Real estate developer Sergio Pino, one of the nation’s largest Hispanic homebuilders, killed himself Tuesday morning after FBI agents arrived at his Cocoplum home in what the bureau called a “murder for hire.” Threat investigation brought against his ex-wife, Tatiana Pino.
It was a shocking end for a prominent businessman who was under federal investigation into his involvement with a group of men accused of harassing and threatening his wife of more than three decades during a contentious divorce. The dissolution of the couple’s marriage had been in the headlines since FBI agents raided Pino’s Coral Gables home and office in late June — pages from their divorce filings show the couple recounting alleged incidents of poisoning, vehicle arson and a drive-by shooting at Pino’s home in recent years. Threats against Pino and her sister, including arson and a hit-and-run, led to the arrest of four men, including one of Pino’s domestic workers, earlier this year.
On Tuesday morning, weeks after the initial raid, FBI agents descended on Sergio Pino’s Coral Gables neighborhood as part of a “search and arrest” operation tied to a murder-for-hire investigation that began in the fall of 2023, according to a statement from Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri. A SWAT team entered Pino’s home after he tried to call out to someone inside and got no response, the FBI statement said. Veltri said Pino, who was 67, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that FBI agents found him “alone in an upstairs bedroom.”
As part of that operation, law enforcement searched another home in Cutler Bay. One person was arrested, according to Veltri, who did not provide the suspect’s name or other details.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Pino’s criminal attorney criticized the FBI’s actions.
“Sergio Pino committed suicide today,” said attorney Sam Rabin. “The level of law enforcement activity at his home was unprecedented and unnecessary, especially since we had offered to turn him over if necessary. Today’s events mark a very tragic end to an investigation that we were confident we could successfully defend. There were plenty of rumors and allegations, but what was lacking was the evidence.”
Pino, the founder of Century Homebuilders Group and a prominent Miami-Dade County builder and political donor for decades, had denied any involvement in incidents involving his wife.
The startling scene in Cocoplum unfolded Tuesday morning as FBI agents returned to Pino’s home, where the couple had lived together. For much of the morning, Coral Gables police cruisers blocked Isla Dorada Boulevard, where the home is located. A series of loud bangs were heard about a block away, starting at 9:30 a.m., about every 15 minutes. Two helicopters circled over the waterfront property near the Cocoplum Yacht Club.
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Around 10 a.m., Coral Gables firefighters arrived on the scene with their lights flashing. Thirty minutes later, an ambulance left with its lights flashing but no siren. Around 11:30 a.m., a van from the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office arrived on the scene.
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed that Pino died inside his home on Isla Dorada Boulevard around 10:20 a.m.
The residence was not visible from the area blocked by law enforcement on Tuesday morning.
A local resident told the Miami Herald that law enforcement around the home appeared calm, with guns pointed at the ground. The person said at one point, he heard police say over a megaphone that they were going to break into the front door.
Tatiana Pino’s lawyer, Raymond Rafool, declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. “Under the current circumstances, we will not comment at this time,” he said.
Four Miami-Dade men, including an employee of Sergio Pino, were arrested earlier this year in connection with threats and attacks against Tatiana Pino and her sister. Bayron Bennett, who worked in catering preparation on Sergio Pino’s yacht, is accused of recruiting Michael Dulfo, Edner Etienne and Jerren Howard to commit a hit-and-run at Tatiana Pino’s home and multiple arsons at her sister’s home. All four men have pleaded not guilty.
A rented Home Depot trailer hit Tatiana Pino’s car as she pulled into her driveway after a day of divorce proceedings in August 2023. And three vehicles were set on fire in two separate arsons at the home of Tatiana Pino’s sister.
In a motion filed July 5, Tatiana Pino’s attorney said there was another “attempted murder attempt against Ms. Pino just weeks ago at her home.” Pinecrest police have declined to release the report of that incident because it is part of the ongoing federal investigation.
In her court testimony, Tatiana Pino said she blamed her health problems on medical conditions. on what she believed to be an attempted poisoning by her husband. Sergio Pino had denied this allegation.
He also testified that he received threats throughout the divorce proceedings.
A month after Tatiana Pino filed for divorce, Sergio Pino said someone shot dead in his Coral Gables home and that he had received threatening phone calls at that time.
In September 2023, shortly after the hit-and-run accident at Tatiana Pino’s home, Sergio Pino said someone set his car on fire. About a year before that, he testified, another of his cars had been vandalized.
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