Posted on 10/19/2023 1:32:32 AM PDT by Libloather
Three men are accused of abducting a Florida man in Fort Lauderdale at gunpoint, waterboarding him and then trying to enlist his help in their plot when they realized they'd taken the wrong person, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The alleged victim played along until he got away long enough to call in a bomb threat that sent a massive police response to the rescue, authorities said.
The suspects are two bothers, Jeffry Arista, 32, and Jonathan Arista, 29, and a third man named Raymond Gomez.
They allegedly snatched a man in a parking garage outside his Fort Lauderdale home around 7:30 a.m. Oct. 13, wearing fake badges and forcing him into the back of a Dodge Charger with police-style lights, according to court documents.
But the plot fell apart when they realized the person they'd abducted wasn't the one they'd been hired to take.
The whole mess is "typical" of Colombian cartel activity, according to Pat Diaz, a retired Miami-Dade homicide detective who investigated the infamous "Cocaine Cowboys" case.
"You would think that when they put out a hit, they hire a professional," he said. "They don't. … It sounds like he owed money, they hired some guys off the street who had no clue and, boom, it's a case the ‘Keystone Cops’ could crack."
Something similar happened to Pedro "Peggy" Rosello, the former husband of "Real Housewives of Miami" star Alexia Echevarria.
He became a witness in the "Cocaine Cowboys" case and survived an assassination attempt when the hitmen arrived while their target wasn't home, gave up and went to a bar, according to Diaz.
The Fort Lauderdale trio allegedly threw their abductee's phone out of a moving vehicle, according to authorities, but later gave him a new one when they needed his help contacting...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Is there a good reason to be waterboarded?
Maybe when you’re dying of thirst in the hot desert.
“Is there a good reason to be waterboarded?”
If you are a Demonratic politician or a RINO
Reminds me of the Smothers Brothers' vat of chocolate skit...."So why did you yell 'Fire!' when you fell in the vat of chocolate?" "Because no one would have come if I had yelled 'Chocolate!'"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.