New photo Four 'drug traffickers' charged for 2011 Puerto Rico killing of US bank executive

Maurice Spagnoletti, 57, was murdered because he was investigating improper bank transactions, US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez said 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday that four suspected drug traffickers have been charged with the high-profile 2011 killing of a New Jersey banking executive slain in a drive-by shooting on one of Puerto Rico's busiest highways.

Maurice Spagnoletti, 57, was murdered because he was investigating improper bank transactions, US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez told The Associated Press. 

It's also claimed the group would wear amulets and conduct religious ceremonies before committing crimes.

The revelation came after his widow sued Doral Bank in 2013 claiming her husband was killed because he uncovered fraud and had fired an employee for embezzlement. She later withdrew the lawsuit when the bank laughed off the accusations.

She wasn't the only one who was thinking along the right lines. Former executives told Bloomberg Business Week in 2016 that those high up at the organization got a Santeria priest to perform rituals in the boardroom so they had supernatural protection. 

'The company was being used for a money-laundering vehicle,' Rodríguez-Vélez said. 'Spagnoletti became an encumbrance. So they had him killed.'  

US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez announced Wednesday that four people were charged for the drive-by shooting, of Spagnoletti (right with his wife and daughter)

Luis 'Canito Cumbre' Carmona-Bernacet, Yadiel 'Motombo' Serrano-Canales, Alex 'Yogui' Burgos-Amaro and Rolando Rivera-Solis were charged with use of a firearm in relation to drug trafficking that resulted in Spagnoletti's death.  

A jury said they counseled each other to carry a firearm, in turn aiding and abetting Spagnoletti's murder as he drove home from work on Highway 22 near the Minillas tunnel at 7.10pm on June 15, 2011.

Suspect Rivera-Solis owned a cleaning company that had received millions of dollars under a maintenance contract with the bank that Spagnoletti had canceled as part of his investigation because he found the amount 'outlandish'.

Maintenance and service companies were allegedly used as a guise to further the illegal goals of the group. 

The owner of the cleaning company served as head of the Santeria group that the alleged drug traffickers relied on to protect their organization, Rodriguez said. 

 The New Jersey dad who was questioning accounting practices at the bank

The US Attorney told AP that details pertaining to the contract will be shared at trial as part of evidence presented. 

Authorities said the suspects are members of an organization responsible for at least two other killings. 

Carmona-Bernacet is charged with Spagnoletti's murder, as well as killing William Castro on December 30, 2002, and René Cruz on December 6, 2006.  

It was not immediately clear if the suspects had attorneys. The investigation in the Spagnoletti case is ongoing.

'We believe there are other people that might be involved, and we are going after them,' Rodríguez-Vélez added to AP. 

Rodríguez-Vélez said the group are 'the leaders and key members of this violent gang, who are responsible for at least three murders'. 

She continued in a statement: 'Today’s charges prove our continuing commitment to remove armed, violent criminals from our neighborhoods and bring them to justice. Notwithstanding the indictment returned by the grand jury, as to the murder of Maurice Spagnoletti, the investigation continues.'  

The attorney said Spagnoletti (pictured right with his wife and daughter) 'became an encumbrance so they had him killed'

The defendants each face a minimum sentence of 15 years. The punishment is from 10 years up to life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge, and from five years up to life in prison for the firearm charges. 

For the murder of Spagnoletti, the defendants could face imprisonment for any number of years or a life sentence. 

Spagnoletti had moved with his wife to Puerto Rico in 2010, eight months before the killing the following summer. He had worked in South Carolina, Indiana and Pennsylvania before his final move. 

Now she runs a handbags and accessories foundation named Lucy's Gift, to raise money in her husband's memory. 

'Respectfully, nothing brings my husband back, but what I feel today is a feeling of pride to be an American,' Marisa Spagnoletti said in an interview after the announcement. 'Every single American should know that these men and women protect us, and my faith in them was warranted all along. My message to criminals is that good conquers evil.'  

Authorities are investigating whether more people could be involved. Spagnoletti had moved with wife Marissa (left) to Puerto Rico in 2010, eight months before the June 2011 killing

Four of six suspects detained in connection to an alleged drug trafficking circle were already in prison on other charges. Two others were arrested at their homes in northern Puerto Rico early Wednesday. 

Alan Lugo and Fabiany Almestica were also detained as part of the six people accused of having 'intentionally possessed with intent to distribute crack, cocaine, and marijuana' in the San Juan, Trujillo Alto, Guaynabo, and Bayamón municipalities between 2000 and 2014.

It's alleged the ring had distribution points at public housing facilities. 

In 2015, four years after the murder, Doral Bank was bought by Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and others. The collapse was believed to be one of the biggest banking failures in the United States since 2010. 

Douglas Leff, FBI special agent in charge for San Juan since 2015, had offered a $20,000 reward for anyone who could help catch those responsible for the banker's death.

He said in a statement Wednesday: 'The prosecutors and investigators assigned to this case were unwavering in their tireless dedication to see that these brutal murders would not go unsolved.

'While the unimaginable pain of the family members of these victims can never be resolved, the justice system will ensure that those responsible pay dearly for their willingness to kill another human being in furtherance of their own greed.'   

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News Pictures Four 'drug traffickers' charged for 2011 Puerto Rico killing of US bank executive

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