One of the co-founders of Presidente Supermarkets was sentenced to life in prison Monday in the 2011 killing of a man believed to have had an affair with his ex-wife.
Manuel Marin had been found guilty of manslaughter, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and kidnapping charges in March.
The 69-year-old Marin had been charged with second-degree murder, but Miami-Dade jurors found him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter.
But during Monday's sentencing hearing, a judge gave him the maximum life sentence on the kidnapping charge, along with 30 years for manslaughter and 15 years for conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
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"Although you are not convicted of murdering Camilo Salazar you are convicted of setting in motion the events which resulted in his death and of killing him and that too is part of your character," Judge Miguel de la O told Marin.
Marin had been accused of organizing the plan with three men and successfully killing South Florida businessman Camilo Salazar in 2011.
During Monday's hearing, family members of Salazar were allowed to address Marin and spoke about Salazar.
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"We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, we didn't get a minute, we didn't a hug, we didn’t get to tell him he was loved and that he would be missed," said Daisy Holcombe, Salazar's ex-wife.
Authorities said Marin arranged the plot to kill Salazar with three other suspects: Roberto Isaac, Ariel Gandulla, and Alexis Vila Perdomo.
Isaac was found guilty of kidnapping, conspiracy, and taking part in the murder. Perdomo was found guilty of conspiracy for organizing the killing. Gandulla, a former MMA fighter, took a plea deal and admitted he kidnapped Salazar.
The body of the 43-year-old Salazar was found on a dirt road in the Florida Everglades on June 1, 2011. He was bound, beaten, tortured, his throat was slashed and his body was partially burned, according to a police report.
During his trial, Marin's attorneys did not bring any witnesses in and he also declined to testify.
Marin’s attorney, Jose M. Quiñon, said Marin was upset that Salazar had an affair with his ex-wife, but said he's innocent.
Authorities said Marin fled the country shortly after the killing. He was captured in Spain in 2018.
"Happy that after 12 years we were able to bring justice to the Salazar family and we are happy to know that tonight when they go home they will know that justice has finally been served," prosecutor Justin Lee Funck said of the sentence.
