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Southern District U.S. Attorney Retires
A Job Well Done
(Don’t place an ice pick in your baggage!)
Marcos Daniel Jiménez, was the first Caribbean born United States Attorney in the Southern District of Florida. He and I were classmates at the University of Miami School of Law in September of 1980. The 1980 class is proud of Mr. Jiménez's achievement and the integrity and consistency which he brought Federal law enforcement during his tenure as United States Attorney. The United States Attorney position is approximately the equivalent of the Director of Public Prosecution’s position in Jamaica. Although the position is a political appointment, the office holder is insulated from political influence and/or bias. Mr. Jiménez was born in Havana, Cuba and graduated in a very high position from the University of Miami School of Law in 1983. The Law School community and members of his Law School class, in particular, are proud of his accomplishments. Caribbean and Extra Territorial Scope It would appear that during his period as United States Attorney, Mr. Jiménez, as a matter of policy, decided to permit the office to focus on Caribbean crime as it affects Florida. This policy is reflected in the recent indictment of Moral Lafleur, an individual trafficking in Jamaican and Bahamian aliens to the United States of America. Miami is a Caribbean town and Mr. Jiménez's policies have obviously had a prosecutorial effect on Caribbean natives. In February of this year, a major Caribbean-based trading company - Laparkan Trading Ltd., Co., was indicted and sentenced for commercial violations involving transportation of hazardous materials in violation of Title 49, United States Code, Section 5124. In January 2005, George Clarke was found guilty by a Federal Jury in Miami of attempting to travel in foreign commerce to engage in sexual relations with a minor. Mr. Clarke’s conviction was a result of a ‘sting’ operation set up by the FBI to create an undercover travel agency that offered travel packages to Costa Rica that purportedly included the sexual services of minors. In 2004, Mr. Jiménez's office smashed the Maycock organization in the Bahamas, a syndicate devoted to the sale of narcotics to the U.S.A. and Jamaica, W.I. This investigation, as part of Operation ‘Double Talk’, resulted in the indictment and conviction of Sypron Elvis Wilson of the Royal Bahamian Police Force.
Focus on Fugitives Operation ‘Falcon’, which was implemented through South Florida under Mr. Jiménez's watch, was a nationwide search for dangerous gun criminals at large. During Operation ‘Falcon’, the United States Marshals Service, working in coordination with the Jamaica Constabulary Force located a dangerous gun criminal in Kingston, Jamaica. (Of course, since Mr. Jiménez's appointment, there exists a permanent U.S. Marshals’ office in Jamaica, W.I.). Mr. Jiménez's office prosecuted the President of Hamilton Bank, a Trade Bank which collapsed in January 2002. That bank transacted business in the Caribbean and Latin America. The indictment of the principals of Hamilton Bank Corp. in Florida saved many Jamaican businessmen a great deal of money. Juan Carlos Bernace, President and Director of Hamilton Bancorp and Hamilton Bank, pleaded guilty to Securities Fraud earlier this year. Eduardo Mas Ferrer, an officer of Hamilton Bank and a regular visitor to Jamaica, was also indicted for bank fraud. Ice Pick The same attention to detail that Mr. Jiménez demonstrated at Law School, he reportedly brought to bear at the United States Attorney’s office. Even Rosemary Schier who had an ice pick on board a U.S. Airways flight, originating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and bound for the Palm Beach International Airport, could not escape his attention. She was convicted of carrying a dangerous concealed weapon on board an aircraft in violation of Title 49 United States Code, Section 46505 (b) (1) and violation of Title 49, United States Code, Section 46314 (a) and (b)(1). Congratulations Marc! A Caribbean native, a professional and a scholar. You can now relax in glorious retirement. My suggestion to Jamaicans, since Mr. Jiménez's tenure in the office … it is not a good idea to take an ice pick on board an aircraft.
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By: Dr. David P. Rowe
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