Man charged in quadruple 1997 Polk slayings

Nelson Ivan Serrano was deported from Ecuador to face murder charges. More than 1,300 leads were followed in the 41/2-year investigation.

©Associated Press
September 3, 2002

BARTOW -- A man deported from Ecuador has been charged with the 1997 slayings of his business partner and three others at a local conveyor belt manufacturing plant, officials announced Monday.

Nelson Ivan Serrano, 63, was being held Monday in Polk County Jail after he was brought back from his native Ecuador accompanied by state, federal and local law enforcement officers.

Serrano is charged with murdering George Gonsalves, 69; Frank Dosso, 35; Diane Patisso, 28; and George Patisso Jr., 26. Their bodies were discovered inside a factory that makes garment conveyor systems. Diane Patisso was a Polk County prosecutor.

"It makes me feel that there's good in this world because of this day," said Mary Ann Patisso, the mother of George Patisso. She drove 20 hours with family members from New City, N.Y., to attend a news conference announcing the arrest. "There is good in this world because the monster that did this is where he should be."

Authorities said Serrano was arrested Saturday at a restaurant in Quito, Ecuador, where he returned two years ago. Serrano said he was "not involved in anything" when he was arrested, investigators said.

Serrano was denied bail during an initial appearance before a judge Monday. His case was assigned to a public defender. Calls to the Polk County Public Defender's Office went unanswered Monday.

Tommy Ray, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said the break in the case stemmed from an interview with an undisclosed person on Feb. 14, 2001. He declined to elaborate.

"Money. Greed. Revenge. Those were the basic motives," Ray said.

Investigators referred to Serrano as the "primary suspect" and declined to address questions about whether he was the lone gunman in the case or had hired someone to carry out the shooting.

"He hasn't confessed but he has made statements," Ray said.

Serrano, Gonsalves and Felice Dosso had been partners in two related businesses operating at the factory: Erie Manufacturing Inc., which makes garment conveyors, and Garment Conveyor Systems Inc., which markets and installs them.

But a rift grew between Serrano and his two partners. Gonsalves and Dosso stripped Serrano of his title and salary in the summer of 1997 and fired Serrano's son from a top job. Serrano countered with a lawsuit against his former partners alleging mismanagement.

In December 1997, Gonsalves' body and the bodies of Dosso's son, daughter and son-in-law were found in the factory where the partners ran their business. Police said bullet-shell casings littered the murder scene.

More than 1,300 leads were followed during the 41/2-year inquiry, taking investigators to Washington, New York, California, Georgia, North Carolina, Canada and Ecuador.

FDLE agents went to Ecuador on Aug. 21 and worked with authorities there to make the arrest. Officers with Bartow Police Department, the FDLE and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration helped return Serrano.

Ray said investigators spent four to five days searching for Serrano in Quito before discovering his whereabouts. Serrano was keeping a low profile "in a highly exclusive area of Quito" when he was found, Ray said.

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