Rene Palomino Jr.

Rene Palomino Jr. was born in Havana, Cuba in 1959 and arrived in Miami, FL in 1962. He was raised in Miami and attended Christopher Columbus High School. Upon graduation he attended the University of Miami and obtained a degree in Business Administration in 1980 with honors. He immediately enrolled in Nova Southeastern University School of Law where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree in 1983. Throughout his 39 years of practicing law, he has represented over 3,000 cases in state court and approximately 200 cases in federal court. In 2008, he represented Albert Gonzalez who was charged in Federal Court with identity theft and hacking into major retailers in Boston, New Jersey, and New York. This was the largest identity theft case in the history of the United States when the charges were presented. In 2010, he sued the Republic of Cuba and Fidel Castro in a wrongful death case involving an American citizen who was a political prisoner, Rafael Del Pino. Mr. Palomino was able to obtain a judgement in the amount of $253,000,000 against Fidel Castro and the Cuban government for the death of Rafael Del Pino. In 2014, he represented Michell Abner Espinosa in the first bitcoin prosecution case in the State of Florida. Mr. Palomino was successful in getting the charges dismissed at the trial court level. In 2017 he relocated to Tampa, FL. and joined the Hillsborough County Public Defender's Office where he was a Felony Division Chief until the end of 2022. On January 3, 2023, he joined the firm of Escobar, Michaels, & Associates where he is presently employed.