- 4 -
made an entry in his diary indicating the receipt of the money and
the exact denominations ($90,000 in $20 bills, $16,000 in $100
bills, and $4,000 in $10 bills). Mr. Chavez kept the money in a
closet in his apartment. A week later, Mr. Chavez informed Mr.
Macias that he was nervous about hiding the money and asked Mr.
Macias to retrieve it. When Mr. Macias retrieved the money, Mr.
Chavez suggested that Mr. Macias hide the money with a mutual
friend, Elio Arcia (petitioner).
Taking Mr. Chavez's advice, Mr. Macias went to visit
petitioner, a childhood friend from Cuba. Petitioner agreed to
hold Mr. Macias' $106,0002 for safekeeping, concealing the money in
a cooler in the garage of petitioners' home at 115 S.W. 20th Road,
Miami, Florida 33129. This money was commingled with petitioner's
money. Petitioner did not inform anyone about his hiding Mr.
Macias' money.
The October 25, 1991, Search and Seizure
On October 25, 1991, City of Miami police officers conducted
a search and seizure at petitioners' residence. This search was
later determined to have been illegal (see infra). During the
search, the police officers found $201,034 concealed in a cooler in
petitioners' garage. The money was bound by rubber bands in stacks
of mixed denominations. In addition to this money, the officers
2 Again, the record is silent as to why Mr. Macias' funds
dwindled.
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