Nelson Serrano

Nelson Serrano
mug shot of Serrano
Born	September 15, 1938 (1938-09-15) (age 73) Quito, Ecuador
Conviction(s)	Murder in the first degree (four counts)
Penalty	Death sentence
Status	Incarcerated at the Union Correctional Institution
Occupation	businessman

Nelson Iván Serrano Sáenz (born September 15, 1938) is a former Ecuadorian businessman and a nationalized American citizen (since 1971) who was convicted of murdering Frank Dosso, Diane Patisso, George Patisso, and George Gonsalves in the town of Bartow, Polk County, Florida, on December 3, 1997. The jury pronounced him guilty and recommended the death penalty for Serrano in October 2006 after he was convicted of the murders. On June 26, 2007, Judge Susan Roberts sentenced him to death by lethal injection for each of these crimes.

Background

On December 3, 1997, Frank Dosso, Diane Patisso, George Patisso, and George Gonsalves were found shot execution-style at the Erie Manufacturing plant in Bartow. Diane Patisso, a young state prosecutor, had gone to pick up her brother Frank and her husband George at the factory that evening, and prosecutors say she was murdered to prevent her from identifying the killer.

Although there was no clear physical evidence at the scene to link anyone to the crime, relatives of the victims immediately suspected Nelson Serrano, another partner in the business, who had been in a bitter dispute with the others. Serrano was a partner, along with Dosso and Gonsalves, in two sister companies, the Erie Manufacturing Company and the Garment Conveyor Systems Company. These businesses had made the three very wealthy men, but then bitter fights with Serrano over money began to tear them apart. Dosso and Gonsalves accused Serrano of graft, then theft. Serrano along with Ed Atkins, attorney for the corporations, filed suit against Dosso and Gonsalves for removing $1,000,000 from the corporate accounts. The FBI dismissed accusations against Serrano. From the time Serrano quit in July 1997 to December 1997, almost $4,000,000 disappeared from corporate accounts where only Gonsalves and Dosso had access to. None of this money was ever found. ^[1]

Serrano claimed that he was 500 miles away on a business trip in Atlanta, Georgia, when the killings occurred. However, the prosecutors convinced the 12-member trial jury that Serrano had flown by airliner to Florida under assumed names to commit the premeditated murders, and then he had quickly flown back to Atlanta from a different major airport, in order to attempt to establish an alibi by appearing on the security video cameras of the hotel that he checked into.^[1] Serrano had an accomplice, his nephew, who aided him by providing him with a rental car (under a pseudonym) to reach the other airport. Although Bartow, Florida is midway between the major airports in Tampa, Florida, and Orlando, Florida evidence was not shown to positively prove this trip and murders could be possible during rush hour traffic. Furthermore, no videotape evidence was shown from any of the three major airports that Serrano was present during the alleged times of travel.

During the trial, Serrano's lawyers fought for a mistrial, claiming that that Serrano was illegally deported from Ecuador to the United States. Serrano is an Ecuadorian citizen by birth and a naturalized American citizen (in 1971). Serrano was arrested in Ecuador and then, according to the Ecuadorian government and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ( adivision of the Organization of American States), illegally deported back to Florida for his murder trial. Documents concerning this issue were presented during trial and were confirmed by the Ecuadorian Ombudsman through his testimony. However, after examining these documents, Roberts denied the defense motion, finding no cause to dismiss the case based on these facts. The Department of State did not intervene despite a protest lodged in April 2009 by the Government of Ecuador that Serrano had been illegally extradited. The prosecutors have said that Serrano was not extradited, but to the contrary, he was deported to the United States, where he is a citizen.

Ecuadorian officials, seeking his return to that country, claimed Serrano had been beaten and kept in a dog kennel at the airport in Quito after his arrest in Ecuador.^[2] Police say Serrano received a minor injury from a fall as he boarded the airliner. An American Airlines flight attendant who witnessed this incident refused entry to the Florida officials but the flight Captain allowed them to board.^[3] During the trial, Roberts also denied a defense motion for a change of venue despite the fact that one of the victims, Diane Patisso, was an Assistant State Attorney who worked in the same courthouse.

Serrano's son, who had also worked at the Bartow plant, claims that his father is innocent, and he has set up a web site, in defense of his father.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/01/48hours/main2529340.shtml?source=RSSattr=48Hours_2529340
2. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,512776,00.html
3. ^ http:"Unfinished Business" Dateline NBC, December 21, 2006 //www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16306307/page/2/

Persondata
Name	Serrano, Nelson Ivan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 15, 1938
Place of birth	Quito, Ecuador
Date of death
Place of death