Port-au-Prince, Haiti – NY Times: Jewish Man Accused In Central America Trafficking Is U.S. Fugitive

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    Jorge Puello, left, arrives at the court building in Port-au-Prince.Port-au-Prince, Haiti – The man who was providing legal advice to the American church members arrested in Haiti may have a string of legal charges against him in the United States as well as a warrant for his arrest in El Salvador for sex trafficking, records show.

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    The man, Jorge Puello, was brought into the case from the Dominican Republic as a lawyer to help the 10 Americans arrested last month for trying to remove 33 children from the country after the earthquake without government permission. A Web site that was abruptly taken down on Friday described Mr. Puello and his cousin, Alejandro Puello, as law partners.

    But Mr. Puello is not registered as a lawyer in the Dominican Republic, and Alejandro Puello said in an interview on Saturday that Jorge had no law degree, did not work with him and was now missing.

    Exactly how Mr. Puello got involved in the case remains unclear. He said he had been hired as a lawyer by the Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, which five of the Americans attended. A lawyer for one of the 10 said Mr. Puello never represented his client.

    Salvadoran police say they want to question Mr. Puello in connection with a sex trafficking ring that was broken up last year in which women and girls from Central America and the Caribbean were lured into prostitution through offers of modeling jobs. The suspect police are seeking is named Jorge Anibal Torres Puello, which Mr. Puello said was not his full name.

    But Mr. Puello, who has denied any wrongdoing, said in an interview on Thursday that he was the president of an organization called the Sephardic Jewish Community in the Dominican Republic. Public records in the Dominican Republic indicate that on Nov. 1, 2007, that organization was registered to Jorge Anibal Torres Puello.

    Public records and court documents in the United States also indicate that a person with the same name and birth date is considered a fugitive and is wanted by the Miami police, the United States Customs and the United States Marshals Service. The name and birth date are also the same as the man being pursued by the police in El Salvador and for whom Interpol has transmitted an arrest warrant.

    An order is listed in the United States national crime database for a man with that name and birth date to be arrested on sight and reported to United States immigration officials. Those records say he is wanted in connection with crimes including bank fraud in the United States and Canada, and theft of American government property. Police records say he has violated parole.

    When asked in an interview on Thursday to explain whether he was tied to the sex trafficking ring, Mr. Puello was silent at first and then became enraged.

    “I don’t have to answer any questions from you people,” he said.

    Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Isaac Rudman, the president of the Israelite Center of the Dominican Republic, said he once met Mr. Puello two or three years back. At the time, Mr. Puello introduced himself as Jorge Torres, and had a letter of introduction from a synagogue in Canada, Mr. Rudman said.

    Mr. Rudman said he heard over the years that Mr. Puello had grandiose plans to build a hospital and a Jewish city close to Santo Domingo’s airport, but nothing came from these plans.

    Mr. Rudman’s impression from his one meeting with Mr. Puello was that he was very “conflictive,” he said. “His attitude was ‘the Messiah has arrived'” said Mr. Rudman.


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    20 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Unless he escapes to Israel, I think there is good chance that the U.S. gov will have him caught with the help of Central American partners, especially after the media has more exposure on him.

    Chaim from Monsey
    Chaim from Monsey
    14 years ago

    Bet he’s already in Israel and will never be found.

    Englisher Yid
    Englisher Yid
    14 years ago

    This slanderous story was picked up by Baroness Tonge, a notoriously anti-Semitic member of Britain’s House of Lords (the upper chamber of Parliament) who sits for the Liberal Democratic party.

    Nick Clegg MP, the party leader, im,mediately fired her. Hopefully the “noble” baroness will now keep her big trap firmly shut.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    a busha a shanda a chillul hashem

    What a year...
    What a year...
    14 years ago

    Madoff, Dwek, Puello…

    Rachmono Litzlan!

    What has become of us?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    who besides himself says he’s jewish?

    Asher Yatzar
    Asher Yatzar
    14 years ago

    These people make me sick. What has become of us?

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I couldn’t believe it, when I saw his big yarmulka, when watching it on CNN, while I was in a hotel room, overseas.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Obvously this man is criminally insane. The Jewish angle helps him advance his con artist frauds.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    thanks #6 its about someone has a head on there shoulders

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    #3, this story was “picked-up” by a world that cares about the disgusting shameful things some people do. And yes, they make me sick too. What has become of you??

    A Messianic "Jew"
    A Messianic "Jew"
    14 years ago

    “His attitude was ‘the Messiah has arrived'” said Mr. Rudman.

    If so, maybe mitzvos b’talos l’osid lovo (mitzvos are obsolete at the future time)…

    Yoram
    Yoram
    14 years ago

    I am not affraid to answer this one my own.

    Number 1. I have never commited the crimes that are been charge against me, I AM INOCENT, I will prove all of you wrong Be’ezrat Hashem.

    Number 2. The media did not mentioned that I risk my life to save a human being by taking inportant medicine to Chorisa Coultler who was very ill while you guys where just reading all this lashon harah in the confort of your own homes.

    Number 3. Instead of making all this crazy claims you should allways ahava yisrael not become anti semites just as the goys. Remember the story of Kamza and Bar-Kamza.

    Number 4. It is east to be a yid and hope that some mitzvot just fall in your hands from Shamaim, I look for my mitzvots, at the end it is to Hashem that I have to answer.

    Number 5. I forgive you and love you even if you don’t understand my actions, when you get to know the truth i hope to be next to you on Yom Kipper to forgive you of the wrong that you are doing to me today.

    Yoram (Jorge Puello) sephardicjews gmail.com