Adviser to area Mexicans was ordered to pay debt(Proof of Invasion)

The Columbus Dispatch (DISPATCH FRONTERAS) ^ | December 19, 2008 | STEPHANIE CZEKALINSKI

[buccaneer81]

Adviser to area Mexicans was ordered to pay debt Friday, December 19, 2008 7:50 PM By STEPHANIE CZEKALINSKI DISPATCH FRONTERAS In Spanish To read this story and related coverage in Spanish, pick up Fronteras de la Noticia, a free weekly available at more than 400 locations across central Ohio, or go to DispatchEspanol.com. A man who is an adviser to Mexicans living in the United States failed to pay money he owed to a charity that helps Venezuelan orphans.

On Nov. 6, Hector Villareal was ordered by Municipal Court Judge Janet A. Grubb to pay $500 to Casa Hogar Mission Fund, a local nonprofit group that raises money for an orphanage in the western mountains of Venezuela.

Casa Hogar filed the small-claims complaint against Villareal in August.

In November, he was appointed to be an unpaid consejero, or adviser for the Institute of Mexicans in the Exterior, an agency of the Mexican government.

This is the third time a local adviser for the agency has been the subject of controversy.

"I'm tired of people like this taking advantage of the community and the organizations," said Walter Tucker, president of Casa Hogar.

In Villareal's case, Casa Hogar allowed him to use its liquor license for a Cinco de Mayo car show he was organizing as the manager of WVKO-FM (103.1), a Spanish-language radio station in the area. Villareal no longer works at the station.

Tucker said: "We thought it would help them out, and when we started our next program, we'd have some seed money."

The judge ruled that Villareal owes the group $500. It will probably cost Casa Hogar more than that to collect the money, Tucker said.

Villareal could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Juan Jose Perez, did not return calls seeking comment.

Villareal is among the advisers representing the more than 275,000 Mexicans living in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and southern Illinois to their home government. The advisers are to recommend how to improve the immigrants' quality of life.

In April, Josue Vicente, another local adviser for the Institute of Mexicans in the Exterior, was accused of hiding his marriage to his boss, who is the president and chief executive officer of the Ohio Hispanic Coalition. He was promoted to executive director of that organization after the marriage.

Last year, investors lost thousands of dollars when Centro Mexicano, a community center for Mexicans headed by IME adviser German Trejo, filed for bankruptcy before opening.

Trejo has been an IME adviser since 2006. His term is over at the end of the year. Vicente and Villareal will serve until 2011.

Claudia De Leon, a community activist who was a member of the local committee that elected the advisers, said their pasts are irrelevant.

"At least they're willing to work for the community," she said.

"I think that they were all good candidates. Were they the best? I don't know. But they were the best of the people who presented themselves," she said.

Mexico has 121 advisers in the U.S. and Canada. The advisers are not paid for their work.

Fernando Ceja, the coordinator for the IME in Indianapolis, said the agency will look at the situation in the Columbus area if it receives a complaint.

"Of course, if they have had problems, we need to know what's happening there. But also we need to know in writing in order for us to give this information to Mexico about what is happening in Ohio," he said.

Neither IME nor the Mexican consulate in Indianapolis has anything to do with the election or selection of advisers, Ceja said. That is left to a local committee.

Vicente was elected in September by a 15-member local electoral committee made up of business people and community leaders from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Villareal was selected by IME's advisers nationwide in November, Ceja said.

Although court costs and legal fees are mounting for Casa Hogar, Tucker said the group will continue to try to collect the judgment. "It's the principle," he said. sczekalinski@dispatch.com

[buccaneer81]

If Dane were still here, he'd cheer for it.

Any Freeper who roots for this, come and get it.

[chicagolady]

Thanks for posting this. And Thank George Bush for his ongoing desire to destroy America and it’s soverienty with his loyalty to the Mexican government.

[samtheman]

Can somebody please summarize this more clearly. Thanks.