OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – When Michael Nieto worked as a school resource officer at a high school in Central Florida, a public profile disclosed his hobbies were “firearms training, fitness, reading, legos, and PC games.” The feds found out he was doing a lot more with his free time.
Recommended Videos
Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday Nieto, 31, admitted to dealing in firearms without a license while working as a police officer in St. Cloud, a city in Osceola County.
According to prosecutors, investigators found that while Nieto worked as a St. Cloud Police Department officer he supplied firearms to a man who was involved in smuggling these to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti.
Prosecutors announced Nieto pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license and he was awaiting sentencing.
In 2023, a St. Cloud Police Department Facebook post congratulated Nieto after graduating from the Criminal Justice Academy of Osceola.
Federal investigators with the FBI and ATF reported Nieto repeatedly purchased and resold firearms and “corruptly” used police databases to provide sensitive and confidential information to his customer, according to prosecutors.
Investigators tracked about 58 firearms from June 6, 2022, to Sept. 4, 2024, and seized 12 when they searched Nieto’s home on Oct. 17, 2024, in Osceola County.
Federal agents reported Nieto admitted that his customer had provided him with “illegal items, including a machinegun conversion device,” according to prosecutors.
St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke released a statement through prosecutors saying his department was also conducting an “in-depth investigation” into the crimes.