TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

4 Men Jailed In Latin Kings Gang Sting Say They'll Sue

Tribune file photo by JIM REED (2006)

Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee stands with State Attorney Mark Ober at a 2006 press conference announcing the arrests.

ADVERTISEMENT

By RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2008

TAMPA - The attorneys for four men arrested in a roundup of suspected Latin Kings gang members said Tuesday they intend to sue the three law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation.

Lyann Goudie and Kimberley Kohn sent notices of intent via certified mail Tuesday to the Tampa Police Department, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office informing them of possible litigation.

All three agencies declined to comment because of the pending lawsuits. The agencies have six months to respond to the legal notices.

The notices state that the attorneys' clients - Jorge Villacis, Robert Adams III, Juan Alvarez and Efren Rosado - were falsely arrested and that their civil rights were violated.

The four men were at the Caribbean American Club in South Tampa on Aug. 20, 2006, a gathering that authorities said was a mandatory gang meeting.

More than 50 purported members of the Latin Kings were arrested at the meeting which was set up by Luis "Danny" Agosto, a confidential informant hired by the FBI and Tampa police.

In April, Circuit Judge Daniel Sleet threw out racketeering and conspiracy charges against almost all of the defendants. Just showing up at the meeting was not grounds for the charges, Sleet said.

The judge said authorities let Agosto go too far when the defendants were threatened with violence if they did not attend the meeting.

"These were people living their lives," Goudie said Tuesday. "They were lassoed by an unethical, out-of-control criminal that was the best friend of law enforcement."

Agosto was paid $2,400 a month, lived in a rent-free apartment and was promised a $100,000 bonus upon conviction of gang members. While Agosto acted as an informant, he continued a life of crime, Sleet said.

Edward Mamet, a police procedure consultant and retired New York City police captain, said if authorities knew they were using a confidential informant with a checkered background, then "that's reckless conduct."

If the cases go to trial, defense attorneys must overcome the burden of qualified immunity, a doctrine in federal constitutional law that gives law enforcement a margin of error in operations such as the Latin Kings arrests, Mamet said.

Under the doctrine, "police have a job to do" and if they are sued for each perceived mistake, public safety would suffer because officers would be taking care of their court cases and not out on the streets patrolling their beats, Mamet said.

"It can't be an ordinary mistake," he said.

In November, Goudie and Kohn sent a similar letter to the agencies on behalf of their client Mitchell Bernier, who was also arrested at the Caribbean American Club. In Bernier's case, the six months are up and authorities have not responded, Kohn said. She expects to file a lawsuit soon.

Goudie and Kohn represent a total of nine defendants in the Latin Kings case and said that they are working on the last four notices of intent to sue.

News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT