Officer fired after child porn charges

BOYNTON BEACH – A Boynton Beach police officer was fired Thursday after he was arrested on federal charges of possessing child pornography.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Friday that Gabriel Albala, 45, of Margate, is in federal custody and facing federal charges.

Albala appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow on Friday and advised he would like to hire an attorney, according to court records.

Albala is accused of buying child pornography using the blogging website Tumblr and keeping it on his home computer, according to the federal complaint against him.

Federal agents became aware of his alleged involvement through an ongoing investigation started in August 2018 that led to an Alabama man, David A. Drake, pleading guilty to a five-count federal indictment for the advertisement, sale and possession of child pornography.

Albala is accused of buying the child porn from Drake.

As part of his plea bargain, Drake gave agents information about the porn sales that eventually lead them to Albala, the complaint says.

Drake told agents he used his Tumblr page to direct users to another website, called Wickr, where he sold the child porn for an amount between $10 and $50, the complaint says. He later used Venmo, the Cash App, and Amazon for the transactions.

Drake said he instructed users to say the payments were for “tutoring, books, or other collegerelated expenses” because he was a college student, and he felt this would hide the true nature of the transaction, the complaint says.

According to Venmo records, a user who FBI agents say they later identified as Albala made multiple transactions with Drake in September and October 2018.

One was for $30 from an IP address and bank account that

agents say they later linked to Albala, describing the transaction with the note “Tutor,” the complaint says.

A $60 transaction was labeled “Tutor class.” A $70 transaction was labeled, “Textbook,” and so on.

FBI agents went to Albala’s home in Margate in July and noticed a Boynton Beach Police Department vehicle parked in front of the house, the complaint says. There was no answer, and a neighbor informed agents that Albala was out of town for a funeral.

Agents secured a warrant and searched Albala’s home once he returned in August. That’s when they found his Dell desktop computer that held multiple files of child pornography, the complaint says. According to the complaint, “there is probable cause to believe that Albala knowingly, willfully, and intentionally possessed” materials that depicted “minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.”

FBI agents interviewed Albala on Thursday morning and arrested him without incident Thursday afternoon.

“This morning, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed a Boynton Beach Police Officer in regard to an ongoing federal investigation. This afternoon, the officer was taken into federal custody and relieved of duty,” Boynton Police Chief Michael G. Gregory said in a prepared statement released Thursday night.

Albala’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, and his arraignment is set for 11 a.m. Sept. 13.