Malinsky Bazile and Vital Fredrick, both Miami, Florida police officers, were arrested Thursday after they were accused of using the city's police database to steal identities, news sources report. Bazile reportedly used the identities to file for $140,000 in fraudulent tax returns. Bazile, 28, and Frederick, 26, were booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on charges of identity theft and tax refund fraud. It is unclear whether they have qualified for bail bond. So far, reports have not listed a defense lawyer for the pair.
According to reports, Bazile and Frederick both began working for the Miami Police Department in 2008. It is unclear how the Miami department intends to deal with this turn of events. An FBI investigator released a statement following the arrests, saying that officers such as Frederick and Bazile "have a great responsibility and must be held to a higher standard." The Miami Police Department does not appear to have made a statement regarding the arrests.
A U.S. Attorney for South Florida released the following statement regarding the two arrests. "The perpetrators of this type of [tax] fraud have been as diverse as the victims they prey upon," the spokesperson said. "To date, we have prosecuted Social Security office employees, hospital employees, clinic workers, former NFL players, gang members and violent criminals, to name a few. Today, we sadly add law enforcement to the list of thieves."
Police arrested Frederick following a police corruption investigation in Miami. Reports say investigators discovered that a number of Miami officers were providing protection to an illegal gambling ring. One officer, 41-year-old Nathaniel Dauphin, was arrested but then enlisted as a double agent. Dauphin, an eight-year Miami Police veteran wore a wire and other hidden monitoring equipment and conducted undercover surveillance for detectives at the gambling ring's various locations.
During an investigation into the gambling ring, detectives learned that a number of officers were being paid thousands of dollars to keep the illegal operation safe. As part of their responsibilities, the suspect officers were protecting a check-cashing business in Liberty City. Reports say detectives arrested Frederick during that undercover operation. In addition to the ID theft and tax fraud charges, Frederick also faces charges of extortion in connection with the Liberty City check-cashing store.
Bazile fell under police investigation after detectives noticed that he conducted over 1,000 "suspicious" searches of people's identities using the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles database. Detectives placed a tracking device on Bazile's department-issued laptop around one year ago. During an undercover investigation, detectives learned that Bazile was using the police database to collect names, birth dates, and social security numbers. Detectives say Bazile provided some of that illicitly obtained information to his stepbrother, Jean Baptiste Charles. Charles, reports say, has since pled guilty to filing false tax returns.