About Patricia Diaz

PATRICIA L. DIAZ, PLLC

Managing Member, January 2019 – present

Attorney and licensed private investigator

SPECIAL MAGISTRATE, Town of St. Lucie Village

Code Enforcement Magistrate, January 2019 – present

FEE YATES & FEE PLLC, Fort Pierce, FL

Of Counsel, January, 2019 – present

My current practice includes General Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense, Civil and Criminal Forfeiture, Internal Corporate Investigations and Dispute Resolution. I am also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

DIAZ REUS & TARG LLC, Miami, FL

Partner, September 2016 – December 2018

While at Diaz Reus & Targ, I specialized in white collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, general civil litigation, civil and criminal forfeiture, money laundering, RICO, and dispute resolution. I am extremely experienced in complex litigation and in multi-faceted and complicated negotiations. I am also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

UNITED STATES DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, Weston, FL

Division Counsel, Miami Field Division, August 2010 – May 2016

As Division Counsel for the Miami Division, which encompasses Florida and the Bahamas, I was involved in all legal matters and issues concerning the Division, including criminal, civil, and administrative law. This included substantive drug-related and money laundering statutes, investigative methods and techniques, search and seizure, electronic surveillance, interview and interrogation, evidence, discovery, drafting and reviewing legislative proposals relating to criminal law and procedure, and federal sentencing guidelines, legal training, and legal review of operational policies and procedures. It also included matters relating to support of civil and administrative litigation, including regulatory issues under the Controlled Substances Act (21 USC § 801 et seq.), as well as personnel and fiscal law questions.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Southern District of Florida

Assistant United States Attorney, August 1989 – August 2010

As an Assistant United States Attorney, I represented the federal government before the United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida. I presented and prosecuted cases against individuals suspected of breaking the law in literally hundreds of cases. I was responsible for initiating and directing complex criminal investigations, participating in grand jury proceedings, and guiding and recommending the sentencing of offenders. I also served as a Deputy Chief in the Major Crimes Unit, training new prosecutors in criminal trial investigation and prosecution.

During most of my career, I carried out my duties as a Narcotics prosecutor assigned directly to the OCDETF (Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force) Program, handling comprehensive, multi-level investigations of major regional, national and international drug-trafficking and money laundering organizations. For over ten years, I was embedded as an attorney in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Forces. The HIDTA program was designed to provide assistance to federal, state, and local operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. I was the first attorney assigned to both HIDTA units and spearheaded the coordination of prosecutors and law enforcement personnel working side-by-side in the same location. During my tenure as an OCDETF attorney, I coordinated the investigative and prosecution strategy for hundreds of investigations targeting the entire infrastructure of extremely complex, major drug trafficking organizations, who not only trafficked in narcotics but also laundered illicit proceeds, armed themselves with and trafficked in firearms, continued their criminal activities as fugitives, and participated in terrorist activities.

THE HONORABLE EUGENE P. SPELLMAN

United States District Court, Southern District of Florida

Judicial Clerkship, August 1988 – August 1989

Upon graduation from law school, I was privileged to be offered this prestigious judicial clerkship where I gained practical experience by attending judicial proceedings, performing legal research, preparing bench memos, drafting orders and opinions, proofreading the judge’s orders and opinions, communicating with counsel regarding case management and procedural requirements, and assisting the judge during courtroom proceedings.

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF LAW, Coral Gables, FL

Juris Doctor, May 1988, Magna Cum Laude (Ranked 5 of 355)

• University of Miami Law Review
• Moot Court Board (Vice-President)
• Order of the Coif
• Society of Iron Arrow
• Order of the Barrister
• Society of Bar and Gavel (Secretary)
• Society of Wig and Robe (President)
• Omicron Delta Kappa
• Law School Activity Fee Allocation Committee (Vice-Chairperson)

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, Miami, FL

Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, 1985, Summa Cum Laude

PROFESSIONAL ADMISSIONS, ORGANIZATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS)

Florida Bar Association

Southern District of Florida

Middle District of Florida

Port St. Lucie Bar Association

Special Magistrate, Town of St. Lucie Village

Miami-Dade Chiefs of Police Association (Former)

United States Court Rules Committee, Southern District of Florida (Former)

United States Court Magistrate Retention Committee, Southern District of Florida (Former)

Licensed Private Investigator, State of Florida License # C1700360

CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Commissioner, City of Fort Pierce Housing Authority

Member, City of Fort Pierce Planning Board

Member, Board of Trustees, Heathcote Botanical Gardens

Member and Volunteer, Backus Museum

Member, PEO Sisterhood (philanthropic organization)

Member, Pelican Yacht Club

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS

Department of Justice Director’s Award

DEA Administrator’s Award

Dozens of individual case-related awards from DEA, FBI, HSI, Customs and other agencies