NY -Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa Resigns, Admits To Sham Marriage For Citizenship

Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa Resigns, Admits To Sham Marriage For Citizenship

June 27, 2014 8:50 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — New York State Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa resigned from office Friday, as she joined a growing list of corrupt politicians with a confession in court.

As CBS 2’s Dave Carlin reported, Rosa (D-Manhattan) admitted to lying about her marriage to gain U.S. citizenship.

“I am a grown woman,” Rosa said Friday. “I am responsible for the mistakes that I made, and that’s why I’m here today.”

With that, Rosa announced she was stepping down, moments after her emotional courtroom confession.

Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa Resigns, Admits To Sham Marriage For Citizenship

http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.co...0627.jpg?w=420

Video at link.

The Dominican-born politician pleaded guilty to lying in an immigration matter involving the 1996 marriage to an American citizen, which paved the way for her own U.S. citizenship.

“I also regret that almost 20 years ago, I regularized my immigration status through an improper way,” Rosa said.

Rosa also pleaded guilty to another charge that she underreported her husband’s wealth in a 2009 bankruptcy filing.

“I sincerely regret not properly reporting money regarding my husband’s earnings that related to the bankruptcy proceeding,” Rosa said.

Rosa, 47, was born in Santo Domingo, and in 1994 she moved to the U.S. She got married in 1996, and became a U.S. citizen in 2005.

She made a failed run for office, but won her 72nd Assembly District seat in 2005 – representing Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill.

Rosa said had she not been an elected official, this might not have happened, 1010 WINS’ Gary Baumgarten reported.
“I am an elected official and that was something that was attracted,” she said.

Now leaving that post, Rosa said she needs to focus on her legal troubles and possible jail time — along with medical issues in her own family.

“My family needs my immediate attention,” Rosa said.

In a criminal complaint, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Rosa paid her first husband $8,000 for a “sham marriage.”
As part of a plea agreement, Rosa could get up to 18 months at her sentencing in October, Baumgarten reported.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/06/...r-citizenship/

VIDEO: Former N.Y. State Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa sentenced to year behind bars — hid income, had sham marriage to stay in U.S.

Rosa, the first Dominican-born woman elected to the Assembly, was sentenced Friday for immigration and bankruptcy fraud.

WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE LINK - THERE ARE IS ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRANSLATION.

BY BARBARA ROSS
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Friday, October 3, 2014, 1:01 PM

http://content-img.newsinc.com/jpg/4...g?t=1412341680

The first Dominican-born woman elected to the New York State Assembly was sentenced Friday to a year and a day behind bars for immigration and bankruptcy fraud.

Gabriela Rosa, 47, wept on a friend's shoulder as she left Manhattan Federal Court surrounded by supporters chanting, “Gabriela Rosa! Viva Nacional!”

U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote, who locked reporters out of the courtroom after Rosa's supporters took every available seat, could have given Rosa, a first offender, no jail time.

Instead, she told her to report to federal prison Nov. 14 and tacked on three years' probation.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...e_970/rosa.jpgJEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFormer State Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa (center) leaves Manhattan Federal Court on Friday, where dozens of supporters scuffled with the press, cursing them and trying to block cameras.

A transcript of the proceedings shows that Cote found it “very troubling” that Rosa's lawyer and a supporter in a letter had suggested that Rosa staged a sham marriage in 1996 so she could pursue “the American dream.”

“To say or try to justify (marriage fraud) as a path immigrants take in pursuit of the American dream is really a disservice to all immigrants who actually try to follow the law and get citizenship legitimately,” Cote said.

Rosa admitted in June that to secure permanent illegal alien status, she paid an unidentified American man $8,000 to marry her.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...e_970/rosa.jpgJEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFormer State Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa pleaded guilty to citizenship fraud and was sentenced to a year and a day in jail.

She worked for years as an aide to Assemblyman Herman Ferrell (D-Harlem), who was among the elected officials present to show support. During her tenure with Ferrell, she filed for bankruptcy and hid income as a political consultant, she admitted.

Cote ordered her to pay $19,652.09 to creditors whose debts were not paid because of the bankruptcy proceeding.

Rosa became a citizen in 2005 and was elected to the Assembly in 2012. She resigned in June. Her citizenship status will not be affected by the conviction.

Rosa had begged the judge to show mercy and keep her out of jail so she could care for her 16-year-old son and ailing mother.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...e_970/rosa.jpgJEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWSFormer State Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa leaves Manhattan Federal Court on Friday.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said she was a phony who “only became eligible to run for the New York State Assembly as a result of a years-long immigration fraud.”

“She also defrauded a federal bankruptcy court and her creditors for her own financial gain,” Bharara said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/assemblywoman-gabriela-rosa-sentenced-year-behind-bars-article-1.1962366

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She resigned in June. Her citizenship status will not be affected by the conviction.

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Huh, she admitted to fraud for the specific reason of gaining citizenship. Why isn't she being deported after serving her prison time and her citizenship being revoked?