Dear Director Patterson, Major Llevat and Major Perez, I don’t know where to begin other than to say that your department and the men and women who work there are by far the most professional, efficient and wonderful group of people I have ever had the pleasure to work with in my more than 30 years covering law enforcement and working as a journalist. I don’t use those words as any kind of easy form of flattery. I mean every word. As some of you may know, I worked in Miami from 1981 to 1987 as a local news reporter covering everything from cocaine cowboys to the infamous FBI shoot to the Miami River Cops case. Since leaving Miami in 1987 and moving to N.Y. (why I’ll never know), I have continued to cover many, many Miami stories, many with the Miami-Dade Police Department. I’ve worked with former homicide detectives Dave Rivers, John Butchko, Alex Alvarez, Al Singleton, Art Nanni and Larry Bellyeu just to name a few – needless to say a gallery of the best of the best, and most recently I’ve added two more names to that best of the best: Detectives Maria Maderos, and Gus Bayas. Through their dedication to the job and to the family of the victim, they brought to justice Michel Escoto who killed his new bride twelve years ago on their honeymoon weekend, and was just recently convicted of her murder. Who was there the morning of that 7 a.m. homicide call, and was there the day of the verdict and sentencing? Your two Detectives Maderos and Bayas. They were also there on the day of the verdict to hug the poor mother who lost her only child, Wendy Trapaga, the same mother they had to break the horrible news to 12 years ago. In reading the police reports, I could see this amazing thoroughness they had in working with their colleagues to make sure no stone was unturned, no lead dismissed, even though on the morning of the murder, they already had a good suspect to investigate, the husband. In the process of ruling out leads and suspects, they made their case stronger and air tight. They showed patience even though it took three years to make the arrest and twelve years to get a conviction. I could go on and on, but it has been my great honor to get to know them both on a professional and personal basis, and would be proud to call them friends if anyone ever asked. I have to be professional and objective in what I do, but when push comes to shove there is no one else, I would rather see standing between order and chaos than these two individuals, Maria and Gus, who I believe exemplifies the rest of the department personnel. I have to shift gears briefly and tell you that the only way I was able to tell my story (copies of which I will send to you) was with the trust and professionalism of your media relations department, especially Roy Rutland. I have gotten to know Roy over the years and he is outstanding at getting the departments story out, and asking nothing but that we be fair and straight in what we report. It is a trust I hold sacred from my standpoint, and one that I’ve tried to maintain with your PIO’s going back more than thirty years to people like Linda O’Brien. While Roy may not be the person going out to make the arrest (and I know he’s done plenty of that over the years) his job is important in another way. People need to know just how good you all are. I also got to know Sgt. John Barrow and Elena Hernandez from P.I.O. on this story, and they too were great to work with. Sorry, this got to be so long, but the short of it again is that I think the Miami-Dade Police Department and its homicide division is tops in the country. I am sure many would agree. You learned through experience, and God knows, unfortunately years ago, you got more than your fair share of experience. Now you have put it to very good use to bring to a successful conclusion cases like the one I covered of Michel Escoto. You have brought justice to another mother who would have nothing but tears and sadness without your dedication and good deeds. Hats off to all of you and thank you again for working with me. Sorry, also to hear that Gus will be retiring soon, so Maria keep us all safe. Cheers, Bob Bob Gilmartin Producer - Dateline NBC nbcnews/dateline/full-episode-mystery-south-beach-n104666
Posted on: Tue, 20 May 2014 20:08:42 +0000
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