After years of skating past scandal, former Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez faces charges of structuring transactions to evade reporting or registration requirements, organized fraud, and grand theft — all first-degree felonies. Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) arrested Velazquez on Monday.

Velazquez, 61, was the police chief for the City of Hialeah Police Department from 2012 until 2021.

"Officers of the law are held to a higher standard of character and integrity. They are expected to uphold the trust that the public has placed in them. FDLE Miami special agent in charge John Vecchio said in a public media release . "This case revealed that Velazquez violated the trust and integrity expected of him as police chief."

Vecchio and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez R

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