CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Prominent South Florida developer Sergio Pino was found dead following an FBI raid “connected to an ongoing murder-for-hire investigation” at his home in Coral Gables Tuesday morning, officials said; his attorney says he took his own life.
Agents, along with local police officers, were seen outside the mogul’s multi-million-dollar home on Isla Dorada Boulevard in the exclusive Cocoplum neighborhood.
A source tells Local 10 News that agents were picking up electronics, safes and three boxes of documents. A Local 10 News crew heard the sound of periodic flash-bangs.
Pino was the founder of Century Homebuilders Group, described on its website as “one of the largest Hispanic Homebuilders in the nation.”
FBI officials said the 67-year-old was found dead “from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound” in an upstairs bedroom.
In a text message Tuesday afternoon, Pino’s lawyer, Miami-based defense attorney Sam Rabin, confirmed that Pino died by suicide and criticized law enforcement’s handling of the situation.
“Sergio Pino took his own life today. The level of law enforcement activity at his residence was unprecedented and unnecessary, especially since we had offered to surrender him should that have become necessary,” he said. “Today’s events mark a very tragic ending to an investigation that we were confident we could successfully defend. There were many rumors and allegations but what was lacking was evidence.”
Workers at Century’s headquarters on Ponce de Leon Boulevard locked the doors when a Local 10 News crew showed up.
JUST IN: Several loud bangs heard outside home of real estate developer Sergio Pino in Coral Gables. FBI and local police have been at the property for hours as they conduct some sort of investigation. Several SWAT trucks spotted outside as well. @WPLGLocal10 pic.twitter.com/An5u0Y0rEq
— Trent Kelly (@TrentKellyWPLG) July 16, 2024
Medics from the Coral Gables Fire Department were seen entering and exiting the home at around 10:20 a.m.
A Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office vehicle later pulled into the neighborhood and officials were seen loading what’s believed to be Pino’s body into a van while shielding it with a large black tarp.
Pino has been the subject of recent reports in the Miami Herald, including over divorce proceedings with his wife, Tatiana, in which she accused him of poisoning her. The newspaper also reported on another recent raid of the home.
Tatiana Pino was also the victim of what investigators described as a targeted hit-and-run case on Aug. 30, 2023.
Video shows Tatiana Pino pulling into her driveway as a rented Home Depot flatbed-style pick-up truck parked nearby circles around from behind and rams into the passenger side of her SUV before driving off.
It happened on a day the Miami-Dade civil court docket shows there was a 10 a.m. special appointment pertaining to the Pinos’ divorce case.
Four people have been arrested, including Bayron Bennett, who worked for Sergio Pino. An FBI affidavit says Bennett helped with food and beverage service on the Pinos’ yacht.
Bayron Bennett criminal complaint:
“In this already complex divorce, we have had to address the terrorism and the attacks on Tatiana’s life. It is truly terrible,” Tatiana Pino’s attorney, Raymond J. Rafool, told Local 10 News on Tuesday. “Thankfully, the FBI is involved and working hard to keep Tatiana safe and bringing those responsible to justice.”
Rafool confirmed that around 2019 or 2020, Tatiana Pino began to have unexpected health problems. Testing, he said, would reveal bath salts in her medications and fentanyl in her system; he said the only known suspect was her estranged husband.
Deanna Shifrin, Sergio Pino’s divorce attorney, told Local 10 News in a statement that based on her two years representing him, “there is nothing to indicate that he ever harmed or wanted to harm” his wife.
“He was a gentle and kind man, loved and respected by the many people he employed at his businesses. He loved his children and grandchildren and talked of little else,” Shifrin said. “I do believe that the combination of unnecessarily destructive divorce litigation along with selective and salacious media coverage was humiliating to him and led to this tragedy.”
A police officer was parked outside of her Pinecrest home on Tuesday.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri released a statement regarding the raid Tuesday afternoon:
“This morning, the FBI conducted search and arrest operations at two locations in Miami-Dade County which are connected to an ongoing murder for hire investigation initiated in the Fall of 2023.
The first operation was at 9720 Bel Aire Drive in Miami. The subject was arrested without incident and a search of that location was conducted. No further information about this location will be released at this time.
The second location was at 142 Isla Dorada Blvd in Coral Gables where the subject, Sergio Pino, was discovered by the FBI inside the residence deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Upon arrival, members of the FBI Miami SWAT team attempted to call out any occupants of the residence. When there was no response, the SWAT team entered the residence and conducted a methodical search to locate the subject. Ultimately, Mr. Pino was discovered alone in an upstairs bedroom.
The ultimate determination of cause of death will come from the medical examiner’s office.
I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida for their close cooperation and diligence during this investigation.
Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released at this time.”
Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri