FL-2 admit to bigamy in immigration case

Posted on Thu, Sep. 25, 2008
2 admit to bigamy in immigration case
BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
aviglucci@MiamiHerald.com
Two of the five members of a family accused of marrying 29 undocumented immigrants for money -- often without bothering to get divorces -- pleaded guilty to bigamy charges Thursday.

Eunice Lopez and her boyfriend, Rodneys Gonzalez, each received two years' probation and 75 hours of community service. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mark King Leban's sentence also requires each to dissolve their illegal marriages, make a $250 charitable contribution to a battered women's shelter, and pay for the costs of investigation.

Lopez pleaded guilty to nine counts, one for each fraudulent marriage, and Gonzalez to three.

Two other family members -- Eunice Lopez's mother, Eurice Rodriguez, and her uncle, Jesus Rodriguez -- are set for trial Monday on similar charges. Eurice Rodriguez is charged with five illegal marriages, and Jesus Rodriguez with three.

A fifth family member, Loida Rodriguez, Jesus' sister, is on the lam and believed to be back in her native Cuba, said a spokeswoman for State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle. There is an outstanding warrant for her arrest on nine bigamy charges.

All five family members are Cuban natives and legal U.S. residents. Authorities say they were charging foreign nationals fees ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 for sham marriages that would allow the immigrants to qualify for permanent U.S. residency.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an ongoing investigation into the marriages, a spokeswoman said.


http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-d ... 01707.html

each received two years' probation and 75 hours of community service. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mark King Leban's sentence also requires each to dissolve their illegal marriages, make a $250 charitable contribution to a battered women's shelter, and pay for the costs of investigation.


My goodness - they are being so 'rough' on these poor people.

I'm thinking the investigation should include finding out how much these illegals have cost taxpayers - total costs. That would include everything from the cost to process their papers, to the monies they made working illegally (that's money from the citizens of this country), to taxes not paid, to freebies they might have gotten, to the illegality of driving, if they harmed anyone in any way, burden on the infrastructure, etc.

I think the true cost of what they aided and abetted should be tallied up and they should be stripped of every dime in assets and either thrown in the pokey for a very long time, or made to work with half their wages garnished to pay back any costs.

It's good they caught them, but our government (s) all pretend this is just petty crime - it is not.

They are only legal residents, not citizens. Personally, I feel only a citizen should be able to sponsor a spouse, but that is not the case. However, being only legal residents, they should all be deported after paying the fines. My hubby was told that if he committed any crime higher than a traffic violation, it could lead to his deportation.