Notable Miami Defense Attorney Arrested in DEA Bribery Conspiracy

NEW YORK—Federal authorities have indicted a well-known defense attorney from Miami for allegedly running a bribery scheme involving two former supervisors from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who disclosed confidential details concerning drug investigations.

The indictment alleges that attorney David Macey showered the agents with cash and gifts, such as tickets to Yankees-Red Sox games, in return for sensitive information regarding the timing of federal charges and other information that prosecutors indicated jeopardized ongoing cases and investigators’ safety.

Defense attorney David Patton stated to The Associated Press that the charges against Macey were still sealed as of Thursday and that Macey is anticipated to appear in federal court on Friday. The exact charges filed against him have not been disclosed at this time.

“David is a dedicated father, husband, and a highly regarded attorney with nearly 30 years of an unblemished record in the legal profession. He did not engage in bribery,” Patton mentioned in an email. “The government’s claims are unfounded, and we believe the evidence will demonstrate his innocence at trial.”

This legal situation has brought negative attention to Miami’s competitive “white powder bar,” home to many high-priced defense attorneys who actively seek to represent suspected drug traffickers, negotiate surrender arrangements, and turn them into informants for the government.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan has not commented on requests for a statement. Previously, federal prosecutors labeled Macey a “crooked attorney” who “paid handsomely for DEA secrets.”

This indictment follows a year after prosecutors submitted filings indicating that Macey and fellow Miami attorney Luis Guerra financially supported the bribery operation. Uniquely, a judge permitted prosecutors to scrutinize close to 1,000 emails, text messages, and phone recordings exchanged between the attorneys and Manny Recio, a former DEA agent who transitioned to working for the attorneys as a private investigator after retirement.

Typically, communications between attorneys are confidential and safeguarded against law enforcement with few exceptions. However, prosecutors can bypass this privilege if they can persuade a judge that the legal services were employed to further a criminal activity—an understanding known as the crime-fraud exception.

“We’re scheming about how to make money, money, money,” Guerra was overheard saying in one seized conversation.

Although Guerra has not been charged, his attorney has refrained from commenting on the matter.

Prosecutors described the attorneys’ discussions as “essential to the bribery scheme,” especially after the earlier 2023 convictions of Recio and former DEA agent John Costanzo Jr., both of whom are currently serving federal prison sentences after being found guilty of bribery and honest services wire fraud. This trial in Manhattan followed a series of misconduct allegations against other DEA agents accused of various federal crimes.

A former state prosecutor, Macey has represented clients in various high-profile cases in South Florida, including a teenager accused of killing multiple cats. Over recent years, his practice has increasingly focused on narcotics and money laundering cases, a lucrative area that commands some of the highest fees in criminal defense.

The case against the DEA corruption chiefly hinged on text messages and wiretapped conversations. Recio consistently urged Costanzo to look up names in a confidential database to stay informed on investigations pertinent to their new roles.

They discussed the schedules of notable arrests as well as the specific date in 2019 that prosecutors intended to charge businessman Alex Saab, who was then a significant target in Venezuela and a suspected financier for President Nicolás Maduro.

Recio and Costanzo also talked about confidential DEA plans to apprehend a prominent trafficker in the Dominican Republic, whom Macey was looking to recruit as a client. César Peralta managed to evade arrest for over four months despite extensive efforts that involved 700 law enforcement personnel.

For providing these leaks, prosecutors accused Recio of discreetly facilitating $73,000 in bribes to Costanzo, which covered expenses such as airline tickets and a down payment on his Coral Gables, Florida, condo. In 2019, Macey purportedly spent almost $2,000 on tickets for a Yankees-Red Sox game and a dinner in Manhattan’s West Village for himself, Costanzo, and another high-ranking DEA official then in Mexico.

Prosecutors stated that Recio’s actions were driven by greed, citing his extravagant spending habits that included a 2021 Porsche Macan. The DEA agents allegedly used false invoices and a company with a UPS store address to mask bribery payments while simultaneously deleting hundreds of communications to a burner phone, as detailed by prosecutors.

The conspiracy employed intermediaries, including Costanzo’s late father, who was a decorated DEA agent accused of lying to the FBI by prosecutors. Another alleged intermediary, DEA task force officer Edwin Pagan, faced charges last year after prosecutors alleged he committed perjury during the agents’ 2023 trial.

Pagan, a police officer in Coral Gables, has pleaded not guilty to charges including bribery and perjury, and his trial is forthcoming in August.

By Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustian