Daniel S. Anderson, Director
Division of Insurance Fraud
REPORT INSURANCE FRAUD
The Central Region is divided in half establishing East and West Central Regions. The West Central Region encompasses the Tampa Field Office, St. Petersburg Field Office and Ft. Myers Field Office. The West-Central Region covers Charlotte, Collier, Desoto, Glades Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk Counties.
Michael Byrne is originally from Syracuse, New York where he lived with his wife and three children. Captain
Byrne attended Central Missouri University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in police science. Captain
Byrne served in the U.S. Army from 1971 through 1973, assigned to the Military Police and obtained the rank of
Specialist 4. In 1973, Capt. Byrne was employed as a police officer with the Hillside Police Department, Hillside,
New Jersey. In 1974, Captain Byrne joined the New York State Police where he worked uniform road patrol for eight
years and later was assigned to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations where he reached the rank of sergeant. Captain
Byrne worked as an assistant unit coordinator and unit coordinator prior to retirement in 1994. From 1994 through
2003, Captain Byrne was employed with Royal Sun Alliance Insurance Company as a senior special investigator.
Captain Byrne joined the Division of Insurance Fraud on November 17, 2003, working in the St. Petersburg Office
until September of 2006 when he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Tampa Field Office.
Captain Byrne was promoted to captain in August of 2008 and is presently the supervisor for the West Central
Region.
Lieutenant Rosario was born in New York City. After graduating from high school, Lt. Rosario worked in the
financial district of New York City. Lieutenant Rosario then joined the U.S. Army, as a combat engineer; after
receiving an honorable discharge he went to work for the Shopwell Corporation.
Lt. Rosario then joined the New York City Police Department where he performed uniform patrol in the Bronx,
before being promoted to detective III and being transferred to Manhattan North. Lt. Rosario was then promoted to
detective II and conducted a wide variety of criminal investigations including but not limited to internal
investigations, robbery, narcotics, fraud, special victim crimes and evidence recovery after 9/11/01. In October
2002, after 22 years with the department, Lt. Rosario decided to retire and moved to Florida. In 2003, Lt. Rosario
joined DIF as a detective conducting various types of insurance fraud investigations. Lt. Rosario eventually
specialized in personal injury protection (PIP) investigations where he excelled, making numerous arrests and
executing numerous search warrants. Lt. Rosario was promoted to lead detective during this time period and also
became a field training officer. In 2010, Lt. Rosario was promoted to lieutenant of the Tampa Field Office PIP
squad where he continues to develop as a leader and direct the activity of the PIP squad.
Lt. Darrell Wilson began his law enforcement career in 1990 with the Polk County Sheriff's Office as a
Detention Deputy.
In 1993, Lt. Wilson was hired by the Plant City Police Department where he worked for 16 years. During his
tenure at Plant City Police Department, Lt. Wilson worked in a variety of investigative assignments to include
Uniform Patrol, Community Oriented Policing Unit and the Street Crimes Unit. In 1997, Lt. Wilson was promoted
to the rank of sergeant where he supervised a uniform patrol squad and the street crimes unit. During his tenure,
Lt. Wilson's street crimes squad was responsible for investigating complex drug and vice investigations resulting
in multiple arrest and convictions.
In 2002, Lt. Wilson was appointed to the rank of captain where he was assigned to manage the criminal
investigation unit. During the assignment, Lt. Wilson was responsible for all investigations conducted by the
police department from theft to homicide as well as drug and gang suppression. In 2005, Lt. Wilson was
transferred to the Administrative Services Division where he performed a variety of duties to include management
of evidence/property sections, police records section, information technology section, the emergency communications
center and the department's first fleet management system.
In 2010, Lt. Wilson joined the Department as an investigator assigned to the Tampa PIP Squad responsible for
investigating fraudulent PIP related complaints within a seven county area. In 2011, Lt. Wilson was promoted
where he currently supervises the new PIP squad assigned to the Tampa Field Office
Lt. Wilson holds a Bachelors Degree in Organization Management from Warner University and is currently pursuing
a Masters of Science Degree in Management. Lt. Wilson spends his quality time with his family, and in his spare
time he is an active member of Plant City Masonic Lodge #206 F.&A.M. P.H.A.
John G. Womer was born in Harrisburg, PA however moved to St. Petersburg, Florida at the age of ten and has
lived in the area every since.
He started his Law Enforcement career on January 8, 1973 when he was hired by the St. Petersburg Police
Department (SPPD). He worked as Patrol Officer, a Patrol Field Training Officer, a Detective in the Economics
Crimes Unit, A Patrol and Internal Affairs Sergeant, a Patrol, Records and Internal Affairs Lieutenant, and a
Patrol, Staff Inspections and Internal Affairs Major. He retired after 25 plus years with SPPD as a Major.
During his employment by SPPD, he attended St. Petersburg Junior College and then St. Leo’s College and
obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology with a 4.0 Grade Point Average in January 1995.
After his retirement from SPPD, he was then employed by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office for one year
as a Deputy Bailiff.
In July 1999, he started his employment with the Florida Department of Insurance (Department of Financial
Services, Insurance Fraud Division) as an Investigator II investigating criminal insurance fraud. In February 2001,
he became a Field Training Office with the Fraud Division. In 2005, he was designated as the Lead Detective for
the St. Petersburg Field Office. In April 2007, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in charge of the
St. Petersburg Field Office.
During his employment with the Division of Insurance Fraud, he has been a member of the Workers’
Compensation Task Force since 2004. He has been a Member of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) since 2005 and is
currently designated as the Central Region Team Leader. He was deployed as a first responder to Jackson,
Mississippi on August 28, 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, he was presented with the Outstanding and
Performance Award for his contribution to the Workers’ Compensation Task Force. In January 2006,
he became a member of the Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee (FIFEC) and was designated as the
Chairperson for the Awards Committee and the co-chair to the Division of Insurance Fraud Liaison Committee.
Lieutenant Mark Fritz joined the U.S. Army in 1972, serving until 1979 as a military policeman. In 1979, he joined the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department in Rockford, Illinois as a patrol deputy. In 1986, Mark Fritz became an Illinois State police trooper. During the period of 1988 thru 2007, he transferred to the Illinois State Police - Division of Investigations initially serving as a general case investigator but became an undercover narcotics agent for the Illinois State Police - Stateline Area Narcotics Team (SLANT). During 2003 thru 2007, he was promoted to master sergeant and assigned as the director of the Illinois State Police - Northern Illinois Auto Theft Taskforce (NAITTF) serving North Central Illinois counties. Lt. Fritz joined the Division of Insurance Fraud in March 2009.
For this fiscal year through March 2012, the detectives completed 215 presentations for prosecution, 189 arrests. In addition, the squad obtained 107 convictions resulting in $767,879.68 in court ordered restitution and $304,658.59 in court ordered investigative costs.
