Saved $103 a week for 11 years and the Government stole it.

[Jim Johnson]

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida: washing dishes and living frugally to bring money back to his home country.

Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a duffel bag filled with $59,000 -- all the cash he had scrimped and saved over the years -- to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

But when Zapeta tried to go through airport security, an officer spotted the money in the bag and called U.S. customs officials.

"They asked me how much money I had," Zapeta recalled, speaking to CNN in Spanish.

He told the customs officials $59,000. At that point, U.S. customs seized his money, setting off a two-year struggle for Zapeta to get it back. Zapeta describes how he lost his money »

Zapeta, who speaks no English, said he didn't know he was running afoul of U.S. law by failing to declare he was carrying more than $10,000 with him. Anyone entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 has to fill out a one-page form declaring the money to U.S. customs.

Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug trade, but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from restaurants where he had worked. Zapeta earned $5.50 an hour at most of the places where he washed dishes. When he learned to do more, he got a 25-cent raise.

After customs officials seized the money, they turned Zapeta over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS released him but began deportation proceedings. For two years, Zapeta has had two attorneys working pro bono: one on his immigration case, the other trying to get his money back.

"They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man," he said.

Zapeta's story became public last year on CNN and in The Palm Beach Post newspaper, prompting well-wishers to give him nearly $10,000 -- money that now sits in a trust.

Robert Gershman,one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and left the country immediately.

Zapeta said, "No." He wanted all his money. He'd earned it, he said.

Now, according to Gershman, the Internal Revenue Service wants access to the donated cash to cover taxes on the donations and on the money Zapeta made as a dishwasher. Zapeta admits he never paid taxes.

CNN contacted the U.S. Attorneys office in Miami, U.S. Customs and the IRS about Zapeta's case. They all declined to comment.

Marisol Zequeira, an immigration lawyer, said illegal immigrants such as Zapeta have few options when dealing with the U.S. government.

"When you are poor, uneducated and illegal, your avenues are cut," he said.

On Wednesday, Zapeta went to immigration court and got more bad news. The judge gave the dishwasher until the end of January to leave the country on his own. He's unlikely to see a penny of his money.

"I am desperate," Zapeta said. "I no longer feel good about this country."

Zapeta said his goal in coming to the United States was to make enough money to buy land in his mountain village and build a home for his mother and sisters. He sent no money back to Guatemala over the years, he said, and planned to bring it all home at once.

At Wednesday's hearing, Zapeta was given official status in the United States -- voluntary departure -- and a signed order from a judge. For the first time, he can work legally in the U.S.

By the end of January, Zapeta may be able to earn enough money to pay for a one-way ticket home so the U.S. government, which seized his $59,000, doesn't have to do so.

[Fluff and Stuff]

But people that make $5.50 an hour don't pay income taxes.  Maybe like $300 a year or something, but that is it.  It doesn't sound like the IRS really most much money, certainly less than they have spent messing with him.

About him not knowing that you have to declare lots of money or expensive items, though, that is common through out the world and not just something that happens in the US.  Heck, the nation he was born in likely has a similar law.

[Jim Johnson]

The guy didn't fill out a form...

He worked as a dish washer for 11 years, he isn't a seasoned traveler.
That you would have to ask for a form that declares how much money you are caring is outrageous.  Do you ask for a form to declare how much cash your carrying when you 'check in' at the airport?

[Fluff and Stuff]

I am not even sure if it is legal to walk around with more than $10,000 cash in America.  Most laws suck.

[Jim Johnson]

Unbelievably...if you have more than $500 in cash in Las Vegas, the local police can confiscate it.

[KBCraig]

Unbelievably...if you have more than $500 in cash in Las Vegas, the local police can confiscate it.

You can speed, drive recklessly, and DWI all you want on the way to a casino, because the police are all watching for people leaving casinos. Yeah, they'll bust some drunks, but those fines mostly go to the state. If they can catch someone with a big wad of cash they just won, they seize it on the spot as "drug money", the seized money stays with the department which seized it, and the victims of this --literal!-- highway robbery are then faced with the daunting task of proving the money is theirs, and isn't proceeds form illegal drug sales. Just like Sr. Zapeta.

Proving a negative is a bitch.

[penguins4me]

Unbelievably...if you have more than $500 in cash in Las Vegas, the local police can confiscate it.

I wouldn't be suprised, but if you have a source for the statue in question (state, county, city?), I'd appreciate it.

Not that I'd voluntarily let anyone look inside my residential security container anyhow, but if I'm breaking laws, it's nice to know about them...

[traveler]

"granny,get my gun"-Jed Clampett

[Rochelle]

 

[Puke]

"I am desperate," Zapeta said. "I no longer feel good about this country."

Yeah, you and me both. 

[Quantrill]

Robert Gershman,one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and left the country immediately.

Zapeta said, "No." He wanted all his money. He'd earned it, he said.

Kudos to him for not backing down.  He probably won't get anything, but people who stick to their principles get a lot of respect from me...

[JDouglasFisher]

You know, I feel as if the government purposely lets these people in, just so they can find ways to harass them.. I have to agree with Ratty, the man paid his dues, worked for a decade (instead of asking for welfare) and now we are going to rob him of his money? Is the Federal Government THAT BROKE that we need to steal roughly 60,000 dollars from someone who earned it the legitimate way?

And then, what really pisses me off (and shows how arrogant the system is) is the supposed "deal" they offer him, "Shut Up, and we'll let you have 19,000 total"...

Its time the IRS was dismantled, and its time that perhaps some of the high end people operating that department were brought up on charges regarding the abuse of their powers.

Fisher

[J’raxis 270145]

You know, I feel as if the government purposely lets these people in, just so they can find ways to harass them..

The government looked the other way with respect to illegal immigration for years. Cheap laborers, who can't complain about poor pay or working conditions without getting outed as illegal and deported, is very good for corporate America. Either when the economy goes down and more Americans suddenly need the shitty jobs, or when some polit needs a good Other to point to in order to distract people, illegal immigration suddenly becomes an issue.

[David]

prosecuter pigs offer<Robert Gershman,one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and left the country immediately.>
I would love to see one of the fed spies who lurk on this board defend this as just in any way possible. 
Quivering voiced peon thug with gun<but, but, he broke the law!> 

[Jim Johnson]

From Patrick Oppmann
CNN
     
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- An illegal immigrant dishwasher who lost $49,000 to the U.S. government as he tried to take it home to Guatemala will get some of the money back, his attorney said Wednesday.


Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant, managed to save $59,000 while working as a dishwasher for 11 years.

Pedro Zapeta was "very, very happy" when he learned about a federal appeals court ruling that says he is entitled to recover some of the money, said attorney Robert Gershman, who handled the financial end of Zapeta's case.

Zapeta was carrying $59,000 in cash when he was stopped at a security checkpoint at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in 2005. He told authorities he was returning home to Guatemala with the money he had saved working illegally as a dishwasher over 11 years.

But federal law requires that anyone leaving or entering the country with $10,000 or more must declare it. Because Zapeta had not done so, he was detained, and his money was seized.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the judge who fined Zapeta applied an incorrect standard in determining the amount to be forfeited. The appeals court ordered a hearing to set a new fine.

"I am extremely happy," Gershman said. "Even though he is not a citizen, it shows he has equal rights."

Gershman has said Zapeta, who does not speak English, was not trying to conceal the money but did not know the law. Zapeta had paid taxes on the earnings, he said, and under legal guidelines should be fined at most $5,000 for failing to report that he was traveling with the cash.

Circuit Court Judge James Cohn instead fined Zapeta $49,000, all the money he was carrying over the $10,000 limit.

"The government always acted as if the money was their own," Gershman said. "They acted almost entitled to it. But it's not their money. It was Pedro's, and the [appeals] court affirmed that."

Zapeta said last year that he had saved the money to build a house for himself and his family in his home village in the Guatemalan mountains. He returned to Guatemala this year under the threat of deportation, but his lawyers continued to argue that his fine was excessive.

Federal prosecutors in Miami did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision or on whether they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As Zapeta's case was publicized, U.S. residents donated money to him, and Gershman set up a trust. It has received about $15,000 in donations, he said.