Feds Confiscated Super Bowl XLV And Green Bay Packers Pirated Merchandise Being Sold At 7 Mile Fair

Thousands of dollars of estimated pirated Super Bowl XLV merchandise confiscated by Feds.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 30, 2011

Caledonia, Wisconsin –  On Sunday, federal agents walked into the 7 Mile Fair in Caledonia, located on the 7 Mile Road exit and I-94 and executed search warrants for the suspected pirated Super Bowl XLV and Green Bay Packers merchandise. They were able to confiscate counterfeit material from three different booths inside the market place, but the booths were allow to stay opened, according to Scott Niles, CEO of 7 Mile Fair Inc. who operates the bargain fair on the weekends.
More than ten agents took part in the raid. They also took clothing and items labeled Gucci, Ed Hardy and other brand names. At least ten golf cart loads of merchandise was taken before noon, merchants who witnessed the raid reported.
The feds cited the booth operators where the alleged pirated material was found and no arrests were made.
The feds had been targeting the the 7 Mile Fair since last April 2010 as an ongoing investigation when they confiscated merchandise that included thousands of items such as counterfeit sports wear, sports named Nike tennis shoes, t-shirts sport jackets with fake brand names and other items totaling more than $350,000. The weekend fair is known for finding pirated items at a reasonable price and other unusual items, according to bargain seekers at the fair.
The feds haven’t released the amount of merchandise and estimated total of the items that were removed from the 7 Mile Fair.
Multiple federal agencies involved in the unexpected raid, were the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). CBP specializes in piracy seizures and is a separate branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to sources.
Federal authorities are trying to connect the latest counterfeit acquisition of items to a major fake sports wear distributor charged in December by Chicago Cook County District Attorney’s Office. Cook County Sheriff’s Department arrested Joseph Kim, 27, after an undercover investigation found he was manufacturing and distributing thousands of sweatshirts, T-shirts, jerseys and hats embroidered with counterfeit logos of the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks and other popular brands, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart reported in December.
Kim, of Riverwoods, was charged with possession of more than 2,000 counterfeit items and manufacturing counterfeit items, both felonies. He posted $25,000 bail and was released pending the outcome of the case.
More than $650,000 in counterfeit merchandise and $400,000 in equipment was seized in a raid. Investigators found most of the counterfeit apparel was boxed and ready to be shipped from Kim’s headquarters in the 4500 block of West Fillmore Street in Chicago out to flea markets and small shops across the country.
The seizure is the largest of its kind by the sheriff’s vice unit in recent years. In the three-story warehouse Kim operated, police seized eight embroidery machines, valued at around $50,000 each. Also seized were more than 10,000 items of counterfeit clothing – more than half of which had Chicago Bears and other NFL logos on them. Also among the counterfeit stash were more than 1,000 fraudulent Fox Racing items and hundreds more pieces of merchandise with Harley Davidson, Hurley, Tapout and Nike logos, among others, affixed to them. When the warehouse was raided, eight employees were mass-producing near-replica Bears logos onto cheap winter hats.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Vice Unit began investigating Kim in October after receiving information about hundreds of fraudulent T-shirts being sold at a major out-of-state flea market. Kim told investigators he could embroidery nearly any trademark requested and among the items confiscated were computer discs with countless professional and college athletic logos, as well as major clothing brands, Sheriff Dart reported. 

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Photo by HNG

Restitution Sought From Loyo Named In Wisconsin Department Of Justice Lawsuit For Selling Credenciales USA Fake IDs

The Department of Justice in Wisconsin is seeking information on the whereabouts of major Wisconsin fake ID operator that targeted undocumented immigrants

