Ah, the American dream. We peddle it around the world, people are suckered in, come here to seek it, then are hit with the stark reality.
Mistake costs dishwasher $59,000
For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida: washing dishes and living frugally to bring money back to his home country.
Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a duffel bag filled with $59,000 — all the cash he had scrimped and saved over the years — to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
But when Zapeta tried to go through airport security, an officer spotted the money in the bag and called U.S. customs officials.
Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug trade, but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from restaurants where he had worked. Zapeta earned $5.50 an hour at most of the places where he washed dishes. When he learned to do more, he got a 25-cent raise.
After customs officials seized the money, they turned Zapeta over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS released him but began deportation proceedings. For two years, Zapeta has had two attorneys working pro bono: one on his immigration case, the other trying to get his money back.
“They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man,” he said.
“I am desperate,” Zapeta said. “I no longer feel good about this country.”
this is exactly what happens when the border guards & immigration guards get paid low wages.
I’d take his money too – illegals dont have rights because they arent american citizens. Fuck em.
That guy should feel lucky he didnt get sent to guantanamo.
I saw this story this morning and knew it would be on Dvorak and knew who would post it. I then made a list of comments I expected to see and who would make them. Damn….I wish I could pick lottery numbers with a 100% accuracy rate like that.
Mustard, and all your anti-US friends obviously didn’t read the whole article or chose to ignore what you read (as you do with anything that makes the government look good)….he was not only illegal…..he NEVER paid a dime in taxes on the money. So they offered him 10,000.00 plus 9000.00 of the donated money and he refused. Now he will lose most of it AND go to jail, then be deported broke. Guess what…..good for us. He, thanks to his pay stubs will now have to pay ALL state, federal and social security taxes owed. Plus a fine and interest for NOT paying his taxes.
I don’t even need to know for a fact, but I bet he also got free (emergency room visits) medical care during that 11 years, and if they look hard enough may find other benefits he obtained illegally. Now, to make this a truly great American story, I hope to hell they plan to fine the crap out of the business he worked under the table for during those 11 years as well.
I think everyone in the world who wants to come here should be able to do it…..but only legally. No other country in the world puts up with a 12 million plus illegal contigent living with- in their borders…..this isn’t even counting the millions who got a free pass in 1988. If guys like Zapata didn’t come here, then 400 to 700 thousand LEGAL immigrants could come here and get jobs and live the life they hope for and pay taxes and contribute to this country in an honest way. Thanks to those 12 million plus illegals, the legal immigration from South and Central America has slowed to almost nothing. We have basically stopped giving green cards, or work visa’s to anyone from those countries because of the illegal flow. This guy, stole someone else’s chance to be a REAL, HONEST, LEGAL future citizen of the US.
Thanks Pedro Zapeta from all of those who wanted to do it legally.
#63….Robert West….I took your advice and I let that Judge know how I felt. I heartily congratulated him for his service to this country and his knowing or unknowing help in making illegal immigration a non-profit crime.
Thanks for the address. 🙂
Oh my oh my, dear oh dear oh dear. There are a lot of pompous, self-righteous people posting here, bandying about the words “illegal immagrant”, and I must say, I’m a little flabberghasted.
I wonder if the indigenous people thought the first european settlers to be illegal immagrants? I wonder why, over the last 20 years, people have forgotten about the “melting pot” that was the good ol’ US of A. I wonder what has happened to decent western morals, politeness and kindness?
Now it seems that everybody is a of money-grubbing, self-righteous litigous narcissist, who would f&#k their own grandmother and not pay for the abortion.
Let’s not worry about the serial killers, gang wars, and skullf$#ked octogenarians lying bleeding on the side of the road – forget about the drug cartels and the gangland murders – screw the devastated populace left homeless by katrina. Instead, let’s waste everyone’s time, making absolutely sure that the guy who has been washing your dirty dishes for the last decade is forced out of the country with less than he entered with.
Just to drive the point home, as if the grandmother comment wasn’t enough, how many of you have tossed garbage out the window when driving? Or driven faster than the posted speed limit? Get a grip! Murder is wrong, but washing dishes? Not so much.
P.S. What’s the bet that Mr Zapeta actually had $100,000 in the bag, and the boarder guard kept the rest?
Uber-Crank!
