Miami-Dade Police
Alexis Vila Perdomo, 48, was convicted over his involvement in the 2011 killing of Camilo Salazar.
According to CBS Miami Alexis Vila Perdomo, 48, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the 2011 kidnapping, torture and murder of Camilo Salazar. Perdomo, who represented Cuba in freestyle wrestling at the 1996 Olympics, is a former Bellator tournament finalist.
According to authorities the murder of Salazar was orchestrated by Manuel Marin, 64, the former owner of Presidente Supermarkets (per CBS Miami). It is believed that Salazar was having an affair with Marin’s wife.
Prosecutors suspect that Marin enlisted Perdomo, who worked at a Presidente store and taught wrestling to Marin’s son, and Roberto Isaac, 63, to kidnap and kill Salazar.
Salazar was abducted from a Miami street in late May 2011. His burned and mutilated body was found in the Florida Everglades on June 2nd. The Miami Herald reported that a medical examiner with Miami-Dade County determined that Salazar’s hands had been bound with a belt and that he received multiple blows to the face and head, which resulted in a fractured skull and jaw. The medical examiner proposed that a hard object like a golf club was used during the beating.
After he was beaten Salazar’s throat was slit with a knife or boxcutter. It is believed that Salazar was still alive at this point and that he keeled over onto his back. After this gasoline was poured onto Salazar’s genitals and a fire was lit. It is unknown if Salazar was still alive when the fire was set.
Isaac, a boxing promoter and trainer, was found guilty of the actual kidnap and murder of Salazar. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Perdomo was convicted of facilitating the crime. Evidence showed that he maintained phone contact with Isaac and other conspirators during the crime. He did this while at an MMA fight in Las Vegas.
Perdomo’s former training partner Ariel Gandulla, 42, testified against Perdomo and Isaac at their trial. Gandulla plead guilty to participating in the kidnapping of Salazar, but claimed he was duped into it. Gandulla received a 36 month prison sentence.
Gandulla, who fled to Canada shortly after Salazar’s murder, was originally charged with attempted murder in this case.
Marin, the alleged mastermind behind the killing, fled to Spain in 2011 and was captured earlier this year. He was extradited to Florida and is now awaiting trial.
Six months after the discovery of Salazar’s charred remains, Perdomo defeated Joe Warren in the quarterfinal of Bellator Season 5’s bantamweight tournament. Perdomo then beat Marcos Galvao before losing to Edurardo Dantas in the final. Perdomo fought for Bellator on one other occasion and also competed in WSOF and Titan FC. His last pro fight was in 2016.
In 2004 Perdomo was sentenced to three years in prison after driving his car into Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.