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 30, 2011

Madison, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Department of Justice is trying to locate Hugo I. Loyo Cobos, a major Credenciales USA fake ID seller who fled into Mexico after his operation went out of business. Loyo is originally from the State of Veracruz in Mexico and was a member of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad 2006-2008 associated with the Chicago Mexican Consulate.
In early December, State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) had filed an enforcement action against Credenciales USA, LLC and its owner, Hugo I. Loyo for the marketing and sale of fake international driver’s licenses and state identification cards in Milwaukee County. Loyo Cobos sold IDs and International Driving Permits (IDP) for $200-$400 each, the IDP actually cost $10 for translation in associations that are allowed to legally offer them.
According to the DOJ complaint, Credenciales USA, LLC marketed and sold purported “International Driver’s Licenses” and Wisconsin “identification cards” to Milwaukee-area undocumented consumers on Spanish language radio stations in La GranD 104.7 FM, news magazines and newspapers like El Semanario de Milwaukee. Loyo had a weekly one hour show in La GranD located in West Allis. The company marketed the cards as valid forms of identification, which they were not. In addition, neither Credenciales USA, LLC nor Loyo are authorized by the government to make or sell official identification cards.
“This company engaged in false and misleading practices in Wisconsin,” Van Hollen said, “The Wisconsin Department of Justice joins the Federal Trade Commission in warning consumers to be wary of the sale of fraudulent identification cards. Drivers risk losing money and can even face criminal liability, if attempting to present fraudulent identification cards as valid driver’s licenses.”
According to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), only two organizations are authorized by the U.S. Department of State to legally issue and sell International Drivers’ Licenses or Permits (“IDPs”) to U.S residents and they are the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliance.
The State seeks to have Credenciales USA, LLC and Loyo enjoined from further violations. It also seeks restitution, forfeitures and fines. The case was brought on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection and is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Nelle R. Rohlich.
Van Hollen in December did not specified, if state criminal charges will be filed against Loyo Cobos.
Today in Wisconsin, other businesses continue to use a similar fake ID. Some businesses in the predominately Hispanic South side have placed window signs advertising AmeraCard ID, which is not a real ID, but is sold as an alternative ID to undocumented immigrants. The AmeraCard is sold as a personal ID and could specify any state a purchaser wants at the MC Multiservices, 1010 S. Cesar E. Chavez Dr. in Milwaukee and their Madison location. MC advertised the novelty fake ID in various publications and a small poster sign is displayed at the store front window. AmeraCard is provided by AmeraCard Enterprises Inc. from Stamford, Ct. Website at http://www.ameracard.com/
Loyo Cobos had sold Credenciales USA identification cards and international driving permits at its former location 3031 W. Lincoln Ave., which is now closed. In 2008, Loyo came under fire from a coalition of businesses, financial institutions, various non-profit organizations, including both Voces de la Frontera and the South Side Organizing Committee for trying to lure unsuspecting victims to buy worthless IDs with the state seal on them. Former State Representative, Pedro Colón from the 8th Assembly District had filed a complaint with the DOJ to investigate Loyo and Credenciales USA.
Loyo Cobos has said, the IDs sold by Credenciales USA were officially recognized by his company and Banco Amex International LLC, which was located in the same building. Loyo Cobos was the Chairman of Banco Amex International, and Mike Contreras was the President, according to business records. Both the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) previously stated, Banco Amex International was not legally registered or authorized to operate as a bank.
In early October 2008, Loyo Cobos had also tried to sell fake Mexican driver licenses in Wsiconsin to Mexican nationals in the U.S. with the help of Jorge Carassco Delgado from Global Search de México, S.A. de C.V. which operated Licencias Mexicanas (Mexican Licenses) in California.
Degaldo and Loyo offered fake Mexican licenses from the states of Veracruz, Aguascalientes, Hildago and Oaxaca for a price ranging between $160.00 and $180.00.
Before Licencias Mexicanas shut down after being exposed for selling fake licenses, their website twww.LicenciasMexicanas dot com on the internet Information stated a combine of more than 40,000 licenses from the previously mentioned Mexican states had been sold in the United States of America averaging a gross total of more than $6 million U.S. dollars in taxable earnings, since it was established. The Mexican licenses were sold without a driving or vision tests in the following states of Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, and Texas, according to Licencias Mexicanas.
The Mexican government confirmed Delgado’s Licencias Mexicanas was a bogus operation netting millions of U.S. dollars from undocumented immigrants and cheating the Internel Revenue Service and the U.S. government from reporting taxable earned income by Delgado and his accomplices.

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Hugo Loyo Cobos in background.

