Former Miami Beach code compliance official charged in federal child exploitation case

A former senior official in Miami Beach’s Code Compliance Department has been charged in federal court in a child sexual exploitation case, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

Thomas Curitore, 63, a retired New York City police officer, worked for Miami Beach as assistant director of Code Compliance from May 2017 until January 2026, the city confirmed to the Herald. FBI agents arrested him Tuesday at his home, which is outside Miami Beach, and seized his electronic devices, the newspaper reported. Local 10 News also reported the arrest of a former Miami official and ex-New York City officer in an FBI child exploitation investigation.

According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, as described by the Herald, Curitore sent a video depicting the sexual abuse of a child to an undercover FBI agent on the messaging app Telegram. The complaint also alleges later messages in which he discussed exchanging images of children and paying for sex with children, the Herald reported. These are allegations; he has not been convicted.

Before joining Miami Beach, Curitore was a founding member and executive director of the Wynwood Business Improvement District in Miami until 2017, according to the Herald.

As of Wednesday he was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, the newspaper reported. The Herald’s report did not include comment from an attorney for Curitore or a statement from the city beyond confirming his employment dates.