Former Miami prison officer accused of helping gangsters commit massive fraud
A former prison officer at the Federal Detention Center in downtown
Miami has been charged with helping commit a massive fraud from behind
bars.
Michael Mazar is accused of smuggling several cellphones into the federal lockup for Sabatino and helping to transport about $3 million worth of stolen jewelry to be sold in Atlanta, according to the allegations revealed in the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Sabatino, who is associated with Gambino mafia family, pleaded guilty to running a .
In November, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, with a recommendation that he be locked up essentially in solitary confinement and with almost no with the outside world at the “Supermax” federal prison in Colorado.
Mazar also stored stolen jewelry, cash and other proceeds of the fraud at his South Florida home where one of two alleged co-conspirators had delivered them for “safekeeping” at the direction of Sabatino, federal prosecutors wrote in court records.
“Mazar used the proceeds of the fraud scheme to purchase eyeglasses, headphones, additional cellular telephones, and fast food for James Sabatino. Mazar delivered these items to Sabatino at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida,” prosecutor Christopher Barrett Browne wrote in court records.
Also named in the indictment are Job Dolce and Anthony Collado, who are also accused of helping Sabatino commit fraud.
At one point during the alleged conspiracy, investigators said Sabatino told Mazar, Dolce and Collado, to go to Atlanta “For the purpose of transporting and selling several pieces of stolen jewelry valued at over $3 million.”
“[The three men] stayed at a luxury hotel, where Mazar was tasked
with guarding a hotel safe filled with cash fraud proceeds,” the
prosecution wrote.
“Sabatino directed them to sell the jewelry and retail items at pawn shops and jewelry stores in Florida, Georgia, and elsewhere,” according to the charges.
Mazar, who apparently was either terminated or left his job last April, is facing multiple federal charges of conspiracy, transportation of stolen goods, selling or receiving stolen goods, and fraud. The most serious charges carry maximum punishments of 20 years in federal prison.
Mazar worked as a correctional officer at the detention center, located in the federal courthouse complex in downtown Miami, from July 2009 through April 2017, court records show.
Mazar, 30, made a brief appearance Tuesday in federal court in Miami and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was released on a $150,000, co-signed by his wife and mother, records show. The judge ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation, barred him from possessing any firearms and ordered him to have no with any possible witnesses or victims.
He was named in an indictment that was publicly filed on Tuesday. A federal grand jury issued the charges last week but they remained sealed for several days.
Sabatino admitted he used the phones to luxury retailers and ask to borrow expensive jewelry and other items he said would be used in the production of celebrity videos in Miami.
https://kaplanherald.com/2018/01/30/ex-prison-officer-accused-of-serving-to-infamous-inmate-commit-fraud-inside-federal-lockup/
Michael Mazar is accused of smuggling several cellphones into the federal lockup for Sabatino and helping to transport about $3 million worth of stolen jewelry to be sold in Atlanta, according to the allegations revealed in the indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Sabatino, who is associated with Gambino mafia family, pleaded guilty to running a .
In November, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, with a recommendation that he be locked up essentially in solitary confinement and with almost no with the outside world at the “Supermax” federal prison in Colorado.
Mazar also stored stolen jewelry, cash and other proceeds of the fraud at his South Florida home where one of two alleged co-conspirators had delivered them for “safekeeping” at the direction of Sabatino, federal prosecutors wrote in court records.
“Mazar used the proceeds of the fraud scheme to purchase eyeglasses, headphones, additional cellular telephones, and fast food for James Sabatino. Mazar delivered these items to Sabatino at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida,” prosecutor Christopher Barrett Browne wrote in court records.
Also named in the indictment are Job Dolce and Anthony Collado, who are also accused of helping Sabatino commit fraud.
At one point during the alleged conspiracy, investigators said Sabatino told Mazar, Dolce and Collado, to go to Atlanta “For the purpose of transporting and selling several pieces of stolen jewelry valued at over $3 million.”
“Sabatino directed them to sell the jewelry and retail items at pawn shops and jewelry stores in Florida, Georgia, and elsewhere,” according to the charges.
Mazar, who apparently was either terminated or left his job last April, is facing multiple federal charges of conspiracy, transportation of stolen goods, selling or receiving stolen goods, and fraud. The most serious charges carry maximum punishments of 20 years in federal prison.
Mazar worked as a correctional officer at the detention center, located in the federal courthouse complex in downtown Miami, from July 2009 through April 2017, court records show.
Mazar, 30, made a brief appearance Tuesday in federal court in Miami and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was released on a $150,000, co-signed by his wife and mother, records show. The judge ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation, barred him from possessing any firearms and ordered him to have no with any possible witnesses or victims.
He was named in an indictment that was publicly filed on Tuesday. A federal grand jury issued the charges last week but they remained sealed for several days.
Sabatino admitted he used the phones to luxury retailers and ask to borrow expensive jewelry and other items he said would be used in the production of celebrity videos in Miami.
https://kaplanherald.com/2018/01/30/ex-prison-officer-accused-of-serving-to-infamous-inmate-commit-fraud-inside-federal-lockup/
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