Posted on 07/14/2008 8:55:52 AM PDT by AuntB
WORCESTER— Who is Daniel Tacuri?
Is he the hardworking immigrant who built a successful roofing business despite being illiterate, who generously supported his extended family, and who never said no to a request by someone in need?
Or is he an illegal immigrant, the ringleader of a criminal enterprise that created a pipeline for illegal immigrants to migrate to Milford from Ecuador, then built a successful roofing business on their backs?
The two sides of Daniel Tacuri were on display in U.S. District Court yesterday, where he faced sentencing after having previously pleaded guilty to 38 counts of hiring and harboring illegal immigrants.
“He held himself out as a beacon to people coming here from Ecuador,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini, as she argued that Mr. Tacuri spend the next eight to 14 months in federal prison. “By holding himself out… as a person who achieved success in the U.S., he continued the process of bringing people from Ecuador to Massachusetts.”
She argued that Mr. Tacuri, in enjoying the opportunities the United States provided for him, should have respected its laws.
Raymond A. O’Hara, Mr. Tacuri’s lawyer, said that many in the immigrant community hailed Mr. Tacuri as a hero, someone who was willing to provide food, shelter and a job to those who needed them.
“He did the right thing, he wasn’t ripping people off, he was providing a fair wage,” Mr. O’Hara said. “He is basically a good person who did illegal things.”
Mr. O’Hara asked that Mr. Tacuri be sentenced to eight months in prison, one month more than the seven months he had already served since his December arrest.
U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sided with Mr. Tacuri, taking the unusual step of granting him less jail time than his defense lawyer had asked for. (After court, Mr. O’Hara said he intended to ask for Mr. Tacuri to be sentenced to time served.)
Judge Saylor called Mr. Tacuri, “The single most sympathetic defendant I’ve seen in my four years on the bench.”
“It would be a hard-hearted person who would not be touched by his story,” Judge Saylor said.
He noted that Mr. Tacuri was not escaping punishment: He will lose his home at 21 Jefferson St.; all of his roofing vehicles, tools, records and cash were seized by the government; and he and his wife face deportation, along with most of his relatives and former employees.
Judge Saylor based his statements regarding Mr. Tacuri on a sentencing memorandum filed by Mr. O’Hara on behalf of Mr. Tacuri.
The memorandum described Mr. Tacuri’s upbringing experience as a poor Indian in Ecuador, where he was persecuted because of his ethnicity; through to his experiences in the United States, where various people in New Jersey and Massachusetts swindled and cheated him until he managed to create his own roofing business.
That business treated its employees, many who were illegal immigrants like Mr. Tacuri, fairly, the memorandum said.
Despite the sentence from Judge Saylor, Mr. Tacuri is not expected to be released. Currently at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, he will likely be turned over to immigration authorities upon his release. There is an outstanding deportation order for Mr. Tacuri, who was caught at the Texas-Mexico border in the late 1990s but never appeared for his court date.
Mr. Tacuri’s wife, Maria, and 5-year-old son made it to the courthouse after Mr. Tacuri had already been sentenced, and led back to lockup in handcuffs and leg irons.
She said through an interpreter that she is pleased that her husband was not sentenced to more jail time.
“When they deport him, my son and I will go home as well,” she said. “We were both praying that everything would work out.”
The case focused the town of Milford’s attention on its illegal immigrant population. Mr. Tacuri’s arrest served to break up the Ecuadorian population in town, according to Milford Police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin. He called Mr. Tacuri “the ringleader” in an enterprise that brought illegal immigrants from Ecuador to work and live in Milford.
“There’s definitely been a message delivered there,” Chief O’Loughlin said. “We’ve seen a significant drop in the number of illegal immigrants from Ecuador coming into town. They’ve clearly gone. We don’t know if they’ve gone back to Newark or to Ecuador, but they’re not here.”
Chief O’Loughlin said selectmen met with agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after Mr. Tacuri’s arrest, asking how the town and ICE could work together to curb illegal immigration in town.
