A trusted accountant with the city of Hialeah was accused of stealing more than $250,000 from a retirement fund to buy himself a second home in North Carolina.

Posted on MiamiHerald.com on Tue, Oct. 23, 2007

by LUISA YANEZ

lyanez@MiamiHerald.com

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Alejandro 'Alex' Torrecillas was taken into custody Oct. 15 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as he returned from vacation. He suffered a medical emergency and was treated before his arrest. His police mug shot shows him in a hospital gown.

For years, no one suspected Alejandro "Alex" Torrecillas of being anything more than a super accountant -- assigned to manage both retirement accounts of city of Hialeah employees and also money matters for their union.

Then, earlier this month, Torrecillas went on a Peruvian vacation. Within a day, his replacement detected funny business in the books. A probe was launched by Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina and the city's police department.

By the time Torrecillas was on his way home, his career as a numbers cruncher appeared over.

CARS AND A HOME

The investigation revealed Torrecillas had allegedly embezzled more than $250,000 from employees' annuity accounts dating to 2004, Robaina said. He apparently used the money to enrich himself and to buy a second home in North Carolina, along with several cars.

Torrecillas, 50, was taken into custody Oct. 15 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as he returned from his vacation. He suffered a medical emergency and was treated before his arrest. His police mug shot shows him in a hospital gown.

Torrecillas now faces felony charges of official misconduct, organized fraud and grand theft, and six counts of forging checks.

He is free on a $100,000 bond posted Thursday. His next court appearance is Nov. 2.

A telephone call to his Hialeah home was not returned.

Hialeah police did not comment, referring all questions to the mayor.

"I have zero tolerance of this type of crime," Robaina said Monday. "He was a trusted employee in a very sensitive position."

The city immediately fired Torrecillas, who had worked there since the late 1990s.

"He bought himself a second home in North Carolina, and we'll try to take that away from him," Robaina said.

Prosecutors will search for bank accounts and safety boxes linked to Torrecillas.

Torrecillas was a bonded employee -- meaning the city has insurance against such internal thefts. The employees whose retirement annuity accounts were ripped off will be refunded.

"We will recapture all the money stolen," Robaina said.

CHECKS TO HIMSELF

The scheme was simple: employee accounts with low monthly activity or annual annuity payments on retirement investment accounts were targeted.

For the official office record, Torrecillas would make out the check stubs to the designated retirement account. But he would make out the actual checks to himself, Robaina said.

The amounts varied, "from a hundred to thousands of dollars."

New security measures have been put in place to protect against such thefts in the future, Robaina said.

And troubles may not be over for Torrecillas and the city's 1,800 employees. The local branch of the union that represents Hialeah employees -- the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- also used Torrecillas as an accountant.

"We have alerted them and they're doing their own investigation," Robaina said.

There is a meeting of the AHRME at Corky’s Restaurant at 12 noon, Palm avenue and Johnson street, Pembroke Pines Florida. All members are welcome.

We had a tremendous "Get Together" in Orlando Florida at the Amerhost Hotel. Our Association of Retirees had approximately 100 members during the 2-day function. The event has been growing in participation every year and we all have to thank Wayne Shatas for this. Thank you Wayne, for you continued efforts to keep retirees together!! The next function will be announced later this year, for next year’s function. Hope to see more of you, at the next one.

The City of Hialeah Council put the AHRME Organization on the agenda and several AHRME Directors presented Mayor Raul Martinez a Plaque for his many years of service to the Citizens of Hialeah. The AHRME members present at the meeting were Wayne Shasta, Steve Lublinski, George Hameetman, Tom Chamberlain, Norman Grad and William Silvio.

AHRME Meeting at Corky’s Restaurant Palm avenue and Johnson street, Pembroke Pines Florida at 12 noon
Norman Grad, Wm. Silvio, James Kidd, and Wayne Shatas, were appointed to the Board of Directors. They will join Tom Chamberlain, George Hameetman and James Cichewicz.

During the meeting, several issues were discussed, which are in the official minutes. By adding this additional Board of Directors, will allow more delegation of duties and responsibilities.

It was also decided to give Mayor Raul Martinez a Gold Plaque for his continuous service to the citizens of Hialeah. The Mayor is suppose to retire sometime this year. Meeting closed at approximately 2p.m.