ORLANDO, Fla. — St. Cloud Police Department officer pleads guilty to a gun trafficking offense for his involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle guns to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti, according to the United States Department of Justice.
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Michael Adrian Nieto, 31, of St. Cloud, has pleaded guilty to selling guns without a license.
The new release states that Nieto faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
According to the plea agreement, Nieto, an officer for the St. Cloud Police Department, repeatedly bought and resold guns to people.
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Court documents said Nieto supplied firearms to Ernesto Vazquez, a member of a criminal conspiracy that smuggled hundreds of weapons to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti.
Nieto also used police databases to provide sensitive and confidential information to Vazquez, DOJ said.
On Oct. 17, 2024, Nieto was interviewed by FBI and ATF agents and admitted to buying and reselling guns to people, including Vazquez.
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Nieto’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Mar. 25.
“The St. Cloud Police Department (SCPD) has worked closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assist them in their investigation regarding former officer Michael Nieto,” said St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke. “In the wake of the recent DOJ findings, we are conducting our own in-depth investigation into the matter. SCPD pledges to take immediate action should an officer act in a manner that could break a community’s trust, no matter their rank or tenure with the department.”
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