Ex-Hialeah police chief busted for stealing almost $600k from city coffers, state says
Hialeah’s former police chief — let go four years ago after a sex scandal rocked his office — was taken into custody without incident outside his home early Monday and has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer and drug bust money over a six-month stretch in 2021.
Sergio Velazquez, 61, was charged with single counts of money laundering and grand theft of over $100,000 and a count of organized fraud. He was briefly jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center — just three miles south of the city limits where he served for three decades.
During an afternoon press conference at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge John Vecchio said the case revealed how Velazquez abused the public’s trust. The FDLE led the investigation that took more than three years and included nearly 100 subpoenas.
“This case revealed that Velazquez violated the trust and integrity expected of him as police chief,” Vecchio said.
Money moved from a safe to his bank accounts, state says
Investigators, who said additional charges could follow, believe Velazquez had been stealing from a petty cash fund used for undercover drug stings since as far back as 2015. But they only charged him for a series of dozens of money transfers from a safe in his office to several personal bank accounts from May 2021 until he was relieved of duty by the city’s new mayor after the November 2021 election.
During that time period, they believe Velazquez stole almost $600,000. His 44-page arrest warrant says during those six months Velazquez made 62 deposits into several accounts he operated, totaling $140,000. Each deposit, the warrant says, was under $10,000 — an amount that automatically triggers an investigation into its origin.
State attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle called the accusations against Velazquez “a unique betrayal” that “deeply damages the very soul of the community.”
Online court records don’t show that Velazquez had hired an attorney by late Monday afternoon. They also don’t list his next scheduled court appearance or a date for an arraignment. His name wasn’t on the Miami-Dade Corrections website, indicating he was released after posting bond, which was set at $30,000. The case is before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Zachary James.
Rolex watches, Versace, Gucci goods
The former police chief’s arrest warrant shows he has a taste for expensive watches and designer clothes. Investigators say Velazquez spent $300,000 on several Rolex watches and purchased goods from high-end retailers like Gucci and Versace.
He’s also no stranger to the limelight.
Named police chief in Miami-Dade’s second largest city in 2012, Velazquez racked up a string of disciplinary actions against him in the years leading to his appointment while he policed the streets of Hialeah. Some of the accusations led to an 18-month FDLE investigation over “a pattern of criminal misconduct,” that was eventually dropped for lack of evidence.
One case involved a romantic relationship he was alleged to have had with a woman he met at the police station after she was hauled in for driving under the influence. Another: The torching of a man’s vehicle whose former girlfriend was dating Velazquez.
The former chief was also heavily criticized for his handling of Jesus Menocal Jr., a former Hialeah police sergeant who was sent to prison for three years in 2022 after pleading guilty to using his badge to force women into uncomfortable sexual situations with him.
Several years prior to Menocal’s plea deal, Velazquez was lenient toward the officer, allowing him to continue patrolling despite allegations of sexual assault against four women, at least one of whom was underage.
READ MORE: A former Hialeah cop was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Now he’s out on ‘good behavior’
Velazquez, who did electrical work outside of his public office, was let go by Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo after the 2021 election. At the time, he had a $211,000 salary.
New chief’s complaint led to charges
Within days of being installed by the new mayor as police chief of the agency’s more than 300 sworn officers in late 2021, George Fuente made a discovery that led him to the FDLE: Packages from drug cash seizures in a safe in the chief’s office had tens of thousands of dollars missing.
Velazquez’s arrest warrant says Fuente contacted the FDLE. Some of the accusations in the warrant that grew out of the investigation are astounding. Investigators believe that in the last five years Velazquez was in office, he deposited more than 900 checks of under $10,000 into accounts controlled by him.
During the same time period —from 2015 to 2021 —there were 100 checks written for $2.8 million off accounts he controlled, but only $209,000 was “documented as legitimate,” the warrant says. The money was supposed to be used mainly for drug sting operations.
Also unaccounted for: $1 million from court-awarded civil forfeitures.
And, the warrant claims that between 2013 and 2021, Velazquez’s office requested 147 checks to go toward drug operations that totaled $3.2 million — with most of that money also unaccounted for.
Vecchio said investigators proving Velazquez committed the crime took much longer than painting him as the main culprit.
“The activity stopped when he left,” Vecchio said.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 11:46 AM.
