All but one of 10 people accused of participating in an organized car theft and fraud ring have been arrested, including a Miami Beach police officer.
A 61-page arrest warrant details a complicated scheme that involved straw buyers faking paperwork to buy or lease new cars for the alleged crime bosses, who then profited from them in their own Miami-Dade auto businesses.
Miami Beach police officer George Navarro is accused as one of those straw buyers. At Lexus of North Miami in April 2011, agents say the officer pretended to be a well-paid doctor to lease a car, turned the car over to the alleged ringleader, then walked away with a $3,000 kickback.
Court documents show Navarro was recruited to the alleged auto theft ring, in part, by a roommate, Marlon Mayoli, who is a convicted drug dealer in an unrelated case.
"If Officer Navarro is guilty of anything, he's guilty of a misplaced friendship," said Navarro's attorney Michael Band in a court hearing Thursday.
That friendship is evident on Mayoli's Facebook page, where a 2008 photo shows Navarro by his squad car, a squad car Mayoli would be seen driving, according to documents.
Mayoli also posted photographs of himself with high-end automobiles. His original drug arrest occurred while in a car stolen by the auto fraud ring, say detectives.
Court documents also detail text messages and conversations showing Mayoli's work with confidential informants as investigators closed in on Officer Navarro.
Navarro, who had been with the Miami Beach Police Department for about seven years, bonded out of jail on Thursday.
Eight of the nine -- Tomas Manrique; Todd Javon Smith, Jr.; Shanovia Maria Smith; Nicholi O'Neil Smith; Alexandra Olivera; Francis Elizabeth Hannan; James Paul; and, Dennis Esther Matos Torres -- were arrested early Friday, said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. A 10th suspect, Shannon Reid, remains at large.
Below are the charges as provided by FDLE:
Tomas Manrique, 51, of Miami, was charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of grand theft, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000 and seven counts of title fraud. He was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.Todd Javon Smith Jr., 29, of Pembroke Pines, was charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of grand theft, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000 and seven counts of title fraud. He was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.Shanovia Maria Smith, 26, of Pembroke Pines, was charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000, one count of unlawful subleasing of motor vehicles, one count of obtaining a vehicle with the intent to defraud and one count of title fraud. She was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.Nicholi O’Neil Smith, 37, of Miramar was arrested and charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000, three counts of unlawful subleasing of motor vehicles, three counts of obtaining a vehicle with the intent to defraud and three counts of title fraud. Smith was booked into the Broward County Jail.Francis Elizabeth Hannan, 49, of Lauderhill, was charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000, three counts of unlawful subleasing of motor vehicles, three counts of obtaining a vehicle with the intent to defraud and three counts of false statement as to financial condition of or identity. Hannan was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.James M. Paul, 35, of Sunrise, was arrested for one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, five counts of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000, five counts of unlawful subleasing of motor vehicles, five counts of obtaining a vehicle with the intent to defraud and five counts of false statement as to financial condition or identity. He was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.Dennis Esther Matos Torres, 42, of Miami, was arrested on one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000, two counts of unlawful subleasing of motor vehicles, three counts of obtaining a vehicle with the intent to defraud, three counts of false statement as to financial condition or identity, one count of making a false insurance claim and two counts of making a false report to police. She was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.George Robert Navarro, 26, a Miami Beach police officer, was charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000, two counts of unlawful subleasing of motor vehicles, two counts of obtaining a vehicle with the intent to defraud, two counts of false statement as to financial condition or identity and one count of official misconduct. He was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.Alexandra Olivera, 25, of Hialeah, an employee of a private auto tag office, was arrested on one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering and 12 counts of title fraud. She was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail.A warrant has been issued for Shannon Reid, 56, of Boca Raton, who is charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, one count of Florida Communications Fraud Act greater than $50,000 and one count of making a false report to police.