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http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-wtbyforgery,0,3380765.story

WATERBURY - The owner of a driving school on Fairfield Avenue was charged Thursday with forging documents to help illegal immigrants obtain drivers’ license – a week after a similar arrest in Stratford, state police said.

Fernando Diaz, 57, faces one count of racketeering and nine counts of second-degree forgery.

State police said documents for Connecticut drivers’ licenses issued at Diaz’ Classic Driving School were similar to the phony documents produced at Express Driving School in Stratford to help undocumented immigrants obtain driver’s licenses.

State police detectives executed a search warrant at Diaz’ Classic Driving School on March 20, the same day Henry Kruszewski, the owner of the Stratford school and Diaz’ former business partner, was arrested on similar charges, police said.

In much the same way that a bad marriage is not healthy if one partner is in it for what they can get out of it, and the other is co-dependent on that partner. Illegal immigration is unhealthy for the co-dependent country involved.

Almost daily we hear how our crashing economy is causing an exodus of illegals returning to their homelands when the work, money, and handouts runs out. Many of these are represented in the media as hardship stories built to display the “poor undocumented worker”, “poor businesses”, and in some cases “poor community” who are being affected by the loss. While no one can dispute the effect this loss has on those elements, they are in essence, no different then those who are co-dependent marriage partners who suddenly find themselves struggling to learn to survive.

What needs to be understood, and understood firmly, is that illegal immigrants are not here “for better or for worse”. They will not hang around when this country struggles. They will not hang around if the country falls. Their loyalty is not to this country at all and they will return home to the place their loyalty lies, or move on to another country that has what they desire. In this case money, work, and someone to take care of them.

American citizens and many legal immigrants have a deep loyalty to the United States. No matter how hard it gets in the nation, they will hold on, they will struggle through, and they will work to improve the situation of the home they love unconditionally. “For better or for worse” is not even a thought for them, it’s a way of life.

Just as one would not support a loved on, or friend in an unhealthy relationship. America needs to not support this unhealthy relationship that’s been created by illegal immigrants and their advocates. Americans need to support and advocate for healthy relationships with Citizens and legal immigrants who had a deep unseated love for this country. Who will stick with her through thick and thin, no matter how thin it gets. It is that, and that alone that makes for a healthy relationship and a healthy nation.
As for the “woe is me” tales, well just like the co-dependent partner learns to live again. These co-dependent individuals, businesses, and communities will also learn to live again. In many cases they will learn to be stronger, stabler, and healthier then before when they were in the unhealthy relationship. In some cases they might not ever break the bonds of co-dependency but above all they will learn what the signs of co-dependency are and be able to advocate against it, while helping awake other co-dependents to be able to survive the “life without” too.

Hispanic exodus is under way
Workers leave Lee as jobs disappear
The News Press
March 9, 2008

In this case, cold, hard statistics don’t tell the story.

“I am not aware of anyone who would track that locally,” said Glen Solier, business development specialist for the Lee County Department of Economic Development.

“Those people are off the grid. Undocumented,” said Susanna Patterson, economic analyst for the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.

But the oh-so-human snapshots of everyday living are revealing.

Like a weekend soccer league down from 32 teams to 25 because more than 100 players have had to leave.

Or a church that has cut two Sunday services to one because about 200 former members have returned to their homeland.

Or the western-wear clothier who gave up one of his three shopping center units and said business is off by 40 percent because customers are gone.

Put these and other pictures together and the collage tells the story of Hispanics who are leaving Southwest Florida to find work or to return to the support of their families back home.

“There is a loss in the number of Hispanics in our communities,” said Robert Selle, director of the Amigos Center, which aids Hispanics with immigration issues and offers other services in Lee County. “The underlying reason is economic; the same reason they came here in the first place.”

Population drain

The loss comes from a good portion of Lee County’s population. The U.S. Census Bureau listed the county’s Hispanic population at more than 90,000 - about 16 percent of Lee’s 571,000 population - in 2006.

What the statistics further show is that work is gone. Unemployment in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral region has risen this past year, from 2.7 percent to 6.3 percent.

Many of the lost jobs are in construction, which has been put on hold as the sluggish market struggles with a glut of unsold houses.

