Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 7, 1990 TAG: 9007070150
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MIAMI LENGTH: Medium
Accused murderer was added this week after police arrested Fernandez and an employee in the drug-related slayings of three men seven years ago on Danger Road in the Everglades. They are also suspects in at least six other killings, authorities said.
"For a number of years, his name kept coming up," said Metro-Dade homicide Detective Pat Diaz.
The investigation became code-named Operation Muscle.
Fernandez, 37, nicknamed "The Hulk," was arrested Tuesday as he left home for the gym he owned north of Miami. Hubert Christie, 58, the Apollo Gym and Fitness Club's manager and fellow bodybuilder, was taken into custody about the same time.
Both men - who pumped iron and praised the Lord with equal fervor - are being held without bail on three counts each of first-degree murder.
"He's a good Christian now," said Fernandez's mother, Emma, holding a Bible study meeting Thursday. "He's been a loving son. He would do anything for us. He's a good father. He's a good husband."
But prosecutors allege Fernandez is also a cop gone bad, who became involved with drug traffickers and may have worked as an enforcer. A federal indictment unsealed last week also accuses Fernandez of extortion, but the U.S. attorney's office in Miami declined to give details.
Fernandez was a karate instructor before joining the Metro-Dade force in 1976. His police record included at least one instance of alleged over-aggressive behavior.
"He's a bull of a guy, the kind that you don't step on his toes," said Doug Simpson, who works out at the Apollo. "He's a takeover kind of guy."
In 1979, Fernandez was suspended for 10 days after striking a handcuffed drug suspect. A judge cleared Fernandez of the aggravated assault charge.
He resigned in May 1983, a month after the three killings, and began running the gym and sculpting his physique. After winning a local body-building contest, Fernandez competed in the Mr. USA contest in Las Vegas.
About a year ago, Fernandez became fervently religious, often traveling to churches in the area to preach. He also served as a youth counselor and held Bible studies at the Miramar Church of God, about 10 miles from where the three bodies were found.
Several church members and gym regulars defended Fernandez despite the charges.
"Sin is a deep hole. It consumes," said Harry Keith, the church's youth pastor. "I don't know all that Gil did, but I stand behind him and love the guy."
What Fernandez and Christie did, authorities allege, was bind, gag and shoot each of the three victims once in the head.
Details about the ultimate break in the seven-year investigation that led to Fernandez's arrest are not being released, said Cora Cisneros, a spokeswoman with the statewide prosecutor's office in Fort Lauderdale.
Cisneros said her office received the entire Operation Muscle file three months ago and believed there was enough evidence to charge Fernandez and Christie with the 1983 killings on Danger Road, so-called because of the numerous motorist caution signs.
The two men are also suspects in six other slayings from 1985 to 1987, she said.
All but one of the victims regularly worked out at the Apollo gym. Three were shot to death, the others' throats were cut.
Both men are scheduled for arraignment in Fort Lauderdale on July 11. If convicted, they could face the death penalty or life in prison.
Fernandez's attorney, John Howes, did not return telephone calls to his Fort Lauderdale office. It was not certain if Christie had hired a lawyer, said Cisneros.
by CNB