It's no wonder that the world hates us! This is the case of Pedro Zapeta. An illegal alien who has been washing dishes in Miami for the past 11 years. Well, Pedro, who speaks no English, managed to save $59,000...with a miimum wage job! They should throw this guy a parade! Well, he wants to return to his native Guatemala, where he wants to buy a nice little house in the country for himself and his family. He's already paid income tax on his earnings. Hell, this makes him more American than some Americans! So Pedro is at the airport and Customs sees that Pedro is carrying $59,000 on him. Well, you can't leave the USA with more than $10,000 without declaring it. Pedro finds himself in a heap of trouble. The judge fines Pedro $49,000!
Folks, this blog is read by people from different countries, all over the world. Let me tell you that the judge who made this decision is what we in the USA call a "dumb ass." Yes, it's not polite language, but it's not polite to swingle this poor guy out of years of savings which came from actual work. Work (for 11 years) that most Americans would never do. Zapeta has been trying to get his money back for two years! He has an American lawyer and he has recently been given a judgement that the lower court judge took too much money! Public support is behind Pedro. More than $15,000 has been donated to finance his legal struggle.
If I ran things, I'd give back to Pedro all of his money + interest. (I'd take the interest from the judge's salary.) Also, I would encourage Pedro to contact a publisher. I'm sure that his story is more interesting than what you normally find at the local Barnes & Noble.
