One of the biggest Hispanic residential builders in the nation, real estate developer Sergio Pino, committed suicide on Tuesday morning after FBI agents showed up at his Cocoplum home as part of what the agency described as a “murder for hire” investigation into threats made against his divorced wife, Tatiana Pino.
For a well-known businessman, it was an unexpected finish to a federal investigation concerning his possible ties to a group of men accused of intimidating and stalking his long-married wife throughout thirty years of their acrimonious divorce.
Since FBI agents raided Sergio Pino’s Coral Gables home and office in late June, the couple’s divorce has been widely publicized. The couple’s divorce file details allegations of poisoning, car fires, and a drive-by shooting at Sergio Pino’s residence in recent years.
A hit-and-run and arson threats made against Tatiana Pino and her sister earlier this year resulted in the arrest of four individuals, one of whom worked in Sergio Pino’s household.
According to a statement from Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri, early on Tuesday, weeks after the initial raid, FBI agents stormed Sergio Pino’s Coral Gables neighborhood as part of a “search and arrest” operation pertaining to a murder for hire investigation that started in the fall of 2023.
According to the FBI statement, a SWAT squad entered Pino’s house after trying to call out to anyone inside and receiving no answer. According to Veltri, Pino, 67, was found “alone in an upstairs bedroom” by FBI investigators after he accidentally shot himself to death.
As part of the operation, law officers raided another residence in Cutler Bay. Veltri reported that one individual had been taken into custody, but she withheld the suspect’s identity and other information.
Pino’s criminal defense lawyer blasted the FBI’s conduct in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
“Sergio Pino took his own life today,” lawyer Sam Rabin stated. “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. 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.”
Pino had denied any involvement in the occurrences involving his wife. Pino is the founder of Century Homebuilders Group and has been a prominent builder and political supporter in Miami-Dade County for decades.
Tuesday morning in Cocoplum, the dramatic scene began as FBI agents went back to Pino’s house, where the couple used to reside. The residence is located on Isla Dorada Boulevard, which was sealed off by Coral Gables police vehicles for a significant portion of the morning.
Starting about 9:30 a.m., roughly every fifteen minutes, there were a series of loud bangs coming from a block distant. Over at the beachfront home, next to the Cocoplum Yacht Club, two helicopters were in a hover.
Coral Gables Fire Rescue showed up around ten in the morning, lights on. An ambulance with lights on but no siren departed after thirty minutes. The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s office sent a van to the scene about 11:30 a.m.
Later, Pino’s death inside his Isla Dorada Boulevard house at roughly 10:20 a.m. was confirmed by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office.
From the area that law officers had cordoned off on Tuesday morning, there was no view of the residence.
Raymond Rafool, Tatiana Pino’s attorney, remained silent on Tuesday afternoon. “We are not commenting at this time due to the circumstances,” he stated.
Earlier this year, four males from Miami-Dade, one of whom was Sergio Pino’s employee, were taken into custody in relation to threats and assaults against Tatiana Pino and her sister.
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Working as a food and beverage coordinator on Sergio Pino’s boat, Bayron Bennett is suspected of enlisting Michael Dulfo, Edner Etienne, and Jerren Howard to carry out a hit-and-run at Tatiana Pino’s house as well as many arsons at her sister’s home. The four men entered a not guilty plea.
In August 2023, following a day of divorce hearings, Tatiana Pino’s car was struck by a rented Home Depot trailer as she was pulling into her driveway. And at Tatiana Pino’s sister’s house, three cars were arsonistically set on fire in two different incidents.
A second “attempt on Ms. Pino’s life just weeks ago at her home,” according to a July 5 motion filed by Tatiana Pino’s divorce lawyer. Since the report from that incident is a component of the current federal investigation, Pinecrest police have declined to make it public.
Tatiana Pino stated in court that she thought her husband had tried to poison her, which is why she was experiencing health issues. That accusation had been refuted by Sergio Pino.
Additionally, he stated in his testimony that he had been threatened during the divorce process.
Sergio Pino claimed that someone had shot at his Coral Gables home one month after Tatiana Pino filed for divorce, and that he had also received threatening phone calls at that same period.
Sergio Pino claimed that someone had set fire to his automobile in September 2023, not long after Tatiana Pino’s home was struck and ran. He stated in court that his other automobile had been vandalized approximately a year prior.
