Notary, caught up in Hialeah police beating scandal, charged with fraud
A notary who works in the same office as the private investigator caught up in a Hialeah police scandal that has landed two officers in jail has been charged in aiding what investigators say was an attempt to cover up the beating of a homeless man.
State prosecutors say Juan Prietocofino, 51, notarized a falsified affidavit from the victim, Juan Ortega Gutierrez, stating that Hialeah officers Rafael Otano and Lorenzo Orfila had not done him any wrong — and did not witness the man signing it, as required by law.
Prosecutors claim the two cops took Gutierrez to an isolated wooded area a few miles from the strip mall where they picked him up, beat him and left him unconscious after initially telling him they were taking him to jail for disorderly conduct . Their defense attorneys deny the charges and have been arguing in court this week to have both officers freed on bail.
Investigators with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office say Prietocofino works in the same office as Ali Amin Saleh, a private investigations apprentice who they say sought out Gutierrez almost two weeks after the incident and paid him $1,350 to sign an affidavit clearing the police of any wrongdoing. Gutierrez also has been charged with witness tampering in major criminal case, which could land him in prison for life.
Prietocofino was arrested two weeks ago. He’s pleaded not guilty to a single felony count of fraudulently notarizing an affidavit. His attorney, Avelino Gonzalez, said they had no other comment on the case.
That affidavit, according to investigators, was forwarded to prosecutors during the probe into the officers.
The encounter between the officers and Gutierrez began after the employee of a bakery shop called them on December 17 to say the homeless man, who has a long criminal history,was being a nuisance. Prosecutors claim GPS in their police cars showed both officers drove to a site near Northwest 94th Avenue and 174th Street, about seven miles from the shops.
A Hialeah police officer on his day off later spotted the homeless man walking on the roadway and called 911. Hialeah police began an investigation immediately after hearing Gutierrez’s story.
Otano and Orfil were arrested and charged with armed kidnapping, possible life sentences, and battery. Orfil, who investigators say transported Gutierrez, was also charged with official misconduct. Both men have been in Miami-Dade Circuit Court this week before Judge Robert Watson, who is expected to decide if they can post bond and be released from jail.
