Thread: 'I'm not a criminal. I'm just a dishwasher'

'I'm not a criminal. I'm just a dishwasher'
A man tries to return to Guatemala, but the $59,000 he saved working here is confiscated.
By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent
dadams@sptimes.com.
Published October 28, 2007
http://www.sptimes.com




Pedro Zapeta saved $59,000 over nine years as a dishwasher. He is to face deportation to Guatemala after Jan. 31. "I'm more than happy to go home, but not without my money," he says.



MIAMI - After nine years of washing dishes illegally in South Florida, Pedro Zapeta decided his work here was done.

He packed what little he had in the way of clothes and then filled his duffel with stacks of neatly rubber-banded cash. In all, $59,000, every penny he had saved.

It was time to go home to Guatemala and build the home for the family he hadn't seen in more than a decade.

He got as far as the airport.

A security screener noticed the bricks of cash. What happened next was inevitable. The bag was opened. The cash was seized. Zapeta missed his flight.

That was two years ago.

Since then Zapeta has been stuck in legal limbo. The government is trying to deport him, but he doesn't want to leave without the money he worked so hard for.

"It's ironic," says his attorney, Robert Gershman. "He was on his way out. The money was his exit."

Even in the labyrinthine world of immigration law, Zapeta's case is unusual, experts say. Few illegal immigrants choose to return home permanently, instead hoping to avoid detection and stay long enough to win a resident green card.

And while many illegal immigrants save assiduously, most choose to send their money home these days through wire transfers, or cash remittances.

But Zapeta, 39, who doesn't have much of an education, sent no money back to Guatemala over the years.

No bank account

He didn't have a bank account. Because he had obtained false papers, he was scared he would lose his money if he opened an account that didn't bear his real name. He kept his savings by his bed in a house he shared in Stuart.

He dreamed of building a house for his mother and four sisters, and maybe opening a store in his village, Totonicapan, about three hours from the Guatemalan capital.

In late summer 2005, having avoided detection by immigration authorities, he bought a one-way airline ticket and headed for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

"He puts the bag on the conveyor belt and when it went through the X-ray machine they see all the money in rubber bands," Gershman said.

Customs officers confiscated the money, citing a law requiring anyone entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 to declare the money to U.S. Customs. Zapeta wasn't arrested. Instead, he was given a receipt for his money, and allowed to go back to Stuart.

"They arrested the money," Gershman said. "My client hasn't been charged with any crime."

Zapeta says he had no idea he was violating the law. "In the court they said it was my fault. I don't think so," he said. "It was ignorance. It just seemed like a minor accident to me."

For the past two years Zapeta has been fighting deportation proceedings in immigration court. At the same time he began civil proceedings to get his money back.

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, earning $5.50 an hour.

U.S. officials say they cannot discuss ongoing court cases.

Zapeta admits he entered the country illegally in 1996, across the Texas border. He also admits he bought a fake Social Security number for $25. But he doesn't believe his crime deserves such harsh punishment.

"I'm not a criminal. I'm just a dishwasher," he said. "I haven't been home for 11 years. I want to build a house for my mother and start a business."

Immigration advocates say despite Zapeta's illegal actions, his case cries out for compassion. After Zapeta's story ran on CNN and in the Palm Beach Post, well-wishers gave him nearly $10,000. That money sits in a trust.

Taxes deducted

At first a judge ruled that Zapeta must forfeit the entire amount for the currency reporting violation. Prosecutors noted Zapeta never filed income taxes while in the country. Zapeta's lawyer countered that his pay stubs showed taxes had been deducted.

In January, U.S. District Judge James Cohn revised that ruling, saying Zapeta could keep $10,000, the amount anyone is legally allowed to carry without filing a report.

But Zapeta says he can't accept the ruling and has appealed it.

His attorney complains the government appears more interested in Zapeta's money than doing justice. Had criminal charges been filed, Zapeta would have faced a maximum $5,000 fine. But the civil currency violation carries a maximum $250,000 fine, allowing the government to seize a greater amount.

Zapeta is currently working legally. He was granted a work permit while his immigration case was being heard. So he's back at the restaurant, earning his $5.50 per hour.

But time is running out. An immigration judge recently ruled Zapeta must leave the country by the end of January, or face forced removal.

"I'm more than happy to go home, but not without my money," Zapeta says. "I'll go back to Guatemala tomorrow if they give it back to me. It's all I have."

hahahaha ... sorry... he got robbed by the biggest crook of them all "The Federal Government" how Ironic

Whats the old saying ?

Uncle sam has four hands two in his pockits and the other three in yours!!!
the guys saved more them most could in ten years ess. in florida

"I'm not a criminal. I'm just a dishwasher," he said. "I haven't been home for 11 years. I want to build a house for my mother and start a business."

YOU ARE A CRIMINAL DISHWASHER.

I DO NOT BELEIVE THIS GUY SAVED THIS MONEY FROM DISHWASHING. AND KEPT IT BY HIS BED? GIVE ME A BREAK.....PLEASE.

HE COULD HAVE HAD AN ACCOUNT SET UP IN MEXICO AND BEEN SENDING IT THERE LITTLE BY LITTLE. I THINK HE WAS TRANSPORTING THAT MONEY FOR SOMEONE. BECAUSE EVEN IF HE WAS MAKING MONEY IN SOME ILLEGAL FASHION....HE WOULD STILL BE SENDING IT LITTLE BY LITTLE OUT OF THE COUNTRY. NO WAY THAT HE HAD THAT MONEY BY HIS BED FOR ALL THOSE YEARS. ITS NOT HIS MONEY. IT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY.

I say take the money and kick his ass out. This should be the miminal punishment for commiting felonies these Illegals constantly commit. In fact any Illegal caught should have all property seized including houses ,cars etc. When it comes to Illegals i would have no mercy, problem is we are not tough enough on them.

Local/State/Fed government seizes assets in the conviction of felons all the time. It is called forfeiture. He is not being singled out for any preferential nor extremely harsh punishment.

Did everyone catch this detail [which, to my knowledge, has not been released before...]:

Because he had obtained false papers...

An admitted document fraud/ID theft violation - both of which are felonies...

Yes, let him go back - but the money stays here.

There is no way that guy saved $59,000 washing dishes...no way.

Americans are way to smart to believe that BS.

Can you say: too much cocaine!

Send him back..give the money to charity...

Originally Posted by GREGAGREATAMERICAN

Whats the old saying ?

Uncle sam has four hands two in his pockits and the other three in yours!!! The guys saved more them most could in ten years ess. in florida

You gotta hand it to him, he saved just under half of his money for eleven years while living on minimum wages. To save 59,000 in eleven years, he would have had to save $103 a week and that's half of minimum wage earnings on 40 hours a week, which is next to impossible. What is possible is the fact that he could have worked more than 40 hours without overtime (scum employer) or worked under the table when he worked overtime. Alot of scenarios could have played out in order for him to save and live frugally. Since he has broken our laws and WAS aware of what he was doing, he has to pay the price.

I'm sure the government is in desperate need of his $59,000. Isn't ignorance of the law not a credible defense for commiting a crime? Besides, how do we know this man isn't a drug dealer or a document forger? He's very lucky he was offered $10,000. He needs to take the money and run. I don't think he understands that you can't f with the government.

They keep playing out this story over and over, trying to show how heartless the Americans are and hopeing we will give his money back. Sorry dude, you broke the law and it cost you $49,000. Welcome to America.

Can you say: too much cocaine!

Send him back..give the money to charity

SOME OR ALL OF THE MONEY COULD GO TO DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR KIDS THAT WANT TO TURN THEIR LIVES AROUND BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.