Photo by HNG

Maricopa County Sheriff Deputies Along With Posse Arrested 124 Including Illegal Aliens For Drug And Human Trafficking

Deputy Sheriff’s and civilian posse nabbed multiple suspects during operations to enforce immigration laws.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 30, 2011

Phoenix, Arizona – On Saturday, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office announced that deputies and a civilian posse operation within days had arrested a total of 124 suspects for various crimes. Within the last 17 hours of the operation, Sheriff Joe Arpaio reported the arrest of 83 suspects, including 68 illegal aliens involved in human trafficking and drug smuggling. The other 15 suspects were U.S. Citizens who were taken into custody for various offenses, drugs and warrants.
Another 56 illegal aliens had been arrested earlier in the month for human trafficking. Arpaio confirmed that deputies siezed a total of 725 pounds of marijuana from illegal aliens. Methaphetamine was also siezed, but no amount was reported.
Since Sheriff Arpaio began to enforce federal and state immigration laws, at least 44,000 illegal aliens have been identified while in jail or taken into custody in Maricopa County and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
  
Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Photo: MCSD

Several Illinois Mexican Groups Calling For Three Chicago Consuls To Be Ousted By SRE

The groups say the three consuls engaged in intimidation and intended to discredit Mexican organizations.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 28, 2011

Chicago, Illinois – On Friday, the Hispanic Council (HC) in Hillside and the Casa Mexiquense (CM) from Waukegan announced that they will have a joint press conference on Monday, Jan. 31, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the HC location, 4100 Madison St. in Hillside. The conference will also be aired live on WNDZ 750 AM Radio in the Chicago metropolitan area. Both the HC and MC are calling for the ouster of three Chicago Mexican Consulate consuls for their active participation to engage in tactics of intimidation and for their role in discrediting numerous community Mexican organizations, under the alleged direction of General Consul Manuel Rodriguez Arriaga. Luis E. Pelayo, Founder and President of the Hispanic Council says, they are requesting the Mexican Secretary of Exterior Relations (SRE) to remove Consuls Joaquín Pastrana, Community Organizing, Ioana Navarrete, Department Head of Protection and Dante Gómez, Social Support Coordinator at the Mexican Consulate in Chicago. 
Pelayo says, evidence of their unethical service to the Mexican community will be presented to the media.
Consul Arriaga is expected to be replaced in early March by the newly named Chicago Consul Eduardo Arnal Palomera currently at the Denver, Colorado Mexican Consulate. Palomera’s nomination by President Felipe Calderon is still in the process of being approved by the Mexican Congress.
Arriaga who has been at the Chicago Consulate for almost four years was named as the Mexican Ambassador for Peru and will also have to be approved by the Congress. In the last several years, Consul Arriaga has been criticised and accused of deliberately shunning certain community based organzations. Even protests by groups during the Summer leading up to the Bicentennial Celebrations have been staged outside the Mexican Consulate calling for his ouster.
Pelayo indicated that the HC had provided Arriaga with a proposal to implement a 24 hour hotline for Mexican nationals seeking legal advice and other services. The proposal included adding two paralegals and an attorney.
Today, no one answers the phone lines once the Consulate closes for the day. If police try to contact the Consulate after closing hours, when they hold someone that is undocumented to let notify the Consulate, a person can be held and then deported without Consulate representation. “An unanswered call can leave a chlid without their father or mother, this is outrageous,” Pelayo stated. The Hispanic Council and Casa Mexiquense have freed more Mexican nationals being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement than the Consulate under Arriaga’s direction, according to Pelayo.
The Consulate makes between $5 to $7 million U.S. annually on visas, Mexican legal documents and services to Mexican nationals from Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.
Currently, the Mexican Consulate is being criticised for not acting or publically condemning the illegal deportations of thousands of Mexican nationals in the Chicago area and the illegal private corporation deportation of quadriplegic patient Quelino Jimenez Ojeda, 23, in December by AeroCare and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Community activists alleged both the AeroCare and Advocate might have falsified information to acquire Mexican government documents to deport Ojeda to Oaxaca, Mexico without his consent or families authorization. The SRE has launched an investigation into who provided unauthorized government documents to Advocate Christ Medical Center and AeroCare in order to privately deport Ojeda without anyone knowing.  

