Major Tangled In Federal Probe=

B= y LENNY SAVINO and MICHAEL FECHTER
The Tampa Tribune <

TAMPA - The driver of the silver Ford SUV didn't know it. But as he left the = Falkenburg Road sheriff's office one afternoon in May, he was being tailed by 10 detectives= .

He'd just alleged t= hat one of the ranking officers in the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Ma= j. Rene ``Rocky'' Rodriguez, might be loan-sharking. He also had tried to pass= a detective $5,000 in cash in what he said was partial payment of a loan.

Rodriguez had him followed. Not long afterward, the detectives saw him meet five men in two c= ars at a motel opposite the Florida State Fairgrounds. The detectives ran their license plates. They turned out to be federal and state agents. The man in = the sport utility vehicle had been an informant.

That incident, The = Tampa Tribune has learned, derailed a federal and state investigation into possib= le corruption and organized crime in the Tampa area. Agents are still trying to decide almost six months later whether the probe is worth pursuing.

The man in the SUV = was Nelson J. Valdes, 43, of Apollo = Beach, a past business associate of reputed Tampa mob boss Vin= cent LoScalzo.

How Valdes came to = be an informant remains unclear. Federal and state agents will say little about t= he case publicly.

But a report on the incident written by sheriff's Detective Jason van Brunt says Valdes arrived= at the sheriff's office unannounced midday on May 22 and first tried to see Rodriguez. The major had Valdes meet with = van Brunt instead, the report states.

Valdes said he'd co= me to tell Rodriguez that a third man, Ronald H. Roth - Valdes called Roth ``Ronn= ie the flower man,'' the report says - was accusing Rodriguez of loan- sharkin= g. Valdes quoted Roth as saying Rodriguez had loaned Roth several thousand dol= lars at 20 percent interest a week, and Valdes said h= e was there to repay $5,000 of it.

When van Brunt began asking questions, his report says, Valdes left.

That's when the tail began. Rodriguez ordered 10 of his best detectives from the sheriff's Crimi= nal Intelligence Unit, including two lieutenants and a sergeant, to follow Vald= es, van Brunt's report says.

Rodriguez, 45, who = some regard as a possible candidate to succeed Sheriff Cal Henderson, refuses to talk about the incident. Valdes and Roth also have declined requests for interviews.

But several current= and former law enforcement officials familiar with the case and Rodriguez's attorney, Norman Cannella, say Valdes was secretly working for a joint FBI = and Florida Department of Law Enforcement task force investigating public corruption.

Sheriff Cal Henders= on said Wednesday that he is ``very concerned'' about the allegations against Rodriguez. He said he called the FBI shortly after Valdes' conversation with van Brunt because ``apparently, they were the ones doing the investigation.= ''

Henderson said he has not ordered an internal investigation of Rodriguez and won't until the FBI and FDLE tell h= im their probe is finished. But he has spoken with Cannella, Rodriguez's attor= ney. ``What he told me makes sense,'' Henderson said. ``It looks like [Roth] is a con man.''

Rodriguez, Roth = Knew Each Other =

In 1994, Roth was sentenced to four years in prison in Harrison County, Mo., for bouncing a check worth at least $5,000 at a jewelry store, court records sh= ow.

He also was accused= of bouncing a $75 check at a Publix in Tampa in April 2000. But the charge was dismissed a few weeks later, court records show. A month later, Valdes arrived at the sheriff's office asking to see Rodriguez.

Cannella acknowledg= es that Rodriguez knows Roth. Rodriguez was among a number of people Roth sold= on investing in the Rose Pit, a flower importing business, Cannella said.

The investors inclu= ded two local broadcasting figures, two doctors, three steak house managers, a produce retailer, and another Hillsborough deputy, Cannella said. Roth esco= rted a number of the investors to Costa Rica to seal the deal, Cannella said.

But before long, ch= ecks to the investors that were supposed to represent profits began bouncing, Ca= nnella said.

Although Roth has n= ot been charged, State Attorney Mark Ober is ``moving'' on charges against him= for issuing several bad checks to the investors, Henderson said. Rodriguez was one of th= em. He invested $24,000 in the business, Cannella said.

Rodriguez refuses to speak with reporters about the investment. But Cannella said, ``All Rocky d= id was lose money to this ... con man.''

Rodriguez made the investment in two checks - one for $10,000, the other for $14,000, van Brun= t's report says. They weren't written to the Rose Pit or to Roth, however; they were made out to cash, Rodriguez told van Brunt for his report. =

Cannella said he di= dn't know why the checks were made out to cash.

As for Valdes, publ= ic records show he was a partner with reputed mob boss LoScalzo in Mahalo Auto Sales Inc., on North Nebra= ska Avenue until Mahalo was dissolved last year. <= o:p>

FBI agents raided a= nother Valdes business, ValuCar Sales and Service Superstar at 801 E. Bearss Ave. in June 2000, in= what officials said at the time was an ongoing investigation. =

The agents, accompa= nied by Hillsborough deputies, copied vehicle identification numbers from cars on the sales lot and removed boxes of documents. Raids also were reported at company sites in Bradenton and Port Charlotte. An FBI spokeswoman said at the time that all the records would be turned over to prosecutors.

Cannella says Valde= s was an informant for the FBI.

``Roth informed the= m that Rocky was involved in strong- arm extortion and loan-sharking. [Investigato= rs] used Valdes in an attempt to give some credibility to what Roth told them,'' Cannella said.

He believes Roth do= uble- crossed his handlers.

Roth showed up unannounced at Cannella's office a few days after Valdes' visit to the sheriff's office, Cannella said, and wanted to trade $5,000 in cash for a $5,000 bounced check, Cannella said. He made the trade and gave the money to one of the Rose Pit investors other than Rodriguez, Cannella said.

Cannella said he to= ld an FBI agent about the meeting a few days later. The agent, he said, sounded stunned and asked whether he would surrender the cash as evidence. When Cannella said no, the agent said it probably wasn't the original set of bil= ls used in the failed sting against Rodriguez.

The FBI and FDLE wi= ll neither confirm nor deny Valdes was working for them. Tampa FBI chief James Jarboe issued this statement, however:

``The FBI and FDLE conduct numerous investigations each year regarding possible criminal activ= ity. All legal avenues are utilized to determine the veracity of complaints and allegations received. Investigative results are presented to the appropriate prosecuting authority.''

Rodriguez is in his= 25th year with the sheriff's office. He once supervised bailiffs at the courthou= se and was known there for raising campaign money for <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Henderson. His personnel file shows he consistently scored above average reviews as he rose from corporal to serge= ant in 1988, became a lieutenant in 1993, a captain four years later and then m= ajor in 2001. He earns more then $100,000 a year.

His file is thick with commendations and letters of thanks from civic and chari= ty organizations and for work considered above the call of duty.

This story can be found at: http://www.tampatrib.com= /MGA9WO09Y7D.html

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