Month: September 2018

Figuring out whether or not you want to spend your entire life with someone can be a difficult decision. Many people would agree that one of the most important parts of a relationship is commitment. But what if the person you were in a relationship with was not actually as committed to you as you were to them and actually wanted you dead?  That’s a scary thing to think about, however, it is a reality for Florida newlywed couple Michael and Dalia Dippolito. Let’s start at the beginning. Prior to being married, Michael Dippolito was already extremely wealthy. He became rich after successfully running a foreign currency investment scam which earned him hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dalia Dippolito, on the other hand, worked as a professional escort before meeting her husband. Eventually, the two met in a coffee shop and that’s where they fell in love. Given the condition of their marriage, it had to been going been going extremely well because Michael Dippolito signed over a large percentage of his home to Dalia, afforded her over $200,000 in plastic surgery procedures, and gifted her over a few thousand dollars worth of jewelry. In Michael’s eyes, he believed providing these things would help bring them closer together. Unfortunately, this is where this fairytale takes a turn for the worst. During their marriage, Dalia became so power hungry for Michael’s money that she believed the only way to acquire her husband’s fortunes would be by killing him. Killing Michael Dippolito would allow her access to his life insurance funds and other lucrative ventures that they both shared. This is when she began her plot to kill her husband began.

Dalia first started her plan by contacting her prior ex-boyfriend and asking him if he knew anyone who would be able to kill someone for her. From this conversation, it put her in contact with a man who lived in the city of West Palm Beach, Florida who could provide Dalia Dippolito with the gun necessary to kill her husband. The informant and Dippolito both met at a gas station to discuss the plans for her husband’s murder. However, the man who was supposed to help Dippolito and provide the firearm that would be used to kill her husband backed out and informed West Palm Beach law enforcement of Dippolito’s plans. The police did not believe the man at first because they had no way of confirming that his story was true. The police then took matters into their own hands by setting up a sting operation were they who hire an undercover cop to pose as a hitman and meet Dippolito in a grocery store parking lot. The staged hitman would be miked up and coached through a series of questions that he would ask Dippolito to prove that she was indeed serious about getting someone to kill her husband. During the encounter, the staged hitman asked a very important question that helped law enforcement be sure of Dippolito’s intentions. The hitman asked her how sure she was about getting someone to kill her husband. She responded with, “ I am 5000 percent sure”. This was enough evidence for police to bring her up on charges, and send her jail but law enforcement wanted to take this hitman sting even further.

Around the same time, this case was in pursuit, the television show COPS was in the middle of filming. The COPS production heard about this incident and began filming the entire situation. COPS and West Palm Beach law enforcement worked together to set up a plot where Dalia Dippolito would be called to her house and told that her husband had been murdered. Law enforcement would then capture her reaction on camera and analyze the footage to see if she was genuinely devastated after hearing that her husband was dead. Capturing this footage on tape would aid in the polices argument that Dalia’s emotions were not genuine as well as true to someone who had just lost the love of their life. Once Dippolito was told her husband had died, the police brought her into an interrogation room and brought her alive and well husband out. Her husband just stood there and looked at her disgusted as she was soon taken away in handcuffs. Dalia Dippolito was sentenced on July 21, 2017 to sixteen years in prison for the attempted murder of her ex-husband Michael Dippolito.

Surprisingly this is not the first time Dalia tried to put her husband in harm’s way. Years back she tried putting antifreeze in her husband’s tea in an attempt to poison him. In addition, she even went as far as planting drugs on the top of his car in order to get him arrested. Stories like these are the reasons why people have trust issues even myself. The fact that you could attempt to try to give someone the world and they betray you in ways like this is something that no one should ever in their life have to experience. This should be a wake-up call to some. If you are in a relationship and you feel as if your partner is only wanting you for your financial status and your resources, then you must reevaluate your relationship. Having this type of dynamic in a relationship can be very unhealthy and this story is a great example. To my common readers, legal fanatics, and those still who are currently searching for love please be mindful of the relationships you make with others because you never know when those relationships could become deadly.

