Bugs in house The next month. it became apparent that not everything San Pedro said about bribery was idle boasting. Mounting evidence of San Pedro's illegal payoffs emerged. The amounts were relatively small: a parole commission examiner caught on tape accepting $700 from San Pedro in return for writing a favorable memo on San Pedro's behalf to Tallahassee; a Southern Bell supervisor who swept San Pedro's house for police $1,200 bugs and later admitted to bugging phones for San Pedro $1,000 a throw; a School Board member who admitted accepting two illegal $1,000 campaign contributions from San Pedro. Eventually investigators learned why San Pedro was so eager to buy his police files from the undercover officers, why he would pay for favors from a parole examiner: He craved legitimacy. He desperately wanted a pardon to clear his criminal record so he could run for political office. "All I wanted was my pardon, that was it," San Pedro said on the tapes. "The slate would have been clean." Gradually the scandal faded from the headlines. The grinding schedule of hearings and depositions lasted more than a year. Greene's appearances, in oversized floppy hats and over-much makeup, were early highlights for the sensation mongers, but interest eventually dwindled. With no new arrests, and none of the big three (San Pedro. Redondo and Dugan) turning state's evidence, the case settled down. The political damage had been done. It was now a matter of a man who, allegedly. may once have been a one-man, minor organized crime cloud in Hialeah, with big dangerous dreams that were nipped in the bud. PETER ANDREW BOSCH Miami Herald Staff Alberto San Pedro's house, on 12th Street in Hialeah. from Page 2D HOW THE SCANDAL GREW 1986 Feb. 13: Alberto San Pedro is charged with paying MetroDade undercover officer Kennedy Rosario $13.000 for police files San Pedro bodyguard Carlos Redondo is also charged Also that day. Don Dugan, San Pedro's publicist, is named as bagman in $4,000 bribe allegedly paid to Opa-locka Councilman Brian Hooten, who was working for police. March 2: San Pedro is arrested on murder conspiracy and cocaine trafficking charges. He is held without bond; Redondo surrenders a few days later Police call San Pedro a 'major corruptor in Hialeah March 3 Documents at San Pedro's bond hearing reveal the March 4. As the scandal widens, Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez March 5: Hialeah Police Chief Cecil 'Whitey' Seay takes early March 10: During an interview on his own March 12: The Miami Herald reports that Sanchez March 14: First transcripts of police tapes are released. In 400 March 21: Second batch of documents is released. In 1,000 March 26: Shevin, a leading candidate for governor, drops out March 27: San Pedro's girlfriend, Roxanna Greene, emerges as key informant. Greene, fearing violence from San Pedro, went undercover against him, bugging his office in February. April 4: Newly released documents contain transcript indicating that Miami parole examiner Frankie Lee McFadden received money from San Pedro. McFadden was asked to investigate whether San Pedro should receive pardon from state. April 22: State releases 842 tapes made by room bug that swept San Pedro's house for bugs after his Aug. 7: Dugan charged with delivering a $4,000 bribe from San Pedro to Opa-locka Commissioner Hooten. Aug. 12: School Board Vice Chairman Kathleen Magrath is charged with accepting two illegal cash contributions from San Pedro. On same day, parole examiner McFadden is charged with bribery for accepting money from San Pedro after writing a favorable memo to parole board. Aug. 21: Kobetitsch is charged with unauthorized accessing of a telephone company computer at the request of San Pedro. Sept. 5: Redondo is released on $250,000 bond, but San Sept. 8: Magrath, who pleaded guilty, is sentenced to one year probation, 750 hours of community service. Dec. 19: Dade jury convicts McFadden of accepting $700 from San Pedro. 1987 March 20: McFadden is sentenced to three years in prison. March 30: Kobetitsch pleads guilty in exchange for three years' probation and a promise that he will not have to testify against San Pedro. Kobetitsch reveals that he illegally tapped five phones for San Pedro at the rate of $1,000 each. Sept. 9: Circuit Judge Harold Solomon tosses out 513 of the 842 tapes recorded by the room bug in San Pedro's house. But defense attorneys fail to suppress much of the most-damaging wiretap evidence or to secure their client's release from the Dade County Jail. Oct. 22: The Third District Court of Appeal reverses Judge Solomon's ruling and reinstates the 513 tapes. Oct. 26: Jury selection begins in San Pedro trial. Jan. 4: Jury of six, plus three alternates, is chosen. IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS No. 87-6070 In Re GRAND JURY NO. 86-3 (MIAMI) Committee on the Judiciary of the III. THE DISTRICT COURT WAS CORRECT IN FINDING 19 IV. THE DISTRICT COURT DID NOT ABUSE ITS 21 |