“They asked that federal officials come in and enforce federal laws in Milford. That’s what happened in this case,” Chief O’Loughlin said.
Yep.
Rarely do we here about all the crimes illegals commit in order to stay here.
“Rarely do we here about all the crimes illegals commit in order to stay here.”
Not to mention the crimes he committed bringing in other aliens. I wonder how many of them were MS-13.
“He is basically a good person who did illegal things.”
it’s way too early in the morning.......
I understand that he came here illegally and don't have too much of a problem with him being deported but I do have some questions.
When the government confiscated all his tools, trucks, etc - Did they compensate him with fair market value for them?
Seal the border as best we can, but there still needs to be a change in immigration policy to let people with a work ethic, that don't necessarily want to become US citizens, come and work if they so desire.
Milford PING!
MS-13 members are from Central America, Ecuador is in South America. So your answer is probably 0.
When the trucks, etc. are part of a criminal enterprise they don't get compensated.
Ha ha! That's a good one. Yep. He got the same compensation the govt gives to US citizens --NONE!
Seal the border as best we can, but there still needs to be a change in immigration policy to let people with a work ethic, that don't necessarily want to become US citizens, come and work if they so desire.
Are you saying that there are no immigration policies/laws at all that allow non-citizens to come to the USA to work?
Ah, sort of like asset forfeiture, huh?
I don't like property, of any kind, being taken by government, of any kind, without just compensation.
http://www.policelink.com/training/articles/26719-ms-13-a-law-enforcement-overview
“MS gangs now include members from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, in addition to El Salvador.”
Business must be good.
Do you see anywhere that I say that or are you trying to put words in my mouth?
Read what I said.
Sure, and Al Capone set up soup kitchens and helped the poor and loved his mother...yada yada yada. That makes his acts and his intentions no less illegal than were Capone's.
He is here illegally and that is a criminal act. Just as they confiscate the home and toys of drug dealers who come by their possessions by way of illegally obtained money so should his assets be siezed and all the other illegals whom he brought in should be deported immediately. I know a number of roofers who either can't find jobs or whose businesses are struggling because these scumbags undercut them. Piss on him and the idiot judge.
All I had to do was look at the name/location of the newspaper.
That being said I see no reason to keep him confined any longer than it takes to deport him and his family and his employees back to Ecuador.
You're advocating a change in US immigration policy to allow non-citizens to come to the US to work.
...but there still needs to be a change in immigration policy to let people with a work ethic, that don't necessarily want to become US citizens, come and work if they so desire.
So, perhaps you could explain the deficiencies in the existing immigration laws as it pertains to non-citizens who want to come to the US to work.
it’s way too early in the morning.......
I have heard that phrase used one too many times by mothers describing their sons or daughters who've been convicted of murder and mayhem. "He was such a good boy....just had some tough breaks". Makes you want to hurl.
These people promote irresponsibility.
Pardon me, I was thinking El Salvador.
One of the deficiencies is the fact that we have many more people willing to come to the USA and work than the current policies, with the resources we have in place, can handle.
It's true that without a secure border it doesn't really matter because they will come whether we want them here or not.
However, if we had policies, with resources in place, to allow those coming in some type of visa (some controls) then we could concentrate on keeping undesirable types out while welcoming those with work ethics that come to add something to this country.
I have given some thought to this and we cannot continue in the vein that we have been going.
Some change is needed but we have to secure our border in order for that change to be effective.
As you know, Dan, we allow more than 2 million in on legal visas now. Most of which never leave.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/DayinLife_050629.pdf (click here to see orignial document)
Some of the DAILY work of USIS according to their own document:
* Conduct 135,000 national security background checks
* process 30,000 applications for immigrant benefits
* Issue 7,000 permanent resident cards (green cards -PER DAY)
* Welcome 2100 new citizens.
* Welcome 3500 new permanent residents.
Does this look like we are not allowing enough “Legal” entries?
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