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Here Comes the Bride. Again, and Again . . .

By SUSAN SAULNY The New York Times

In a era when divorce and remarriage are commonplace, it might not be surprising for a city clerk to see some of the same names pop up on applications for marriage licenses from time to time.

But it did strike the city clerk's office as highly unusual when it learned this year that one Manhattan woman had applied for 27 marriage licenses from 1984 to 2002 and that at least a dozen others had seemingly married in numbers that were highly suspicious.

These "career brides," as one city official called them, were not marrying for love, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office, which announced yesterday that four women had been arrested and two more were being sought on felony charges punishable by up to four years in prison. The authorities said they believed that the women had offered to marry illegal immigrants for a fee, usually about $1,000. Officials said the women who had applied for the licenses sometimes actually went through with marriage ceremonies, but sometimes they did not.

A marriage would entitle the men to green cards and other benefits, including Social Security (news - web sites) and unemployment insurance, prosecutors said. The men involved in the scheme came from various countries, including Pakistan, India, Peru, Ecuador, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic, according to court papers.

Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, began his investigation after the city clerk's office raised suspicions. He said he planned to give the information to the F.B.I.-N.Y.P.D. Joint Terrorist Task Force, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and various United States attorneys.

Officials said the possibilities for abuse are obvious and seemingly endless, given that municipal and county databases on marriage in New York State are not linked, nor are computerized records connected state to state.

"This opens the door to a lot of other fraud and expense for the U.S. taxpayer," Mr. Morgenthau said at a news conference.

Victor L. Robles, the city clerk who reported the multiple marriages to Mr. Morgenthau in January, still seemed stunned by his findings. "I wanted to know how that's possible in the city of New York," he said yesterday in a telephone interview.

In order to marry in New York City, prospective brides and grooms must complete an affidavit that requires information about previous marriages. The application is then filed with the city clerk's office. Only once did any of the women arrested yesterday acknowledge a previous marriage on the application.

Mr. Robles, a former city councilman who took over the city clerk's office in 2001, said he was surprised when he heard about a woman who had filed for numerous marriage licenses within a short period of time.

He then learned that his office was doing only one-year computer searches on applicants.

"Somebody who got married this year could go to the Bronx next year and get married again," and not be detected, he said.

Mr. Robles also learned that records were not immediately shared among boroughs or counties.

"I said, `From now on, every time we catch somebody, we'll forward it to the district attorney's office in the respective counties,' " he said.

Since taking office, Mr. Robles, who has 54 deputies in the five boroughs, has instituted a records search that goes back 10 years, and he is lobbying for all the state's marital records to be connected.

"I hope that this whole scandal will force the city and the state to link systems so that I can punch in a name and know if someone already applied for a license," he said.

This question remains: At what point does one who often says "I do" become suspicious? After three weddings? Five? Ten?

"We have to look very closely," Mr. Robles said, adding that he had hired a lawyer whose role it is to cross-check information on people with multiple marriages. The office also demands to see divorce decrees before issuing new marriage licenses, he said.

The women who were charged yesterday Dezerrie Cortes, 40, who had applied for 27 licenses; Maria Davis, 26; Monique Figueroa, 26; and Chera Larkins, 32 worked independently of each other, officials said, and had applied for licenses to marry a total of 43 men. The charges included perjury and offering false documents to officials. There was no pattern to the schemes or identifiable ringleader, prosecutors said.

None of the four women could be reached for comment yesterday.

Ms. Cortes is being held at Rikers Island in $25,000 bail. Ms. Davis was released on her own recognizance, and Ms. Figueroa was expected in Manhattan Criminal Court for arraignment last night. Officials said Ms. Larkins had been arrested, but they did not know her whereabouts.

Ms. Davis and Ms. Cortes live in the same Lexington Avenue apartment building, a high-rise near East 121st Street.

"She goes to work and takes her son to school every day mother kinds of things," a neighbor, Karen Williams, 29, said of Ms. Cortes.

In explaining how the prospective grooms found their brides, Dan Castleman, the chief of investigations in the Manhattan district attorney's office, said: "Oftentimes it was word of mouth in the neighborhood. Some of the women made it known they were available for a price."

Others used go-betweens to arrange unions, he said, adding that most who actually married after receiving the licenses never bothered to file for divorce before applying for new licenses.

In another case, an employee in the city clerk's office is being sought on accusations that he accepted a bribe to change a bride's name in the computer system. In that case, prosecutors said, the woman scheduled to appear at the clerk's office for a marriage ceremony did not show up, and the would-be groom wanted her name removed from the record so another woman could be substituted and the wedding could go on that day.

Mr. Morgenthau said an investigation into about a dozen other repeat brides and their grooms was continuing. If the government finds that a green card application is based on a fraudulent marriage, the applicant could be immediately deported.

"We wanted to put a stop to this now," Mr. Morgenthau said. Later, he added, "But the investigation still has a ways to go."

... in response to A new twist on the marriage visa scam..., posted by John K on Jul 10, 2003

Hence the person ID must be used for the marriage process

Heck why not incorporate on it a Federal Drivers license, as a fixed standard of the rules of the road.  As we all know New Jersey drivers drive one way and Texas drivers another.   One common set of values everyone should abide by and thus have the individual state license for rules pertaining to their respective state....

More importantly all the person information is at one centrally located destination.

Actually, how it is now... When cops pull you over they run a check on your license anyway.

I do like the embedded chip idea, retina scans or biometric finger print info for identify the person.

I know Lynn is going to have a hissyfit.  But he can move to some other liberal country where human rights are so-so.

American is just one huge target, we gotta put up some barriers to keep the bad people out.

... in response to Re: Just another case for a National ID ..., posted by wsbill on Jul 10, 2003

..sooner than many people think.
You know, "the right hand or forehead"?
Never mind marriage, it will be required just to buy food.

... in response to World ID to come.., posted by tfcrew on Jul 12, 2003

yep

... in response to Re: World ID to come.., posted by WmGo on Jul 14, 2003

And some will welcome it as an improvement of "society", a necessary thing.

... in response to Re: World ID to come.., posted by WmGo on Jul 14, 2003

My question is: Will you accept it?

... in response to Re: Re: World ID to come.., posted by Lynn on Jul 14, 2003

Kaneshna nyet!

... in response to Re: Re: World ID to come.., posted by Lynn on Jul 14, 2003

[This message has been edited by John K]

Hmmm, be branded or starve.  While Patrick Henry said "give me liberty or give me death," the death option doesn't have a lot going for it...

Still, I would likely refuse it as long as it were feasible.  Those of us with foreign wives will be behind the eightball though, as the government already has a lever to use against us: the INS (or whatever they call it now).  Were I single, I'd be more of a firebrand.  Being responsible for the wellbeing of my wife and eventually our children, I may have to make the wrong choice to protect them...

... in response to Will we have a choice?, posted by John K on Jul 14, 2003

Refer to Sirach 33:20

Hosea 4:6

First you have to know who you are, then assert thyself.

Just for instance, watch the movie the Matrix, what "if" everything you had thought was truth was really a lie? An immaculate deception, how would you (meaning the average person--working to survive) know the difference, you don't have the time to stop and ask "why?". After the green card there are "options" if you are not a one of the sheeple.

I know some of you think I'm paranoid, not the case. I simply believe that we as a people (Christians included) have been decieved.

... in response to Re: Will we have a choice?, posted by Lynn on Jul 14, 2003

The problem is that the more you have to lose, the less likely you are to challenge the system.  Marina is everything to me.  There is nothing, nobody, no event more important to me than her.  I am not afraid to challenge the system, as long as I do not jeopardize my wife.  To go beyond that point is irresponsible.

Also, your Matrix analogy can be seen in a different light.  The character Neo didn't really challenge the Matrix; he simply learned how it worked and mastered it.  That implies an alternative for some of us...

... in response to Certainly, we are being deceived., posted by John K on Jul 14, 2003

...Some things are more important than wives. Imho to think otherwise is irresponsible. It's easy to resist when you have nothing to lose....

I guess it's true: A man's gotta know his limitations.

... in response to Hmm...., posted by LP on Jul 15, 2003

My values tend toward my wife and family first, everything else second.  While I don't like what I see, I won't do something to jeopardize my family life.  My wife and eventual family have a higher priority for me.

I guess it's a matter of first, knowledge, and second, the will to use that knowledge.  I don't have enough knowledge yet to feel comfortable testing the system.  I'm a careful, thorough and methodical person.  I don't take risks, unless I'm pretty sure of what I'm doing.

In the future, once I have a better grasp of things and a more secure lifestyle, I will likely try to start changing things more to my choosing.  For now, however, I'm in the "hunker down and keep your eyes open" mode...

... in response to To each their own opinion., posted by John K on Jul 15, 2003

[This message has been edited by LP]

..yes indeed, to each his own. Fwiw, here's mine...

"The loss of freedom is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral feeling which thinks that it's not worth the battle is much worse. The person who is unwilling to fight, who believes nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."....

John Stuart Mill, 1869

... in response to Certainly, we are being deceived., posted by John K on Jul 14, 2003

Exactly....

So many people beat their heads against the wall, trying to get to the other side. A wise man realizes the wall is an illusion. Care to follow the white rabbit?????

... in response to Re: Certainly, we are being deceived., posted by Lynn on Jul 14, 2003

The effects are still settling in.  Right now, I'm in "assimilate" mode.  There's a lot to figure out...

... in response to I already took the pill., posted by John K on Jul 14, 2003

Have you Cracked the Code? Filings are of utmost importance.

... in response to Re: I already took the pill., posted by Lynn on Jul 14, 2003

I'm still trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.  There's a lot of theories, but not all of them can fit in the same space at the same time.

Incidently, Lynn, you really need to read that one book you sent me with a jaundiced eye.  He does a lot of guessing and reaching there.  While he has an interesting theory, he's left plenty of holes in it...

... in response to Not yet., posted by John K on Jul 15, 2003

Chose well and stay the path. Any variation will negate progress. Walk softly and carry the biggest stick (knowledge).

"guessing and reaching" Can we ever be absolutely sure? Some of the holes may be intentional. Admittedly, I have not had the time to read it all the way thru, in order. But then again, I haven't heard of anyone taking him up on the offer on page 291 either.

... in response to Re: Just another case for a National ID ..., posted by wsbill on Jul 10, 2003

to he11 is paved by good intentions.  And bad ideas.  This ID card is just another one.  Today there is barely any privacy left for an individual.  Unless you don't drive and don't have a job and don't have a credit card or bank accounts or insurance and don't have utilities and don't live anywhere and don't get mail and don't pay tax's and...We normal people are scanned and tracked and measured and poked and prodded by the growing information factory which is all consuming. The national id card thing is just more of the same...just a little scarier for anyone who values the few scraps of privacy we think we have left.  And today,  you don't need the nsa to loose your privacy. The private sector has been assembling info for your id card all along. If you are a normal person, "privacy???"---you have already lost it...the reality of it has just not hit you. Yet.

... in response to Re: Just another case for a National ID ..., posted by wsbill on Jul 10, 2003

We already have a national identity card. It is called a "Social Security card". The purpose of having a social security card with your name and number on it is to be able to apply for and receive social security benefits, and according to the Social Security Administration it is not required to have such a card. One group of Americans which seldom ever obtains a SSN are the Amish. They tend to live within their own community and do not rely on outside assistance, hence no need for a Social Security card.
But many are required to have a SSN in order to get by in most aspects of daily life. Often we are asked for our SSN for the most ordinary of transactions. Once the telephone company asked for my number when I wanted to have a telephone installed in my apartment when living there. When I refused to give the number, I was informed I could not get a phone installed. So I asked if they were refusing to install a phone because I would not give them my SSN. They said one could be installed but I would have to put up a $500.00 cash deposit instead, which is what I did.
The government does indeed want to know all about us, and plans to track us by whatever means available. I recall a family I know having a foreign exchange student from Germany staying with them. She was required by the school to get a SSN or not attend the school. And she was just a visitor, not a citizen. Also, hospitals now demand parents fill out the forms to obtain a SSN for their newborn infants. From the cradle to the grave they will know all about you.
And WSBill, since I am not a white guy, during my 15 months in Ukraine I was stopped by the police or the militia 8 times and required to show my passport to them. Even twice in the same day. It may not be that way here yet, but it will be if we let it happen.

... in response to Re: Re: Just another case for a National..., posted by europete on Jul 11, 2003

I suppose with bombs going off in Moscow and Ukraine being a neigbor, they're doing their jobs making sure there is some reasonable protection in their fair city.

Everyone here has posted something about the woes that are going on in Eastern Europe, from bombs going off, contract hits to kids being abucted and forced into the sex slave biz.

While no doubt these guys are hitting you up for a bribe, it is nice to know they're atleast looking for potential bad guys in the process.

I just think a picture ID with encrypted personal information on board would make sense in this country...

We so of are told by our gov't as to high level of scrunity the REDS have put upon their people, but in all reality those forms which your lady had to get before she was legal able to enter are country are extremely questionably in correct content.  Hence, she can probably bribe someone to cook up some stuff to put on those documents.

I guess that's why the ex-Nazi moved to South American countries, as they too knew that North America is a heavily policed state.  We can boast about "freedom" of self expression etc... but you and I know full well, somebody is keeping tabs on you.

Especially guys that go off and meet foreign nationals and have high level security clearances to boot.

... in response to Re: Why do you think they wanted to see ..., posted by wsbill on Jul 13, 2003

Terrorist attack in this country, everyone will suddenly liken the idea of this form of instant identification.

You know, why they're having such a difficult time tracking down these terrorist is because they don't use the telephone systems and they know not to carry on conversations in metal building or a location where their voice will re-verberate into electromagnetic energy.

Deep down inside of a cave in the middle of no where was a pretty secure location.  No doubt, that's why Saddam had those subway systems built for a quick exit and communication security.

... in response to Re: I think when we have another, posted by wsbill on Jul 13, 2003

..........to look after national security, then you could hire half of us to watch the rest of us work to pay the salaries of those hired to watch us, dang that makes sense doesn't it, maybe we could switch places every-other week so those working wouldn't get so tired, and here's another businees for you---you could make little badges for all of us so our number and photo of course could be displayed at all times, woooppee I can see it now, those of us watching could carry little two way radios with us at all times to report if someone spends too much time in the bathroom (they could be breeding bolsheviks in there you know), maybe you could get a job reading what they write on the bathroom walls----what was that rhyme about that,,,hmm

... in response to Re: Re: Just another case for a National..., posted by europete on Jul 11, 2003

"Also, hospitals now demand parents fill out the forms to obtain a SSN for their newborn infants."

Guess why, there is apparently a kick back of sorts if you comply, some say it's it's a kind of point system tied to government funds available to the hospital- I really don't know. But it is just a bluff to get you to comply, without a name---there can be no number assigned. Don't want to comply? Your choice. When it comes time to leave--ask for the wheelchair, if they insist on the baby being named (so it can be numbered) before you leave the hospital-----a request for a phone so you can dial 911 and report a attempted kidnapping with produce the wheelchair immediately.

... in response to Re: Just another case for a National ID ..., posted by wsbill on Jul 10, 2003

...new wheels for your residence, put it and your 'mater factory on a boat to maybe Ukraine and see how it is to live under those conditions before you go wishing it on the rest of us.

You really don't have a clue to how life is outside of your little world, do you. You are fed by the boob tube every night and swallow that line of dung---hook, line & sinker. For your information, other than a MOB type marriage, there is "no" requirement for a marriage license unless of course you are looking for some kind of gummit benefit. The only reason it is required in a MOB marriage is so that the "state" can be a party to it and claim as chattel property any offspring produced---don't believe me, as the DSS who your children belong to. Hint, it ain't you.

I suppose you don't care to answer the questions I posed to you before, do you.

... in response to Maybe you should buy......, posted by Lynn on Jul 10, 2003

So how can I answer you.

Sounds like your living in denial.  Wonder if I should contact the FBI and have them check you out. (NOT KIDDING).

If your so parnoid about our Gov't there are plenty of countries to the south of us in the tropics where Americans can go and live a private life.

I'm saying a National ID makes sense.  The mere fact you probably have a credit card in your wallet and everytime you walk in and out of a store you do know those scanners at the door are design to read anything with a electro magnetic strip.   Again, our gov't knows more about you than you think.

But the whole idea is to protect you and your turf from foreign invaders.

No doubt in the next 10 years we'll probably have another 9/11 type of event.  Maybe not airplanes, but one that will rattle people.

But you probably won't know about it since your living in a cave somewhere.

Is the Uni-bomber friend (Ted K.) ?

... in response to Re: You alittle off your rocker on you q..., posted by wsbill on Jul 11, 2003

N/T

... in response to wsbill, Read more; Post less! N/T, posted by MtMav on Jul 11, 2003

n/t

... in response to Re: You alittle off your rocker on you q..., posted by wsbill on Jul 11, 2003

Maybe, but you never answered it. Did you?

I'm not paranoid, just stating facts & you are too dumb to get it.

"Wonder if I should contact the FBI and have them check you out. (NOT KIDDING)." Maybe you could tell them how you saw bigfoot, or the aliens abducted you, Oh My! I'm afraid even they could see thru your dribble and realize you stayed in the greenhouse too long ;)

I leave you with this verse:

Galatians 4:16 Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

... in response to Re: You alittle off your rocker on you q..., posted by wsbill on Jul 11, 2003

A national ID card is not a good idea.  While Lynn can sometimes be a little paranoid for my taste, he does have the right of this.

Your argument about the credit card would be valid, except that people don't *have* to have a credit card, ATM card, or even a checkbook.  You can still walk into WalMart and pay for items in cash.  While most people don't, you still have the freedom to do so.  At least today you do.

Personally, I don't care to have Big Brother knowing everything I do, and every place I go.  We should have the right to personal privacy, even if it wasn't included in the Bill of Rights.  The ACLU is fighting the idea of a national ID card, as well as many privacy groups, and plenty of others.

If you want an idea of how bad it could get, there are a few literary visionaries out there who have written about a future society based on extensions of the ideas you so quickly espouse.  If you're in the mood for some darker SciFi reading, try "Lacey and His Friends", by David Drake.  If you are a comic book fan, try reading the graphic novel "V for Vendetta", by Alan Moore and David LLoyd.  If you are into the classics, try "Brave New World" by Aldus Huxley or "1984" by George Orwell.

Don't trade your freedom for security.  If you do, you will end up with neither.

... in response to Re: You alittle off your rocker on you q..., posted by wsbill on Jul 11, 2003

[This message has been edited by LP]

...goofy Mother. (Rest of message deleted, it served it's purpose.)

I'll leave this however: www.angelfire.com/ca4/idiocy/

... in response to A new twist on the marriage visa scam..., posted by John K on Jul 10, 2003

.......simply marrying an illegal immigrant gets 'em a green card and all that other good stuff?

So this means a guy can smuggle a R/W in thru Mexico, or on a boat, plane...whatever...and marry one to bypass the K1? Or you can marry one who ran out on her original K1 and stayed in country? Then all is hunky dory with BCIS? You wish it were that easy.

Then again, knowing our gum'mint....

... in response to Huh?..., posted by LP on Jul 10, 2003

marrying a US citizen is a pretty easy way to a green card. you have to follow the rules to make it look like a real marraige rather than a sham.

... in response to Re: Huh?..., posted by Alfred on Jul 10, 2003

The US Gov't has sat on their laurls too long.

The open door policy needs to be shut.  You can still bring  your wife in through Mexico...

Heck, why don't you fly her to Cuba, get Cuban Citizenship and then ferry her in to Key West and announce to the world she is a political prisoner.  You gotta get her on dry land, if she's still in the water, they'll send her back.

Or you can bring her her and don't apply for a social security card, just have her go to work for you own business - growing tomatos and selling them on the side of the road.

100% cash business.

It would be helpful if you already have children as to when you die, you just can't will it to her as her identity will be be discovered as a illegal.

Live in a small town where she can walk to the store.
As soon as she pops out some kids - they'll be automatically US Citizens...again home births, of course.

National ID are for anyone requesting to use gov't propery.
Drive a car, get insurance etc...

These ladies have lived without insurance in the past, or you just pay out of your pocket.

... in response to Re: You guys do have to admit, posted by wsbill on Jul 10, 2003

That ID card may come along and with it some questions about how you support yourself, you know---all of need to be stamped, indexed, de-briefed, cataloged, evaluated and indoctrinated, you are honest and up front about all that cash aren't you....

... in response to Careful........, posted by Lynn on Jul 10, 2003

I really should go down and get on the food stamp program and tax the gov't along with the rest of the nation.

It's like my employer, they buy their food off the Sysco truck and I've yet to see them ever sell anything they bought to the general public and their suppose to be millionaires.