their police cars with cocaine and 47 00:02:52,320 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 2: take it out, and then from there they would distribute it, 48 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 2: sell it, make money doing it, and a lot of 49 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 2: those robberies weren't reported because theations didn't want to get 50 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 2: arrested for dealing drugs. And this went on for a 51 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 2: little while until they hit a boat where the Haitian 52 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 2: victims actually jumped off the boat they would care for 53 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 2: their lives, and in doing so, a couple of them 54 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: drowned in the Miami River. This occurred within our jurisdiction, 55 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 2: so our homicide unit, led by Alex Alvarez, assumed the 56 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 2: investigation and subsequently arrested twelve or thirteen City Miami uniform 57 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,959 Speaker 2: officers for this homicide and drug dealing and ensnared probably 58 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 2: another one hundred or so that were caught up one 59 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 2: way or another in the Sea Mining Police Department. Some 60 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 2: not rightfully so, but you know, some were guilty by association. 61 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,440 Speaker 2: It was a big mess for the City Mining Police Department. 62 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 2: In our department because everyone looked down on the police 63 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 2: at that particular time, and this was again during the 64 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,640 Speaker 2: height of the criminal activity, so it kind of hindered 65 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 2: us a little bit as well. But eventually they were 66 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 2: all arrested and exposed and were shut down by our 67 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 2: police department. 68 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: Am I mistaken in believing that also around this time 69 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: there were actually criminals who would dress up in police 70 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: uniforms and do you know, home break ins And. 71 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 2: What happened was eventually, as we found out and working 72 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 2: in robbery, was that that was in fact occurring where 73 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 2: the criminal element and this was basically initiated after the 74 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 2: Marrial moment. One hundreds of thousands of Mario Alitos will 75 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 2: be from prisons and mental wards in Cuba and they 76 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 2: came to Miami and they needed a job and they 77 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 2: didn't want to work, not all of them, but a 78 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,360 Speaker 2: lot of them, and they figured out the easiest way 79 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 2: to rob a drug dealer was to dress up like 80 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 2: a police officer, get a uniform or get a shirt 81 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,920 Speaker 2: that said the police, draft up a fake warrant, put 82 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 2: the gun belt on, get a fake badge. Anybody could 83 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:00,159 Speaker 2: get a badge. You can still get badges today and 84 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 2: do it and pose as police officers, and we started 85 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 2: getting these cases. We really didn't know what to think 86 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 2: at the time because we were a little baffled by it. 87 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 2: And then we figured out that it wasn't a police 88 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 2: impersonators doing these home invasion robberies. And they were probably 89 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 2: thousands of these different groups acted as police officers to 90 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 2: do these home invasion robberies. 91 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 1: Wow, I can't imagine how difficult it would have been 92 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:33,160 Speaker 1: to have been, you know, a good honest cop in 93 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: that time period where you had not only you know, 94 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: an element of rogue criminals within the department, but then 95 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,240 Speaker 1: actual criminals impersonating police officers. All right. 96 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 2: It was definitely unique. And of course, you know, once 97 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 2: we figured it out, we started our investigations and sometimes 98 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 2: working with the FBI or the DA or ATF and 99 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 2: we started arresting these gangs and you go in and 100 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 2: start recovering the equipment and the uniforms and the guns, 101 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 2: and some of them were better equipped than we were. 102 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 2: Some of them had better firepowers, more firepower than we did. 103 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 2: And they had police radios. I mean, they would buy 104 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 2: cars and make them look like police cars at the 105 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 2: police lights. They would do traffic stops on drug dealers. 106 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,159 Speaker 2: I mean, these guys really took it to the extreme, 107 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 2: and they made a lot of money doing it because 108 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 2: again a lot of these robberies were not reported initially 109 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 2: because the drug dealers didn't want to be identified as 110 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 2: drug dealers or they didn't want to make themselves known 111 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 2: to law enforcement. So unless somebody got hurt or shot 112 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 2: or actually killed during one of these robberies, we had 113 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 2: no knowledge of it. And then what would happen when 114 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 2: we started making arrests and we started getting cooperation from 115 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 2: some of these individuals. They would identify locations to us 116 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 2: that they had robbed, and we'd checked those locations, we 117 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 2: would find out that there were no police reports made, 118 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 2: and of course we'd identify those individuals and pass out 119 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 2: on to the narcotics detectives. 120 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: Wow, insane, It was crazy. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 121 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 122 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: the stories that matter to you.