Tampa Man Convicted for Role in Two Armed Bank Robberies

TAMPA—U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that a federal jury found Francisco Feliciano (41, Tampa) guilty yesterday of two counts of armed bank robbery, two counts of using or carrying a firearm during the commission of those crimes, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Feliciano faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 12, 2012 before United States District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Feliciano conspired to rob two federally insured banks in April 2011. On April 1, 2011, he and another individual, Steven Trubey, attempted to rob the First Bank located at 21708 State Road 54 in Lutz. Feliciano entered the bank armed with a Glock 9mm pistol. Ultimately, he was unable to rob the bank of any money because all the bank employees were able to hide from him. On April 11, 2011, Feliciano, aided by Trubey and another person, Christopher Quinn, robbed the San Antonio Citizens Federal Credit Union located at 12542 Curley Road in San Antonio, Florida. Feliciano was armed with a pistol and Quinn with a hoax bomb. The men stole more than $10,000 from the tellers. They exited the bank and fled the scene in a van driven by Trubey.

Steven Trubey and Christopher Quinn previously pled guilty for their roles in this case. Quinn was sentenced to 14 years and eight months in federal prison. Trubey’s sentencing hearing will take place in federal court on June 27, 2012.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s Detention Investigations Unit, and the Tampa Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hoffer.

U.S. Marshals Capture One of Quebec's Most Wanted Fugitives in Florida

Washington – An intense manhunt has ended with the capture of John Boulachanis, a fugitive wanted on an international level. Boulachanis was apprehended in Miami Thursday.

Boulachanis is the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice issued at the request of Canadian authorities for his role in a brutal slaying that occurred in Quebec, Canada, in 1997.

Boulachanis was also being sought by Canadian law enforcement for criminal charges of fraud, arson, narcotics trafficking, conspiracy and weapons offenses. Franklin County, Va. holds an outstanding felony fugitive warrant for Boulachanis as well, issued for three counts of obtaining money by false pretenses.

In April 2011, INTERPOL Ottawa requested the assistance of INTERPOL Washington in locating Boulachanis. According to the Surete’ du Quebec Homicide Squad, Boulachanis had been previously located in New Jersey in 2009, but fled before investigators could make an appropriate identification and arrest.

The case was referred to the INTERPOL Washington Fugitive Division after having been made a priority by the USMS and INTERPOL Headquarters in Lyon, France, in response to an earlier international fugitive initiative entitled “INFRA-RED.” Agents assigned to the INTERPOL Washington Fugitive Division from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Pinellas County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

“The arrest of Boulachanis shows that, no matter how far this fugitive ran, he couldn’t escape the coordinated, international effort to apprehend him,” said Geoff Shank, Assistant Director of the Investigative Operations Division of the U.S. Marshals Service.  “I thank our law enforcement partners both here and in Canada for their assistance in bringing this dangerous criminal to justice.”

In May 2011, investigators were able to ascertain Boulachanis and an accomplice had assumed multiple identities supported by fraudulent documents.  He has evaded capture by assembling a complex labyrinth of intentional disinformation, telephone numbers, addresses, financial accounts and postal boxes in Canada and the United States.

On Thursday, at the request of INTERPOL Washington and the U.S. Marshals Service Investigative Operations Division, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Southern Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in Miami captured Boulachanis as he landed a small aircraft at an airfield in Miami. He was in possession of a fraudulent diplomatic passport, a fraudulent pilot’s license and an unlicensed semi-automatic weapon. The Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement took his accomplice into custody.

Boulachanis is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting extradition to Canada where he faces life in prison.

The arrest of Boulachanis was the result of the combined efforts of the U.S. Marshals Service Investigative Operations Division, Southern Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force, Western District of Virginia, Jacksonville Fugitive Task Force, and the New York and New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force; the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office; the Surete’ du Quebec Homicide Squad; the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs; the Franklin County (Virginia) Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney’s Offices; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia; the Michigan State Police; the Nebraska State Police; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Coast Guard; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; INTERPOL Ottawa; and INTERPOL Washington.

Four Local Juveniles Rescued from Prostitution During Operation Cross Country V

TAMPA—Over the past 72 hours, local law enforcement agencies concluded their investigative efforts in conjunction with Operation Cross Country V, a three-day national enforcement action as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative. The operation included enforcement actions in 40 cities throughout the nation and led to the recovery of 69 children who were being victimized through prostitution. Additionally, nearly 885 others, including 99 pimps, were arrested on state and local charges.

Locally, four juveniles were rescued and 35 adults arrested during the weekend sweep. The four children resided in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. The participating agencies included the Tampa Police Department, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Clearwater Police Department, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI.

Task Force operations usually begin as local actions, targeting such places as truck stops, casinos, street “tracks,” and Internet websites, based on intelligence gathered by officers working in their respective jurisdictions. Initial arrests are often violations of local and state laws relating to prostitution or solicitation. Information gleaned from those arrested often uncovers organized efforts to prostitute women and children across many states. Investigators further develop this information in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and file federal charges where appropriate.

To date, the 39 Innocence Lost Task Forces and Working Groups have recovered over 1,200 children from the streets. The investigations and subsequent 625 convictions have resulted in lengthy sentences, including multiple 25-years-to-life sentences and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.

In the spring of 2003, the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in partnership with the Department of Justice’s CEOS and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), formed the Innocence Lost National Initiative to address the growing problem of children forced into prostitution.

This program brings state and federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers all from around the country to NCMEC, where the groups are trained together. In addition, CEOS has reinforced the training by assigning prosecutors to help bring cases in those cities plagued by child prostitution.

The charges announced today are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.