Article on Ojedas deportation:

Did AeroCare & Advocate Christ Hospital Falsified Information To Acquire Mexican Documents To Deport Quadriplegic Patient? http://bit.ly/hr1XW1

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Chicago Mexican Consulate

San Diego Sheriff’s Office Denied Any Employee Was Kidnapped In Michoacan, Mexico

San Diego Union Tribune says it was a security guard that was taken by the Mexican military.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 28, 2011

San Diego, California – The San Diego Union Tribune reported on January 18, that earlier news reports out of Michoacan, Mexico that a San Diego County Sheriff’s employee and a teenage nephew were kidnapped on Jan. 9, in the municipality of Tancítaro by an armed commando during a family gathering wasn’t actually a sheriff’s worker. Family members had identified the U.S. Citizen as Rogelio Segura Nava, 28, and Joel González Segura, 14, as missing.
The Union Tribune reported, the person was taken by government troops and later released after family members talked to military officials, according to Hugo Rodriguez Mora from the Michoacan Human Rights Commission.
The person taken by government troops was identified by the Union Tribune as Segura Martinez a license security guard in San Diego.
Lt. Dave Brown from the San Diego County Sheriff’s office told the Union Tribune that no person with either name works for the sheriff’s department.
The Attorney General’s Office in Mexico said that five other men were taken into custody in the same party and that six assault rifles, five hand guns and bullet proof vests had been confiscated by the military, according to the Union Tribune.

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Arizona Minuteman Leader Forde Facing Death Penalty In Cold Blooded Double Homicide, Including 9-year-old Girl

State prosecutor seeking the death penalty in double homicide that left a 9-year-old girl dead

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 28, 2011

Tucson, Arizona – The murder trial of Shawna Forde, 43, the self proclaimed leader of the Minuteman American Defense in Arizona is on trial for the May 30, 2009 home invasion and cold blooded murder of both Raul Junior Flores and Brisenia Flores, 9. Forde along with Jason Bush, a white supremacist and Albert Gaxiola are charged with first-degree murder and are facing the death penalty, if found guilty.
The only survivor was Gina Gonzalez, the mother of Brisenia. Forde, Bush and Gaxiola invaded the Flores home in Arivaca, Arizona and pretended to be law enforcement agents looking for fugitives. But Assistant Pima County District Attorney Kelly Johnson argued that Forde and her accomplices went to Flores home looking for drugs and money to help finance her anti-immigrant Minuteman border security operation. Flores was shot at least three times and Brisenia was shot twice in the head after witnessing her father’s murder. Gonzalez was shot twice, but managed to survive by acting that she was dead.
She told the jury, that one of the men had shot her daughter after he assured Brisenia, she wouldn’t get shot. She identified Gaxiola as an accomplice who had previously been caught by her husband Flores for trying to hide Marijuana in their property.
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described Forde as a “psychopath.”
Bush’s trial is set for March and Gaxiola’s trial is scheduled for June.

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

(L-R) Shawna Forde, Jason Bush and Albert Gaxiola

Photos: Pima County Sheriff’s Office

Did AeroCare And Advocate Christ Hospital Falsified Information To Acquire Mexican Government Documents To Deport Quadriplegic Patient?

Community activists alleged both AeroCare and Advocate Christ Hospital executives conspired to provide false information to acquire documents to deport quadriplegic patient in December.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 27, 2011

