Manuel Pardo original double ink Double handtracing signed on 8.5 x 11 paper signed Manuel Pardo Jr.

Manuel Pardo original double ink Double handtracing signed on 8.5 x 11 paper signed Manuel Pardo Jr.

The former Boy Scout and Navy veteran began his law enforcement career in the 1970s with the Florida Highway Patrol, graduating at the top of his class at the academy. But he was fired from that agency in 1979 for falsifying traffic tickets. He was soon hired by the police department in Sweetwater, a small city in Miami-Dade County. In 1981, Pardo was one of four Sweetwater officers charged with brutality, but the cases were dismissed. He was fired four years later after he flew to the Bahamas to testify at the trial of a Sweetwater colleague who was accused of drug smuggling. Pardo lied, telling the court they were international undercover agents.

Then over a 92-day period in early 1986, Pardo committed a series of robberies, killing six men and three women. He took photos of the victims and recounted some details in his diary, which was found along with newspaper clippings about the murders and a Nazi memorabilia collection. Pardo was linked to the killings after using credit cards stolen from the victims, and accidentally shooting himself in the foot during the final murder.

Pardo testified in the guilt phase of the trial against the advice of counsel and insisted that he was sane despite his insanity defense. He acknowledged that he killed all nine victims, but claimed that all nine victims were drug dealers who had no right to live and that he was doing society a favor. The jury rejected the insanity defense. Accomplice Rolando Garcia is currently on Florida Death Row awaiting execution.