Law enforcement · FBI

Louis Bronstein

FBI Special Agent who operated concealed recording equipment at the April 20, 2016 Dolce Vita restaurant meeting between Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua and authenticated the resulting recording for the prosecution across all three trials.

Appeared Magbanua Retrial Charlie Adelson Donna Adelson

132 lines · 7 appearances · 1 mention · 3 trials

About

Bronstein is the prosecution's primary authentication witness for the Dolce Vita covert recording — the central piece of contemporaneous surveillance evidence in the case — and his three-trial appearance establishes the operational context, equipment chain of custody, and audio limitations of that recording as a consistent baseline in the archive record.

Across Trials

Bronstein's core testimony — describing his surveillance positioning, equipment operation, and audio limitations, then authenticating the covert Dolce Vita recording — remained substantively consistent across all three trials. In the first trial his appearance was procedurally complicated by an exhibit numbering error mid-trial, requiring him to be held outside the courtroom and recalled to complete proper foundation for Exhibit 114; the defense conducted cross-examination during that appearance, with the record reflecting the examination occurred but detailed content not available in the source packet. In the second trial the defense mounted a more developed cross-examination, eliciting three specific concessions bearing on the recording's completeness: that Bronstein arrived after the subjects had already begun talking, that he had no knowledge of whether the two spoke in a vehicle for approximately 15 minutes before entering the restaurant, and that background noise prevented him from personally discerning the conversation from 8 to 10 feet, leaving the recording device as the sole content source without independent witness corroboration of what was said; the prosecution declined redirect, leaving those concessions unaddressed. In the third trial the defense waived cross-examination entirely and the witness was released without recall, making his account in that proceeding fully uncontested.

Trial Record (8)

KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022

Trial Summary

FBI Special Agent Bronstein conducted undercover surveillance of the April 20, 2016 meeting between Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua at Dolce Vita restaurant in Miami, and testified to authenticate the audio-video recording later admitted as State's Exhibit 114, including a recall appearance to correct an exhibit numbering error during trial.

Appearances (3)

Direct

Louis Bronstein - Direct

Day 5 Cross

Louis Bronstein - Cross

Day 5 Direct

Louis Bronstein - Direct (Recall)

Day 5

Mentioned (1)

Procedural

Exhibit Mix-Up Corrected: Dolce Vita Recordings 114 and 116 Clarified Out of Jury

Day 5

CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023

Trial Summary

Deployed as an FBI surveillance agent at the April 20, 2016 Dolce Vita restaurant meeting, Bronstein authenticated State's Exhibit 109 — the covert audio/video recording of Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua — and testified to the conditions under which it was captured.

Appearances (2)

Direct

Louis Bronstein - Direct

Day 4 Cross

Louis Bronstein - Cross

Day 4

DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025

Trial Summary

Called by the prosecution to authenticate the April 20, 2016 Dolce Vita covert recording, Bronstein testified about his supporting surveillance role — receiving concealed recording equipment and positioning himself at an adjacent table while Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua met inside the restaurant.

Appearances (2)

Direct

Louis Bronstein - Direct

Day 4 Cross

Louis Bronstein - Cross (Waived)

Day 4