Chicago, Illinois – New allegations that Advocate Christ Medical Center (ACMC) in Oak Lawn and AeroCare in Illinios had conspired to provide false information to the Mexican government in order to acquire documents to illegally deport quadriplegic patient Quelino Jimenez Ojeda, 23, in December. The allegations were raised by several members of the Mexican community in Chicago who did not want to be identified after attempts failed to get information about Ojedas abruptly departure from ACMC. They say Advocate Christ Medical Center Spokesperson Kelly Jo Golson has failed to provide any information citing privacy policy about who authorized Ojedas private corporate deportation to Mexico and who provided the legal Mexican government documents needed to transport Ojeda by AeroCare into Mexico. Neither, Advocate Christ Medical Center or AeroCare, the private company contracted by the hospital to transport Ojeda via airplane from Chicago to Oaxaca, Mexico have cooperated with a group of community activists and members from LULAC questioning the deportation.
Ojeda who has a young daughter remains at the Tuxtepec Maria Lombardo Hospital in Oaxaca and his mother has to pay for the medicine, according to friends. The Mexican government is trying to get funding for his care.
Ojeda’s Chicago Attorney James Geraghty admitted that he wasn’t informed that his client was being discharged and transported to Mexico. Garaghty was expected to file a lawsuit against ACMC in behave of Ojeda, but last week was replaced by another attorney on Ojedas family request, according to Garaghty’s secretary in Chicago.
Hospital officials had claimed that Ojeda’s mother had authorized the discharged and transport of Ojeda to Mexico. It was later learned, Ojeda’s mother never authorized his discharge or move. ACMC is having difficulty trying to track down who actually talked to Ojedas family for authorization.
Officials at the Mexican Consulate in Chicago have confirmed that ACMC or AeroCare never officially consulted the Consulate on Ojeda’s move. The ACMC would had to provide documents Ojeda was from Mexico and had agreed to go back to Mexico, which officials at the Consulate admitted ACMC provided none and didn’t notified them. 
If officials at the Consulate in Chicago are saying they didn’t provide the legal documents and paper work to allow Ojeda to return to Mexico, then who did? The Secretary of Foreign Exterior Relations (SRE) in Mexico is investigating, if any Mexican laws were broken by Mexican Consulate workers in the U.S. or Mexico in providing unauthorized documents to ACMC and AeroCare.
Jesus Vargas, a community activist from Chicago had petition the SRE in Mexico to investigate the government entity or Mexican Consulate that provided the documents needed for Ojeda to be allowed into Mexico. Patricia Espinosa Calletano from the SRE has confirmed, the SRE has launch an investigation into the Ojeda case to find out who authorized the documents that allowed Advocate Hospital and AeroCare to transport Ojeda to Oaxaca.
So far, no U.S. federal or state investigation has been petitioned or launched to see, if ACMC and AeroCare violated any federal laws and Ojeda’s rights as a disabled person.
On December 21, the executive ACMC board decided to forcibily remove Ojeda from hospital care after five months of treatment for a spinal cord injury. Ojeda was taken out of the hospital by AeroCare personnel hired by ACMC and put Ojeda on a plane to Mexico, so ACMC could finally stop paying for his medical treatment. Ojeda became a quadriplegic as a result of a work related injury in Chicago.
He lived in Atlanta Georgia and is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico. In August, Ojeda had been working for an Atlanta based roofing company in the Chicago area when he was injured. He apparently fell to the ground from a ladder located on the fourth floor damaging his spinal cord when he cracked his neck on the fall and became a quadriplegic requiring the use of an artificial respirator to keep him alive.
In a press release issued in December by a group that exposed and protested ACMC’s decision to repatriate (deport) Ojeda, Horacio Esparza Executive Director of Progress Center For Independent Living, which advocates for people with disabilities stated, ”Christ Hospital repatriated this patient back to rural Mexico where he will be unable to receive proper medical care for his condition. The hospital acted with out any humanity and violated all medical ethics to save lives.” Esparza is legally blind.
Jesus Vargas of the March 10th Coalition said, ”We wil pray for the respect and dignity of are immigrant brothers that suffer accidents that leave them crippled for life.”
Marlene Cruz a 20 year old Hispanic American whose family helped with the care of Quelino stated, “I use to think that Christ hospital was a good place– but now after what they have done to Quelino– I feel outraged that this hospital would do something to a person just for not having papers.”
Julie Contreras, LULAC National Immigrant Affairs Commission stated, ”While the President, Senate and Congress of this nation allow the immigration laws to remain broken—human beings who come to this country to work hard for a better life become disposable waste for Corporations like Advocate Health & Hospitals.”
U.S. hospitals who receive Medicare reimbursements must provide emergency care to a patient until they’re stabilized and a plan for discharge is filed, under federal law.

