A glamorous wife from Florida found herself at the center of a stylized murder-for-hire scheme after turning down a $20 million divorce offer, aiming for a larger share of her husband’s $165 million fortune, a court revealed.
The first member of the alleged ‘murder crew’ involved in the attempt on Tatiana Pino’s life was sentenced to almost two decades in prison, having admitted to overseeing the hiring of assassins for her estranged husband, Sergio Pino.
Avery Bivins, aged 37, confessed to charges of conspiracy, stalking, and firearm offenses, receiving a 235-month prison sentence for organizing the ultimately unsuccessful murder plot.
According to Assistant US Attorney Abbie Waxman, Bivins enlisted three men, including shooter Vernon Green, who brandished a gun at Tatiana’s vehicle before threatening her daughter Alessandra, 26, outside their Miami residence in June 2024.
‘He put the acts in motion, while bringing on others. He put the ball in motion,’ Waxman told the court.
The harrowing assassination attempt was thwarted when Alessandra urgently called 911, pleading, ‘Please, someone with a gun is here. He just pointed a gun at me, they’re still here.’
Green has since pleaded guilty.
Bivins, who had spent much of his adult life incarcerated, admitted to receiving $75,000 from roofer and fellow ex-con Fausto Villar to recruit criminals for the assassination plot.
Tatiana Pino, 55, filed for divorce against her wealthy property developer husband Sergio Pino, 67, in April 2022 and he responded by trying to kill her, prosecutors allege
Avery Bivins was sentenced to nearly 20 years for helping recruit a ‘murder crew’ against Tatiana Pino
Alessandra (pictured with her mother) called police on June 23, 2024 after finding a man with a gun in her home. She can be heard telling the 911 operator at the time. ‘He just pointed a gun at me, they’re still here’
After being approached by the FBI, he agreed to cooperate and recorded a video call with Villar.
On that call, Villar promised Bivins that Pino would pay $300,000 for a successful hit that went unsolved. The next day Villar was arrested, while FBI agents moved in on Pino’s $10 million waterfront mansion.
The 66-year-old developer killed himself before they could reach him.
In court, Bivins’ attorney, Humberto Dominguez, argued his client was ‘kind of the middleman’ who never touched a gun, and noted his violent past stemmed from crimes committed when ‘his brain had not finished developing.’
Judge Darrin Gayles imposed the minimum guideline sentence but said prosecutors could later request a reduction if Bivins continues to help.
Bivins apologized in court, telling his family and Tatiana’s relatives: ‘I just apologize to the victims and my family.’
The June ambush was just one of several alleged attempts to kill Tatiana. Authorities believe Pino arranged multiple failed plots beginning in 2022 – including trying to poison her with fentanyl and ramming a rented Home Depot truck into her car.
During one incident, Tatiana was hospitalized and intubated six times before doctors discovered fentanyl in her system, divorce records revealed.
In July, Bivins agreed to cooperate with authorities and made a recorded phone call to Villar, who he said recruited him. The feds moved into to arrest Pino and Villar after the phone call
The first alleged murder crew, consisting of Edner Etienne, Jerren Howard, and Michael Dulfo, along with its leader Bayron Bennett
Pino took his own life inside his $10 million marina-side home in Coral Gables, Miami, on July 23, 2024 as federal agents closed in
Police Chief Jason Cohen previously said the case seemed ‘like something out of a Hollywood movie, but this was unfortunately real life.’
A total of nine men were implicated, including Bivins, Villar, Green and others accused of arson, stalking and conspiracy.
Six have already pleaded guilty, while three await trial and face possible life sentences.
At the time of his death in July 2024, Pino’s estate was valued at $115 million, according to probate records.
That sum included cash, stocks, yachts, luxury cars and properties – but not the $43.8 million share in Century Homebuilders Group that automatically passed to Tatiana.
The widow has since taken over as representative of the company – the largest Hispanic-owned homebuilder in the US – but is locked in a legal battle with Pino’s brother Carlos and company trustee Pedro Hernandez over ownership.
Tatiana accuses her late husband of fraud, misappropriation and executing a ‘sham trust’ to strip her of her rightful share. Hernandez disputes her claims.
Police continue to monitor Tatiana’s home daily, even after Pino’s suicide, with Cohen saying: ‘That will continue for the foreseeable future just because there’s still a lot of open and moving parts.’
