Aug 27, 2006 10:21 am US/Eastern
Gables Developer Rivero Arrested For Theft, Fraud
Charged In Probe Of Low Income Housing Paid For, But Not Built
Rivero Arrested The Same Day His Role Detailed In Miami Herald Investigation
News Conference Planned For 11 AM
MIAMI (CBS4 News) ―
Developer Ernesto Rivero, whose role in a growing scandal regarding affordable housing, funded with millions in public money, which was never built, was the subject of the series of reports by CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald was taken into custody late Saturday night and charged with Grand Theft and fraud.
Rivero, once an aide to former Miami-Dade County Manager Alex Peneles, and until recently the chairman of the Miami Parking Commission, surrendered late Saturday to Miami-Dade Police Public Corruption investigators at the offices of the Public Corruption Investigations Bureau. Rivero was then taken to the Dade County Jail/Pre-Trial Detention Center.
The 36-year-old developer, whose role in the failed public housing plans administered by the Miami-Dade Housing Agency was detailed in a front page Miami Herald story Saturday, was arrested less than 24 hours after the reports claimed Rivero had taken millions in public funds without starting a single affordable housing project.
The report showed the one thing Rivero has started building; a mansion in Coral Gables worth well over a million dollars.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's office said Sunday that Rivero's company, Rivers Development Group, Inc., received over $806 thousand from the County's Housing Agency in November, 2004, to build an affordable housing project called Las Rosas Apartments at 406 NW 22 Avenue. That project was supposed to produce 54 affordable and low-income housing units. It was never built, but prosecutors say the money he received for it was almost immediately transferred into an account for a home Rivero wanted to buy.
Prosecutors say that before Rivero transferred $711 thousand from the corporate account with the public funds were deposited, he did not have sufficient cash to complete the purchase of the house, which is located at 5950 SW 81 Street, in South Miami.
"The money transferred to First Colonial Title Services, Inc. from Oscar Rivero's company for the closing on his personal residence was the public money received from the County's Housing Agency," said a statement from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office.
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The State Attorney's Office said Sunday that prosecutors and public corruption investigators are trying to obtain and review financial records and bank statements from Rivero and others as they continue their probe of the public housing scandal, detailed in the Miami Herald series House of Lies.
Prosecutors said additional arrests are expected.
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