A St. Cloud Police officer has pled guilty to federal charges of dealing in firearms, without a license, to a Caribbean smuggler.
Michael Adrian Nieto, 31, faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set, the Department of Justice reported Tuesday.
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.
Between June 6, 2022, and Sept. 4, 2024, records show Nieto purchased at least 58 firearms. Many of the firearms were identical and were purchased together or close in time to one another. On Oct. 17, 2024, FBI and ATF agents executed a federal search warrant at Nieto’s residence. At the time of the search warrant, 12 firearms were still in his possession. 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 also admitted that Vazquez had provided him with illegal items, including a machine gun conversion device. Vazquez previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 25, 2025.
A St. Cloud Police spokesperson said Nieto had spent less than two years with SCPD, and he resigned immediately rather than be terminated once the federal charges were filed. Records show he was at one time a school resource officer at St. Cloud High School.
“The St. Cloud Police Department has worked closely with the Department of Justice to assist them in their investigation regarding former officer Michael Nieto. In the wake of the recent DOJ findings, we are conducting our own in-depth investigation into the matter,” St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke said. “SCPD pledges to take immediate action should an officer act in a manner that could break a community’s trust, no matter their rank or tenure with the department.”
