Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on Tuesday announced the re-arrest of Raul Carvajal, a former reserve officer with the Windermere Police Department.
Carvajal, 40, was charged today with one count of bribery, one count of giving of unlawful compensation for official behavior, one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to give unlawful compensation for official behavior.
Agents allege that Carvajal and Humberto Enrique Garcia, 34, of Kissimmee, offered then Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor money and a trip to Puerto Rico in exchange for hiring Garcia as a reserve officer. Garcia was never hired. The offenses were uncovered during FDLE’s ongoing investigation into alleged improprieties at the Windermere Police Department.
Last month, Carvajal was arrested, accused of falsifying information on a Florida Uniform Traffic Citation in January earlier this year during a FDLE investigation. On April 22, Carvajal was charged with one count of an organized scheme to defraud and was booked into the Orange County Jail. He was later released on a $2,500 bond.
Today, Carvajal was booked into the Orange County Jail and bond was set at $37,000.
Garcia is currently wanted on the same charges and bond amount as Carvajal.
Carvajal’s re-arrest is just one of a series of scandals that has rocked the Town of Windermere over the past few months.
In January, former Windermere Police Chief, Daniel Saylor, 44 was arrested. Saylor, who lost his job as police chief, was charged with terminating an investigation by his department into sexual battery of a child to keep, his friend, Scott F. Bush, 50, from going to jail.
And last month, Windermere Town Manager Cecilia Bernier quit after she lost the confidence of town council members, including its Mayor Gary Bruhn. There is also controversy too, surrounding Bernier’s compensation package.
FDLE said that its investigation into the Windermere Police Department is continuing.