#68,
There are a lot of pompous, self-righteous people posting here, …
Such as those who suggest two wrongs make a right.
No I purposely obey the speed limit, it saves on gas and wear and tear. Plus, I’m never in that much of a hurry to get there.
No, I don’t throw garbage out the window. I live along side a highway and clean up the trash from the scum that does.
No I don’t fuck my grandmother. One’s been dead for 40 years (paternal) and the other for 30 years (maternal). Hey, whatever turns your crank.
Oh yes, the “skull fucked octogenarians on the side of the road”, dope dealers, gang bangers, murderers, bank robbers, auto theft rings, and any other crime should also be caught and punished. Even those enjoying a necrophiliac dalliance. No, I won’t list the order they should be pursued, they all should be dealt with. Including speeders, litterers, and illegal immigrants.
#63, Robert,
The charges are the decision of the prosecutor, not the Judge. All the Judge is allowed to do pre-trial is see if there is sufficient evidence for a trial and the applicable laws are obeyed.
Calling a Judge about a case before him may put the caller in Contempt. I wouldn’t suggest it. The US Marshall’s Service are usually pretty efficient in tracking people down. No, it is not a free speech thing either.
Zapata could have face criminal as well as civil charges at the same time. It happens quite frequently. And if found guilty, he could forfeit all his money as well as doing some time. Again, it would have been the US Attorney that decides the charge, in collaboration with the appropriate agency.
My impressions & questions about this story:
We know that he was able to produce pay stubs from his employer, and given the way the numbers work out we know he was paid at an hourly rate. So he either:
A) Entered the country with a good grasp of English and was adept at fooling his employer, gaming the system, and somehow filled out his W-4 (if I remember the form correctly) in a way that very few employers would be alright with, or:
B) His employer lied to him and made something up that looked like a pay stub, or:
C) He was employed as an “independent contractor,” (this happens all the time), and places the burden of withholding on the employee at something like 16.5%….
Since we know he had pay stubs, though, even if the guy had filed under a BS identity, and given his tax bracket, all that he’d be liable for would have been social security…
I realize that this is a disjointed post, so I’ll try to sum it up: He had pay stubs that the government accepted and yet he had no taxes withheld. He was probably hired as a contractor. Unless he provided his own dishwasher, soap, waterlines, etc., his employer was defrauding him intentionally, as he does not meet the requirements for that hiring designation. His employer, then, owes the government half of the tax money– At least.
I’m posting this quickly, and it’s an incomplete assessment of the situation, but there are some real issues with regard to the employment practices and this guy’s liability… If you think that his illegal status is the bottom line, than I have no argument, and I expect to be called an idiot a few times.
I’m simply trying to extend really interesting discussion: I believe that his employer owes the back taxes, and yet there has been no mention of any punitive action against him/her during the course of his ordeal. I also think that it is possible to work out the likely circumstances.
Any thoughts?
I wonder how much taxes he paid during those 11 years.
Anyway, he’s an ILLEGAL alien. Life is rough. He broke the law. What are the laws regarding this situation.
BTW, anybody know how Mexico treats IT’S ILLEGAL aliens…
# Under Article 123 of the General Population Act, illegal immigration is an offense punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 pesos, or about $450. Typically, any crime with a punishment of a year or more is considered a felony.
# Article 118 of the act says foreigners who are deported and then later attempt to re-enter the country without authorization can be punished with up to 10 years in prison.
Hypocrites.
“They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man,” he said.
JEEEEZZZ…
He IS a criminal!
He’s an ILLEGAL alien.
Officials going amuck, brains left at home and no judgement of reason what so ever. Poor people, poor country…. seeing terrorists and drug lords all over. Good luck!
Too many insensitive assholes on this thread that ignore the question of whether we should even be treating a human being this way in the first place!
Deport him, fine. Take the taxes he owes out of his money, OK. Prosecute those who employed him, go for it. But outright steal his hard earned money? Outrageous!
Even more outrageous is that this sort of thing even happens to US citizens everyday! The government should have no powers to seize assets until after a crime is proven, period.
I should add that proving someone committed a crime is called due process, which is something that has been increasingly lacking in our country. …Which, coincidentally, is a sure sign we may be irreversibly down the road towards a wonderful police state.
This is all thanks to the greed of the government and its desire to easily get people’s money as well as the public’s fear of drugs/illegal aliens/terrorism/etc.
