On December 3, 1997, Frank Dosso, 35, was one of four people found shot execution-style at the Erie Manufacturing plant in Bartow, Florida. The other victims were Diane Patisso, 28, a state prosecutor; her husband George Patisso, 26; and George Gonsalves, 69. The execution-style shootings were presented as deliberate and premeditated.

Investigators focused on Nelson Iván Serrano, a former business partner, after employees described prolonged and bitter disputes over Erie Manufacturing and Garment Conveyor Systems. Prosecutors said Serrano had been ousted from the companies and accused him of returning from Atlanta under assumed names to carry out the killings; Serrano denied being in Florida that day. The case rested largely on circumstantial evidence and witness testimony about the business conflicts.

The motive suggested in the files centers on financial and legal battles among the partners.