Works Cited

Marra, Andrew. “Boynton Beach’s Michael Dippolito First Met His Future Wife When She Was a Smiling, Eager, Professional Escort.” Palmbeachpost, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2012, www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime–law/boynton-beach-michael-dippolito-first-met-his-future-wife-when-she-was-smiling-eager-professional-escort/TG3yEcD6OUUrKNetPf8UyL/.

Rab, Lisa. “Dalia Dippolito Might Have Tried to Kill Her Husband, but He Was No Saintly Victim.” Miami New Times, 2 Apr. 2016, www.miaminewtimes.com/news/dalia-dippolito-might-have-tried-to-kill-her-husband-but-he-was-no-saintly-victim-6366325.

The Criminal Justice System transcends itself all the way across the globe from places like Los Cabos, Brazil to crime infested regions like Johannesburg, South Africa. Today, we journey to the country of Columbia in South America where gang activity and gang affiliation has become a lifestyle for most. For former Colombian gang member Giovanni Rebolledo, “transitioning” through gang culture has been a bumpy road. In 2012, Giovanni Rebolledo was sentenced to sixty years in jail for his ties to the Colombian gang “Los Topos”. This gang is regionally known for its involvement with kidnappings, robberies, extortion operations, and drug dealings throughout Columbia. Before being sentenced for his involvement in these crimes, Giovanni, whom some may also know as “Rosalinda”, went to extreme measures to avoid capture. After being sentenced, Giovanni decided that his best bet would be fleeing the country of Colombia and getting a sex change to virtually become unrecognizable to police.

Rebellodo spent over $18,000 on his sex change which included breast augmentation, a butt lift, and rhinoplasty. All these procedures combined turned former gang member Giovanni Robedillo into Colombian buxom prostitute “Rosalinda”. In fact, prostitution in Columbia is very legal. However, in order to prevent the amount of prostitution that occurs in Columbia the Colombian government has set up prostitution zones. These are areas were private sex workers and erotic sex businesses can operate legally. Therefore, at the time of Rebolledo’s arrest prostitution was legal. Rebolledo was arrested in  made the mistake of prostituting outside of a prostitution zone. During a routine patrol of the streets of Barranquilla, Colombia he was later captured. He was found wearing a tight pink shirt, a short skirt, and identified himself to Colombian law enforcement as “Rosalinda”. After being brought into custody, Rebolledo’s fingerprints were taken. Rosalinda’s fingerprints were found to have matched the fingerprints of former Los Topos gang member Giovanni Rebolledo. He was then sent to jail and is currently serving his original sentence.

After analyzing and thinking about Rebolledo’s story, I found it extremely bizarre for him to go to this length to avoid serving a sixty-year sentence. Rebolledo’s best option, in my opinion, would have been to stay off the grid and hide out in the caves of San Gil, Colombia. It’s less expensive and does involve any form of surgery! Law enforcement would have never had a clue to look their and Rebolledo could have still continued his gang activity. In addition, I was never able to find out, through my research, if Rebolledo lived as a homosexual prior to his sex change. I assumed probably not due to gang life and being accepted within his gang. Even after coming to that assumption,  his true sexuality is still questionable. If avoiding law enforcement means getting a sex change, even as a heterosexual male, than Rebolledo’s actions are bold. Personally, I would never in a million years think of ever changing my sex in order to escape jail. I would rather maintain the dignity that I have for myself and serve jail time than hide as someone I am truly not. The criminal justice system and law enforcement are smarter than many may think so getting away with a crime is actually somewhat difficult. In Giovanni Rebolledo’s case, it may have been much easier due to the underdevelopment of Columbia’s law enforcement. Certainly, Giovanni Rebolledo has taken being a wanted criminal to a whole new level. To my common readers, legal fanatics, and my future criminals who are willing to risk it all if it means escaping jail just ask yourself… how far would you go?

Works Cited

Anderson, Steve. “Escaped Colombian Gangster Undergoes Sex Change and Dresses as a Woman.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 9 May2013,www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/escaped-colombian-gangster-undergoes-sex-change-and-dresses-as-a-woman-to-evade-capture-8609810.html.

Delfiner, Rita. “World’s Breast Disguise.” New York Post, New York Post, 10 May 2013, nypost.com/2013/05/10/worlds-breast-disguise/.