Miami springs police sergeant arrested by fbi on federal corruption charge

June 08, 2015

Unfortunately, a master’s degree in criminal justice, and a 6 figure income can all go to waste if you’re arrested by the FBI on a charge of federal corruption, and that is exactly what could happen if one Miami Springs’ police sergeant is found guilty of federal charges.

Last week, the FBI arrested Miami Springs Police Sgt. A. Quintanilla; the 16-year veteran is being charged with federal corruption after getting involved in a drug deal.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, on May 26, 2015, Quintanilla, 33, was charged with attempting to affect commerce by extortion under color of official right.

The federal complaint states that a confidential FBI source said that in September of 2014, he told Quintanilla that he was a drug trafficker. Instead of making an arrest, Quintanilla offered to help the informant’s drug trafficking scheme.

The complaint says that when asked to do so by the source, Quintanilla gave him the names of three Miami-Dade police officers, the location of an undercover police narcotics office, and he ran the name of a purported drug dealer through a law enforcement database.

Three months after the sergeant met the source, Quintanilla agreed to be an escort during a cocaine deal purportedly involving 10 kilograms of cocaine, says the complaint. The complaint states that Quintanilla also chose the location in Miami Springs so the source could safely exchange the cocaine for $250,000.

Once the deal took place, Quintanilla followed the source while driving his MSPD marked vehicle, while in uniform, to an express package service center where the source was to ship the $250,000 worth of drug proceeds to New York, according to the complaint.

Quintanilla Accused of ‘Accepting’ Bribe Money
In exchange for his services, Quintanilla accepted $3,500 in bribe money from the source, the complaint says.

According to a press release issued by Miami Springs Police Chief Armando Guzman, Quintanilla has been relieved of duty without pay pending the results of the criminal case, which is now being handled by the federal court.

The Miami Herald reports that in 2014, Quintanilla earned $117,772.20. If he is convicted, Quintanilla could be sent to federal prison for up to 20 years.

Contact Donet, McMillan & Trontz, P.A. to schedule a free consultation with a Miami criminal defense lawyer from our firm!