Before he shot himself in the bedroom of his waterfront Coral Gables mansion Tuesday, prominent South Florida builder and developer Sergio Pino was about to be arrested for soliciting multiple attempts by several individuals to murder his wife before their contentious and lucrative divorce became final, according to federal law enforcement officials.
Nine people are now in custody in connection with what the FBI agent in charge called “two murder crews” Pino hired and ordered to carry out the murder of his wife, Tatiana, who filed for divorce in April 2022.
“He decided he was going to kill his wife,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe at a news conference Wednesday, citing an attempted poisoning with fentanyl, stalking and a botched attempt to injure her with a rented flatbed truck as she drove home from a divorce court hearing in August 2023.
But it was in June 2024 when “hitmen” who were alleged to be paid $300,000 followed Tatiana home, where one of them got out of his vehicle armed with a firearm, and chased the car she was driving, but was unsuccessful because Tatiana made it into her home, Lapointe said.
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Then one of the Pinos’ adult daughters came out of the house and the would-be shooter pointed the gun at her head, but decided not to kill her because that was not the job, Lapointe said. The incident was captured in surveillance video, according to the criminal complaint.
Four members of what law enforcement called the first crew were arrested in March and have been indicted in a stalking conspiracy, that included the torching of three cars outside the home of Tatiana’s sister, as well as their alleged role in the hit-and-run truck attack.
The FBI said it determined Sergio Pino’s liaison to that crew was Bayron Bennett, who Tatiana recognized as having worked on the family yacht, “Century Star,” as a food and beverage handler, according to court filings.
The second crew of four, including the armed gunman from June 2024, was led by Fausto Villar, a convicted felon who Lapointe said had done work for Pino as a roofer.
Lapointe said it was to be paid $150,000 for the murder and another $150,000 if Pino was not connected to the crime. Some money was transferred, but authorities were not specific about the amounts, senders, and recipients.
According to the criminal complaint against Villar, law enforcement learned Villar “provided a deadline of June 24, 2024” to kill Tatiana, to “ensure that she could not make the next divorce proceeding between her and Pino.”
All nine men are in custody and those who have had court appearances have pleaded not guilty.
Pino’s criminal attorney, Sam Rabin, told NBC6 he believes Pino could have successfully defended the charges.
Pino’s attorney, Deanna Shifrin, has previously denied all allegations against him, writing in a statement Tuesday, “…there is nothing to indicate that he ever harmed or wanted to harm his wife,” adding, “the combination of unnecessarily destructive divorce litigation along with selective and salacious media coverage was humiliating to him and led to this tragedy.”
