One of the men connected to the
home invasion robberies in Collier and Orange counties claims he was once a
bodyguard for mafia boss John Gotti.
Frank Bower, Jr., 54, was the
subject of a 2011 book called "The Incredible Journey of a Mafia
Soldier."
He also gave an interview to a
television station in Tyler, Texas in 2004, where he talked of his work for the
Gambino crime family - and his dramatic departure from that life to become a
minister and run a prayer center.
But that draw to his former
life may have been too strong. Bower, Jr. and two other men were caught Monday
night as they prepared to commit a home invasion robbery in Orange County.
Bower, Jr., Johnathan Contreras
and Andres Perez were dressed all in black and wearing masks when deputies say
they cut a hole in the fence of a home and prepared to go onto the property.
Deputies confronted them and
found guns, duct tape and zip ties in backpacks they were carrying. The MO
matches similar crimes in several Collier County neighborhoods over the last
few months. There was another similar crime in the Windermere community on
April 30th.
Victims in Collier County say
deputies notified them of the Orange County arrests.
MINISTER FRANK BOWER, JR.
When Bower, Jr. gave the
interview in 2004, he was running Family Prayer Center Rehab in Texas.
The address listed for Bower in
his Orange County arrest report is connected to Family Prayer Center Rehab in
Oviedo. Business records for the center list Bower, Jr. as the registered
agent.
The center's websites say it
specializes in helping people overcome addiction.
We called the center in Oviedo.
The person who answered hung up when our reporter gave them his name.
A site for the Texas ministry
says it conduct ministry sessions in prisons and schools.