METROPOLITAN BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

The year 2001 was another active year for joint investigations being conducted by the member agencies of the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation. The contributing agencies, consisting of the Ninth Judicial Circuit's State Attorney's Office, Orange County Sheriff's Office, Osceola County Sheriff's Office, Orlando Police Department, Winter Park Police Department, Ocoee Police Department, Apopka Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Customs Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Immigration and Naturalization Service, combined efforts to dismantle illegal narcotics and vice organizations operating in Central Florida and in judicial circuits that were supplying illegal services to Central Florida.

Some of those investigations included the continuation of the MBI, FDLE, and DEA HIDTA Heroin Task Force investigation titled Operation Corona, which led to the Heroin Trafficking arrest of the Florida President of the Latin Kings, known as Jose "King Joey" Rosado. The Operation Corona investigation led to the heroin suppliers of Jose Rosado and to a new investigation titled Operation Final Count, which resulted in eleven heroin trafficking arrests and the dismantling of the John Aragon Heroin Organization.

Operation Sandman was a joint investigation conducted by the FDLE, MBI, DEA HIDTA Heroin Task Force, USCS, INS, Orange County Sheriff's Office, Orlando Police Department, and Ocoee Police Department directed at three inter-related heroin organizations. The investigation resulted in 24 heroin trafficking arrests and the dismantling of those organizations.

The four year investigation Operation Catch Stretch has been directed at the Jorge Farah Organization that is an active cocaine and marijuana organization operating in Central Florida. The joint investigation conducted with the DEA, IRS, and FDLE has already resulted in significant seizures of illegal cash assets in 2001 and is expected to be completed in 2002.

The above investigations and other narcotics investigations have resulted in the seizure of $7,432,388 in narcotics, $1,182,381 in illegal cash proceeds, and the arrest of 160 drug traffickers. Persons who commit the level of drug crime titled "Trafficking" face significant minimum mandatory prison sentences.

In the year 2001, the MBI Vice/Organized Crime Section continued the investigation of the Rachel's Men's Clubs. As a result of evidence obtained in the investigation, the owner of Rachel's Men's Clubs, James Veigle, was arrested for Racketeering, Deriving Support from Prostitution, Securing a Person for Prostitution, and Money Laundering.

Thirty-two of the Rachel's Men's Clubs managers, employees, and sub-contractors have pled guilty to charges ranging from racketeering, prostitution, and drug dealing. Agents continue to gain additional evidence and are ready to proceed to the trial phase.

In 2001, the MBI reduced enforcement directed at street prostitution as the Orlando Police Department established their own street vice enforcement unit to complement the Orange County Sheriff's Office street vice enforcement unit. The MBI focused more on organized prostitution services, including the racketeering investigation of AAA Entertainment and Models and a joint investigation with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, called Operation Harpoon, which resulted in four multi-county escort services being dismantled, and their owners arrested for racketeering. The Vice/Organized Crime Section additionally met with representatives of the Sprint and BellSouth Yellow Pages publications to develop strategies to make it more difficult for illegal prostitution services to advertise in the Entertainer and Massage categories. Both publishers have already agreed to remove the Escort Service category from their Yellow Pages directories.