With the guilty plea of former Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police President Nelson Cuba, state prosecutors believe they have wrapped up a gambling case in which a veterans charity was used as a front for mini-casinos filled with slot machines.
One of 57 arrested in March 2013, Cuba pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony and two misdemeanors. He will serve a year of house arrest and four years of probation. However, he will be allowed to travel to Nicaragua for his cigar business.
Additionally, he forfeited $70,000 in profits from the Internet cafes he owned and will be required to donate $45,000 to a Central Florida veterans charity.
Only Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis received jail time in the probe. Mathis is appealing his six-year sentence.
Cuba, who now lives in Dade County, apologized to the court Tuesday. He said Mathis was one of the influences who led him astray. He told Judge Kenneth Lester that he should not have trusted Mathis.
Mathis gave the legal advice for Allied Veterans, a group that collected $300 million from the gambling operation and gave only $6 million to veterans’ charities.
Cuba also told the judge he knew Allied’s Internet cafes were operating slot machines and should not have gotten involved with the organization.
“He was probably the one we wanted to see with Mr. Mathis,” prosecutor Nick Cox said. “We don’t like that there’s cops involved with this, but Cuba didn’t steal anything. Allied Veterans wanted his affiliation.”
Cox said Cuba assisted prosecutors in the investigation.
“Still, it doesn’t excuse what he did,” Cox said. “He got money from something that’s illegal, and he should have known it was illegal.”
Cuba retired from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
In May, the police pension board signed off on him receiving $1,608.53 every two weeks in pension benefits.
The state has agreed not to go after the pension benefits. However, Cox said he did not know whether any federal charges could follow.
Cox said investigators were certain no undiscovered gambling proceeds were parked in offshore accounts.
Cuba and partner Robbie Freitas operated five Internet cafes in the Jacksonville area.
Authorities said the two set up shell companies to funnel money from one account to a second one, which only Cuba and Freitas had access to.
Court records show deposits totaling $576,100 from Sept. 4, 2009-Dec. 30, 2011, followed by $571,400 in withdrawals.
Bank surveillance photos show both Cuba and Freitas making several transactions.
Freitas pleaded guilty to two charges in April. He received no jail time and no fines. He retired in March 2013 and receives pension benefits of $1,555.21 every two weeks.