A former St. Cloud Police officer has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in an illegal firearms dealing ring.
Michael Adrian Nieto, 31, faced a maximum penalty of five years on those federal charges of dealing in firearms, without a license, to a Caribbean smuggler. He pled guilty in February.
According to court records and the plea agreement, Nieto, a sworn law enforcement officer, repeatedly purchased and resold firearms to individuals such as Ernesto Vazquez, a reported member of a criminal conspiracy that smuggled hundreds of firearms to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. In addition, Nieto used police databases to provide sensitive and confidential information to Vazquez, who was previously sentenced to 11 years for his role in the ring.
Between June 6, 2022, and Sept. 4, 2024, records show Nieto purchased at least 58 firearms. On Oct. 17, 2024, FBI and ATF agents executed a federal search warrant at Nieto’s residence. He admitted to repeatedly buying and reselling guns to individuals, including Vazquez, despite knowing that Vazquez was transferring these guns to third parties, in violation of federal law.
Nieto had spent less than two years with SCPD, and he resigned immediately rather than be terminated once the federal charges were filed in February, a police spokesperson said at the time.
“The St. Cloud Police Department takes immediate action should an officer act in a manner that could break our community’s trust, no matter their rank or tenure with the department,” St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke said. “We worked closely with our federal partners to resolve this issue quickly, so that we could continue our commitment to residents of providing the best level of service to the city.”
