Over a three-year period Manuel R. Fernandez, 42, of Miami,served as a FAA Aviation Safety Inspector with the FAA South Florida Flight Standards District Office (“FSDO”). Patricia Suarez and Rolando Suarez were the co-owners, officers, and directors of AVCOM, a Miami aviation repair company, which was subject to the jurisdiction and official responsibility of the FAA South Florida FSDO.
The evidence showed that, at the same time he was working for the FAA, Fernandez also held various positions at AVCOM, including Vice President of Operations.
Miami, Florida - In exchange for Patricia Suarez and Rolando Suarez corruptly providing over $150,000 in cash, as well as jewelry, a cruise, clothing, and approximately $15,000 funneled to Fernandez’s mother, Fernandez violated his lawful and official duties as an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector.
Fernandez provided AVCOM with advanced notice and warnings as to pending FAA inspections of AVCOM, disclosed financial information about AVCOM’s competitors, and provided AVCOM with improperly obtained aviation repair manuals produced by original equipment manufacturers such as Honeywell and Delta, saving AVCOM from paying vast sums of money for this proprietary information.
The evidence further showed that Fernandez provided materially false statements to the FAA and DOT in order to hide his participation in these AVCOM-related activities. Additionally, Fernandez submitted a fraudulent sick leave request to the FAA, utilizing a forged doctor’s note.
Read the rest here.
This conviction comes on the heels of County Examiners coverage here, here and here of the former American Airlines mechanic in Miami charged in Federal court with sabotage of an airline.
A jury trial date is set for Abdul Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani on December 9, 2019. The case is 1:19-cr-20603 in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida.