What a country. Our Founding Fathers would be proud.
#59 Doctor Lecter:Still and all, given the figures how does one live on that kind of money per year? ($6076.36)
I think you are missing the point of frugality. Being frugal means:
1. Never eat out, go to bars
2. Either sleep rough or share 1 room flop house with a dozen other people
3. Never get addicted to coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs
4. Don’t take public transportation, walk instead.
5. Don’t buy new clothing
6. Don’t have kids
7. Don’t buy anything
If you break it down roughly, that works out to about $500 a month, which means if you are paying $100 for a shared/apartment/trailer house somewhere leaves you $400 for food, soap and the occasional second hand pair of shoes.
Not the most luxurious lifestyle, but still better off than the 80% of the world’s population which, according to the Harvard Business Review article a few years back, make US$2,000 or less….
The fourth, fifth and sixth amendments are dead.
Uncle Patso
“>>The fourth, fifth and sixth amendments are dead.”
Doesn’t that affect LEGAL residents?
He’s an ILLEGAL alien.
He IS a criminal!
Take every PENNEY HE HAS, SEND HIM HOME!
This will stop ILLEGAL immigration DEAD in it’s tracks!!
Your not legal, therefor you have NO legal rights!!
#80, pedro;
Thanks for proving my point, insensitive asshole.
Did I not say “Take the taxes he owes out of his money”? Why don’t you just come out and say you’re for the government taking people’s money and against improving the living conditions of anyone else in the world?
#84, 85;
Explain to me, exactly, how carrying your own money around is “smuggling”? Please do so without saying that it is “illegal”. Please justify why it should be “illegal”.
In response to your #82, you constructed a straw man argument there, buddy. That wasn’t the circumstances of this case, and I doubt many people would argue that guy should keep his car. But at least in your straw man argument, they actually caught the guy doing something illegal.
Why should the very act of carrying money be illegal? It’s the government’s job to prove a crime has been committed, not your responsibility to prove that a crime hasn’t been committed.
#87;
Who’s reading comprehension is poor now?
You didn’t answer a single question I asked in #86. Please reread and answer the questions I posed.
I understand the fine points of this guy’s situation perfectly. Do you understand the fine points of my questions?
If not, we can assume you’re nothing more than a hack.
How can I help this Pedro Zepata get his money back! Who can I write etc. I was head of Affirmative Action in Colorado during the 70’s. This man worked hard in a legal profession of washing dishes. He deserves his money back . US is being a theif keeping it.
#89;
No, you didn’t answer the question. Your nothing but a hack.
Remember this bit?
…Please do so without saying that it is “illegal”. Please justify why it should be “illegal”.
Or this one?
“…Why should the very act of carrying money be illegal?”
You didn’t answer my questions at all.
#92: Doesn’t make it RIGHT. Time to change this obscene law. Confiscation of property just because it MIGHT be from illegal activity is just plain wrong.
“#92: Doesn’t make it RIGHT. Time to change this obscene law. Confiscation of property just because it MIGHT be from illegal activity is just plain wrong.”
What do you mean “MIGHT”? He is an ILLEGAL ALIEN!! Just being here is illegal, not paying taxes is illegal. How much more ILLEGAL does it have to be before the bleeding liberals figure it out?
WTF?
>>“I no longer feel good about this country.”
Good go home. Stay there. Keep your people there unless they want to immigrate correctly.
For all you ignorant white folks let me educate you a little bit and tell you to stop criticizing this honorable man that worked for his money his legal status doesn’t define him as a human being don’t you realize that these hardworking people are the ones who keep the US economy going? of course you don’t know your lack of humane sense doesn’t let you see past the surface. Your wishes of deporting these poeple should come to life so all of u guys can start doing their job i can’t wait to see a white person mow another ones lawn isn’t that what your asking for?
in case this hasn’t been covered already, how did this guy save $59,000 in 11 years, making, $5.50 a hour? unless he was getting free handouts by our goverment. food, clothing,housing,transportation,electricity,gas, and water.our goverrment has every right to hold onto that money, and deport him back to his own country. if, however, after a ivestigation, it is determined that he did not receive any handouts from any american source, and all tax’s due are paid, and his lawyers get no tax breaks for their pro-bono work, give him the money.