The complicated case of the alleged plot by the deceased Cuban-American businessman Sergio Pino to murder his wife Tatiana continues to gain relevance.
This week, a recorded phone call from July 15, the day before Pino's suicide, came to light. In the recording, one of the individuals involved in the alleged assassination plot discusses how to conceal the evidence to avoid FBI attention.
The recording was obtained after one of the men agreed to cooperate with authorities and made a controlled phone call to the man who had recruited him for what the FBI described as one of two "hit teams."
Under the direction of the FBI, Avery Bivins, who was serving a sentence for attempted murder, contacted Fausto Villar, a former convict for armed robbery.
During the call -as reported by local media- Bivins was trying to calm Villar by assuring him: "Everything is going to be fine."
Villar, however, expressed his concern in coded language, saying: "The damn smoke has to clear. Everything has to clear... try to defend yourself." The tension was evident, as Villar knew that the authorities were after the plot.
July 15 was a key point in the investigation, as the next day the FBI arrested Villar and Sergio Pino.
Although Pino avoided charges due to his suicide, authorities revealed that on that same day he had been restructuring lucrative financial agreements.
The FBI claims that Pino had asked Villar to organize the murder of Tatiana, his wife of 30 years, as soon as possible.
In the conversation on July 15, Villar expressed concern, aware that some of those involved had already been arrested.
"You should delete your Instagram. Delete your Instagram," he advised Bivins, worried about the digital footprint that could compromise them.
Although Villar requested to be released before the trial, the government argued that he posed a flight risk, highlighting a phrase from the call in which he said: "I am not going back to prison."
Villar had already paid Bivins $75,000 out of a total of $150,000 promised for the assassination of Tatiana, with an additional bonus if the crime was carried out without being detected.
Although the names of the Pinos are not explicitly mentioned in the call, the Prosecutor's Office assured that Villar was referring to them.
At one point, he said to Bivins: "At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I am sure there will be a little gift for me and for all of you."
Both Bivins and Villar, along with seven other men, face charges of conspiracy to commit murder for hire, although they have all pleaded not guilty.
Bivins informed the FBI that Sergio Pino had unsuccessfully attempted to get Tatiana to accept a divorce offer of 20 million dollars. The Pino fortune exceeded 153 million, according to court documents.
On June 23, one of the men recruited by Bivins had attempted to attack Tatiana near her residence, but she managed to escape.
Weeks later, in the call on July 15, Villar explained to Bivins that Pino could no longer send money because he knew the FBI was monitoring him.
After the conversation, Pino and Villar briefly spoke on WhatsApp, but the content of that call remains a secret, as Pino's suicide brought an end to the accusations against him.
Towards the end of his conversation with Bivins, Villar expressed an optimism that seemed disconnected from reality: "When this is over, you know everything is going to be alright."
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: