Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are taking a serious look at two Miami lawyers, David Macey and Luis Guerra, for alleged involvement in a DEA bribery scandal. According to court documents filed yesterday, the attorneys are suspected of funding a scheme to obtain confidential information from former DEA agents. As reported by NBC Miami, nearly 1,000 pieces of communication between the attorneys and Manny Recio, a former DEA operative turned PI, are being sought by the prosecutors to further the investigation.
The request to inspect these private communications indicates a major shift in the case, utilizing the “crime fraud exception” to breach the usual confidentiality between an attorney and their investigative team. In past years, prosecutors carefully avoided to directly name Macey and Guerra as involved parties, but in the recent trial, these same prosecutors blasted the attorneys as "crooked" and accused them of paying for insider DEA details. "We're here scheming about how we're going to make money, money, money,” Guerra was quoted in a conversation intercepted by the authorities, as detailed by ABC News.
These attorneys are not new to the high-stakes game in Miami's legal scene, having long been members of what's called the "white powder bar," where defense attorneys aggressively pursue drug kingpin clients. But the line was clearly crossed when the legal became criminal, as paying for leaks from public officials is against the law. Prosecutors have laid out evidence that Recio tapped former DEA agent John Costanzo Jr. to run names in confidential DEA databases and exchanged information about key dates and targets of investigations, all to aid Macey and Guerra in securing new clients.
In return for their services, Recio and Costanzo were reportedly rewarded with nearly $100,000 in cash and gifts. This included a hefty $50,000 down payment on a townhouse for Costanzo, wired through various intermediaries, including his father - a retired and decorated DEA agent who allegedly lied to the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Deininger emphasized the severity of the wrongdoing during the trial, saying, “It’s about greed and corruption," as she explained how the entire operation worked to benefit the defense attorneys involved.
Neither Macey nor Guerra have issued statements regarding these allegations. Macey recently represented a client in a case involving adulterated prescription drugs, while Guerra, in the fashion of rebranding, now claims to focus on personal injury. He even went so far as to boast on social media with a catchphrase that reads, "With Guerra, it rains money!" Meanwhile, federal investigators continue to unravel the layers of this alleged scheme, demonstrating that in the world of crime and punishment, sometimes the blurry lines of legality are not just crossed by those standing in the defendant's corner, but also by those appointed to advocate for them.
