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A prominent Miami real estate titan, accused of poisoning his estranged wife, was found dead by suicide at his home during an FBI raid, amid allegations that he had concocted a murder-for-hire plot to kill her.
Sergio Pino, 67, was found dead in an upstairs bedroom by an FBI SWAT team that swarmed the developer’s swanky multimillion-dollar home in a gated Coral Gables community on Tuesday.
The SWAT team discovered Pino’s body while confiscating electronics, safes and three boxes of documents from the home, WPLG reported.
Pino, founder of Century Homebuilders Group, was under investigation by the FBI after his wife of 32 years, Tatiana Pino, claimed in divorce proceedings that he had poisoned her multiple times with fentanyl. Pino was never charged with a crime before his death.
Pino’s lawyer, Sam Rabin, confirmed to WPLG that Pino died by suicide and criticized law enforcement’s handling of the situation.
“Sergio Pino took his own life today. The level of law enforcement activity at his residence was unprecedented and unnecessary, especially since we had offered to surrender him should that have become necessary,” he said.
“Today’s events mark a very tragic ending to an investigation that we were confident we could successfully defend. There were many rumors and allegations but what was lacking was evidence.”
The FBI investigation stemmed from allegations that Pino’s wife Tatiana made when she filed for divorce in April 2022. She alleged that Pino had been secretly slipping her fentanyl and that he had a “financial motive” to poison her.
She claimed a doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore had detected fentanyl in her system and that she had been intubated six times.
Tatiana testified that when she was being released, her doctor told her to stay at her sister’s house while she recuperated rather than returning home to her “normal surroundings.”
“They were scared for me because had this happened to me again, I would have been dead,” Tatiana said.
In August 2023, Tatiana was a victim of what authorities described as a targeted hit-and-run. Video shows Tatiana pulling into her driveway as a rented Home Depot truck rams into the passenger side of her vehicle before speeding away.
Four people were arrested following the incident, including Bayron Bennett, who worked for Sergio Pino, WPLG reported citing an FBI affidavit. The document claims that Bennett helped with food and beverage service on Pino’s yacht.
One of the suspects, Michael Dulfo, later told investigators he was “contracted” to commit the crime “by someone working for the opposing party” in the Pino divorce case, according to the affidavit.
“In this already complex divorce, we have had to address the terrorism and the attacks on Tatiana’s life. It is truly terrible,” Tatiana Pino’s attorney, Raymond J. Rafool, told WPLG.
“Thankfully, the FBI is involved and working hard to keep Tatiana safe and bringing those responsible to justice.”
Sergio Pino’s divorce attorney Deanna Shifrin said in a statement that there was “nothing to indicate that he ever harmed or wanted to harm” his wife.
“He was a gentle and kind man, loved and respected by the many people he employed at his businesses. He loved his children and grandchildren and talked of little else,” Shifrin added.
“I do believe that the combination of unnecessarily destructive divorce litigation along with selective and salacious media coverage was humiliating to him and led to this tragedy.”
Pino and Tatiana married in 1992 and have two children. Their combined net worth in 2021 was $359 million, according to a financial statement cited during a deposition in the divorce case, WTVJ reported.
Another statement, presented in the same deposition was around $153 million, which Pino testified was accurate, according to the local outlet. The larger number was “a joke,” he said.
When Tatiana filed for divorce in 2022, she stated in court filings that she was entitled to alimony.
“Ms. Pino stopped her employment and forewent her career to be a stay-at-home mother for the parties children and be a homemaker,” according to the documents as reported by the Miami Herald.
“Ms. Pino is unemployed outside of the home whereas the Husband is an extremely successful businessman and entrepreneur.”
The filings state that the Pinos “live a lavish and luxurious lifestyle.”
However, in a counter-petition, Pino said Tatiana “expressly waived her right” to alimony through their 1992 marital agreement.
Tatiana then alleged in a filing that she signed the post-nuptial agreement “under duress and coercion’ and that on the eve of their “long-planned religious wedding ceremony and party”, Pino allegedly “ambushed” her with the agreement.
In 1995, Pino founded and was chairman and president of Century Partners Group. It is described on its website as being the “largest Hispanic-owned homebuilder in the nation.”
The group boasts it acquired, developed and/or managed over 50 multi-family and condominium communities that account for over 15,000 homes through Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
Pino, who was well connected in the community, was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to serve on the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Commission in 2000.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. I
f you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
