Former Hialeah Police Officer and Wife Get Prison for Dealing Firearms Without a License

Former cops head to prison for dealing firearms without license

A South Florida husband and wife who are former police officers were sentenced to prison Thursday for dealing in firearms without a license, authorities said.

Rafael Oscar Valdes, a former Hialeah police officer, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after a jury convicted him of dealing in firearms without a license, making a false statement to a federal firearms dealer, interstate transportation of stolen property, and filing false tax returns for years 2008 – 2011.

His wife, Tammy Lynn Valdes, a former West Miami and Golden Beach police officer, was sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release after she was convicted of dealing in firearms without a license and filing false tax returns for years 2008 – 2011.

Both will also have to pay $6,613.51 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

The Department of Justice said the husband and wife were in the business of dealing firearms without a license. Between 2005 and 2012, the pair allegedly sold guns over the internet to people in 44 different states.

Authorities said Valdes and his wife attended more than 60 gun shows and purchased and sold hundreds of firearms. At times they carried out alleged illegal activity with undercover agents, the Department of Justice said.

When the couple was arrested in December 2012, authorities said they seized five rifles, four shotguns and 38 handguns from the Valdes'.

Rafael Valdes had been a Hialeah officer since 2004. Tammy Valdes was an officer in West Miami from 2004 until 2008, and in Golden Beach from 2008 to 2009.

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