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Quelino Jimenez Ojeda at Advocate Christ Medical Center

Obama’s Remarks On Immigration During State Of The Union Address

By The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
January 27, 2011

Washington D.C. (HNNUSA) – On Tuesday, President Barack H. Obama during his remarks to the nation in the State of the Union address included a point about education and undocumented immigrants. Obama said, “Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens.  Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet they live every day with the threat of deportation.  Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities.  But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us.  It makes no sense.
I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration.  And I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows.  I know that debate will be difficult.  I know it will take time.  But tonight, let’s agree to make that effort.  And let’s stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing our research labs or starting a new business, who could be further enriching this nation.”

Immigration & Winning the Future

In his State of the Union address, President Obama laid out his vision for winning ou future.  Part of accomplishing  this important goal means fixing our nation’s broken immigration system.  The President again reiterated his deep commitment to addressing this issue because it’s critical to strengthening our global competitivenes and boosting our economy. Last July, the President outlined his vision for commonsense, comprehensive immigration reform grounded in the principles of responsibility and accountability.

• Continue to make border security the responsibility and priority of the federal government
• Hold accountable businesses that break the law by exploiting undocumented workers
• Make those living in the United States illegally take responsibility for their actions and
• Strengthen our economic competiveness by creating a legal immigration system that meets our diverse needs.

Over the last two years, the President has taken his responsibility to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders very seriously.  This Administration dedicated unprecedented resources to secure our borders, implemented smarter, more strategic interior and worksite enforcement policies, and improved our legal immigration system.
In FY 2010 the Administration increased the number of convicted criminals removed from our country by more than 23,000,  which represents more than 70 percent increase from the previous Administration.
Additionally, we have more than doubled the number of worksite enforcement investigations conducted in FY 2010 as compared to FY 2008. These investigations have led to millions of dollars of fines levied against employers who have violated immigration laws. We have also improved our legal immigration system by reducing backlogs of immigration applications and devoting critical funding to promote innovative citizenship preparation and integration programs in communities throughout the country.
In his State of the Union address, the President called on Republicans and Democrats to issues confronting our nation.
He acknowledged that the debate will not be easy but the American people expect their leaders to come together to tackle the important issues confronting our nation. Winning the future and building a competitive America demands an immigration system that works.
We need comprehensive immigration reform that respects our nation’s laws while continuing our rich tradition as a nation of immigrants and that strengthens our effort to secure our borders while allowing immigrants to contribute fully to our country and our economy.  In the coming weeks, that’s the consensus the President and his Administration will seek to build.

For President Barack H. Obama’s complete speech on Tuesday during the State of the Union address go to link at: http://bit.ly/hRc7bN

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

President Barack H. Obama addressed the nation and the U.S. Congress.

Missouri Supreme Court Judges Ruled Lower Court Erred In Ending Bail Romero’s Parental Rights

Supreme court remanded case to lower court to correct error and illegal adoption of undocumented mother’s child by U.S. couple.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 27, 2011