Because many Hispanic construction workers are believed to be illegal immigrants, because construction and agricultural workers are a mobile population anyway, because many are single with families back in their native lands, and because their leaving was often spur-of-the-moment, no governmental or social service agency is keeping accurate records of this exodus.

Lee County School District reported a loss of Hispanics in all grades totaling 388 pupils through January of this school year - this after growing by almost 3,000 Hispanic students a year earlier.

But the white student population dropped as well. The big difference was while dropout rates tend to increase as the year goes on in the upper grades, the Hispanic population was the only one also to lose ground in the kindergarten through fifth-grade range. It fell by 87 pupils - an indication their families moved from the district, according to Michael Smith, director of planning, growth and school capacity.

“Many workers in the construction industry and related industry are leaving the area and following the money,” said Barbara Hartman, spokeswoman for the state’s Career and Service Center in Fort Myers. “It seems to be an increasing number of people who are temporarily relocating. I wish we did track that.”

Hartman said she knows people are leaving because they tell counselors when they come in seeking work, saying they need the higher construction industry wages, which begin at $10 to $11 an hour for the most unskilled, to maintain their standard of living……..

March 10, 2008

FAIRFIELD, Conn - A new program is being established to bring senior citizens, banks and law enforcement together to protect seniors from scams…but who is protecting the seniors from the banks and law enforcement?

Crimes on elderly are frequent as five million seniors are victimized each year.

Under this new program, seminars by police will be implemented to teach Seniors about the latest schemes targeting them. In addition all customer service associates at banks will be given a cheat sheet to help them notice suspicious banking activities.

While this is a wonderful program, if fully functional, one must always be aware that there are still people in banks and law enforcement, as well as those mimicking them, that will still be predators seeking out prey. The best lesson in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it is!

March 10, 2008

BRIDGEPORT, Conn –  Four fire inspectors have been fired for doing their personal business while on the city clock and being paid by taxpayer dollars.

Through use of a global positioning system they were able to monitor their employees movements and found that four of their inspectors were busy doing personal things on company time and taxpayer dime.

And what were they so busy doing rather then inspecting homes properly to protect American citizens? They were busy working on their own homes and yards, out shopping or just lounging around.

Anyone with the proper skills and that know how to do their job properly would do well to send a application to Bridgeport to apply for the position of fire inspector, they have four openings at present and may soon have more.

March 6, 2008

Bridgeport, Conn — Felix Rivera admitted to chopping up the body of Charles Gerber (34) and placing it in a metal barrel, but he claims he didn’t kill the man.

Gerbers body was found floating in the Pequonnock River.

Rivera claims he was partying with Gerber when Gerber turned blue and stopped breathing. Rather then seeking medical aid for his friend, or a hospital, he instead decided to cut up and get rid of the body.

NEW HAVEN, Conn — John Jackson was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 55 years prison for the 2004 murder of his girlfriend.  Jackson repeatedly hit Desti Parnell (28) in the head with a hammer, stabbed her, strangled her and sexually assaulted her.

Parnell was dating another man at the time of her murder. Jackson was still living with her and their son but was to move out the day the murder took place.

WTNH

Seymour rape investigation

March 8, 2008

WATERBURY, Conn — 12,000 customers of Waterbury oil company are being offered State aid after the oil company abruptly went out of business.  The rapid closure left many with pre-paid contracts sitting in limbo.

The state plans to send state inspectors to the headquarter office on Monday to demand access to the records.  The State will also seek a court-appointed receiver who will audit the records and collect any missing funds. In the meantime they will seek to freeze the company’s assets, and establish deliveries with other companies to F. and S. customers assuring they have heat. They hope to return the money to the thousands of customers with pre-buy contracts rapidly.

F. and S. customers are asked to call a state hot line at  1-800-849-2649.

March 7, 2008

NEW HAVEN, Conn — Mohammad Farahbakhsh, an Iranian national and naturalized U.S. Citizen, has pleaded guilty of shipping illegal exports to Iran.  He admitted installing a restricted U.S. satellite system on an Iranian government oil tanker, as well as, smuggled computer equipment to Iranian ballistic missile program.

Yet another important investigation by WTNH out of Connecticut that provides facts.

WTNH 

Team 8 Investigates
Illegal immigrants, fake documents