Carthage, Missouri – On Tuesday, the Missouri State Supreme Court ruled that the lower court erred and illegally allowed a U.S. couple to adopt a child taken away from an undocumented woman from Guatemala. Encarnación Bail Romero, 35, had her 6-month-old child taken away and put into adoption after she was arrested during a raid at a poultry processing plant in 2007. She was working at George’s Inc. when she was taken into custody along with 136 undocumented workers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Romero was detained and charged for identity theft and returning to the U.S. after she had been deported. She served two years in prison.
The Missouri Supreme Court decided that “The trial court plainly erred by entering judgment on the adoption petition and terminating (the) mother’s parental rights without complying with the investigation and reporting requirements… The trial court’s judgment terminating (the) mother’s parental rights, allowing the adoption to proceed without (the) mother’s consent to the adoption, and granting of the adoption, although supported by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence on the record, is reversed. The cause is remanded for a new trial in which (the) adoptive parents and (the) mother will have the opportunity to present evidence on all claims in all counts of the petition that pertain to (the) mother,” wrote Judge Patricia Breckenridge for the court’s decision.
Judge Micheal Wolff who ruled with the seven judges to reverse the lower court adoption decision to end Romero’s parental rights wrote, that there was no evidence Romero neglected her child before he was adopted. Wolff agreed that Romero’s child should be returned to her immediately.
Carlos who is Romero’s child or Jamison as named by the adoption parents Seth and Melinda Moser, continues to live with them. They had appealed the case in the state Supreme Court after Romero had won the case when a judge ruled in 2010 that the Mosers adoption of Carlos was invalid.
The judge ruled, that Jasper County Judge David C. Dally didn’t have legal authority to end the parental rights of Romero and to give her son Carlos to the Mosers in 2008, Southern District Court of Appeals ruled.
In 2008, Jasper County Judge Dally ended Romero’s parental rights for neglect and abandonment and failed to follow legal procedures in adoption proceedings. Romero never consented or allowed for her son to be put up for adoption by Jennifer and Oswaldo Velasco who were taking care of him at the time, while she was serving time for being in the country illegally. Romero had requested for Carlos to be put in a foster home until she would be released, but Judge Dally denied Romero’s request and allowed the Mosers to illegally adopt Carlos.
ICE has stayed Romero’s deportation until February 2012, so she can continue to fight for the return of her child, according to her Attorney Omar Riojas from Seattle.
Romero who lives in Carthage, Missouri hasn’t seen her son Carlos, now 4-years-old since 2007. She has a 13-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter in Guatemala. Romero hopes to get time to visit her child within days for the first time.
She is confident that Carlos will be returned to her.
Other immigration cases where children were taken away from undocumented mothers. In Nebraska, Maria Luz Cute of Guatemala was awarded parential rights of her U.S. born daughter Angelica and son Daniel after they were taken away and put in a foster home, when she was arrested on April 2005 for lying to an officer. A neighbor called police when it was notice her daughter was sick and she wasn’t taken for medical treatment. When police investigated, she told police she was the baby sitter for fear of being deported. She was arrested and later deported. In 2008 Cute lost her parential rights, but appealed. The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed the decision to take her children.
There are countless cases where state judges decide undocumented parents are unsuitable to care for their children due to there situations.
Parents enter the U.S. illegally to seek a better future for their families and children. It seems, state judges take advantage of the undocumented status and makes it easier for U.S. couples to adopt U.S. born children taken away from their undocumented parents.

Encarnacion Bail Romero July 21, 2010 appeals case at link: http://bit.ly/9JEcC7
 
Children removed from undocumented parents and put for adoption video http://bit.ly/bSCe5A and Maria Luz Cute news video at http://bit.ly/bmmCGf

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Carlos (Carlitos), Encarnacion Bail Romero’s son in 2007.

Man Who Confessed To Shooting At Mexicans With BB Rifle Gets Two Years In Prison

Hate crime penalty enhancer dismissed for entering guilty plea by BB shooter under plea agreement.

By H. Nelson Goodson
January 26, 2011

Milwaukee, WI – On Wednesday, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Sankovitz sentenced Robert Anthony Malczewski, 35, to two years in prison and more than two years probation for shooting at Red Box movie rental customers. He was ordered to pay restitution totaling $800 to a female victim. Malczewski was convicted of firing a BB rifle at Hispanics while they rented movies from an outdoor machine at Walgreens, 2625 W. National Ave.
He was charged in September with disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon, 2nd-degree reckless endangering safety, including a hate crime enhancer. Malczewski made a plea deal and pleaded guilty to two counts including a felony. In the plea agreement, the state dismissed the hate crime penalty enhancer on January 13.
The criminal complaint states, that Malczewski on July 25, shot a woman in the neck with a BB rifle. The woman and her boyfriend were renting a movie from the outdoor machine when they came under fire by Malczewski. Both are Latinos and Malczewski is White, according to the criminal complaint.
Police spotted Malczewski shooting a weapon from a second floor window in an apartment adjacent to Walgreens. When police arrested Malczewski, he told the officers that he was shooting at Mexicans.
Customers initially complained of being shot with some kind of weapon to the Walgreens manager on August 8, who then alerted police.

Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile

Robert Anthony Malczewski