This was added on 2/28/10 to:
http://www.haitivoxbulletin.com/
The trafficker with a heart
"Born in Yonkers, US, the 32-year old Puello has been living in the Dominican Republic and dabbled in different businesses, including real estate.
His most recent real estate activity, was, he claims, related to the construction of the modern, high-rise Santo Domingo Madison Towers in the exclusive Skyscraper City zone of El Naco, in Santo Domingo.(8) His Puello Real Estate Group advertises itself as a Developer-Builder company, represented by Jorge or Alejandro Puello, his cousin. That company also engaged in low-income apartment buildings and rentals. An internet site confirms that his firm was representing this building.
As it turns out,
his cousin Alejandro is the lawyer in the family. But when reporters came to call upon him recently, he claimed no knowledge of why his on-the-lam cousin Jorge would pretend to be a lawyer and why he’d meddle in the affairs of a missionary group dabbling in orphan work. Further media conversations with Puello’s mother and stepfather confirmed Jorge’s a wanted man -- a wayward son in his mother’s eyes. She remains certain – at least to reporters – that Jorge cannot be guilty of those things he stands accused of – including sexual trafficking.
But there’s no question her son has spent time in jail, and is accused of having helped people illegally cross borders and possessing false documents -- and that his wife is in jail.
Puello is also a practicing and passionate Orthodox Jew – a self-proclaimed convert to Judaism who goes by the name Yoram Migdal. He bills himself as the President of the Sephardic community in the Dominican Republic.
In interviews, leading members of the Jewish community there now disclaim much knowledge or any active association with Puello, though he has davened (prayed) with them. An investigation by Haiti Vox found that Puello had registered a similarly named Sephardic company in Miami that law enforcement officials believe
might have been a cover for his Internet escort business.
and
"During our conversation, Silsby told me [d'Adesky] what she later told others (or some variation thereof): that she had secured ‘
permission’ from a Dominican ‘minister’ to bring the children into the Dominican Republic. When I politely informed her that Haitian authority and documents were still surely required, since these were Haitian children, she smiled while dismissing my concern. “
I’ve been assured we can bring the children in,” she told me. In fact, the documents were being drawn up as we spoke. Her colleague was on the computer communicating with the individuals preparing the paperwork for her.
What confused me then, and has clearly continued to bother Haitian Judge Saint-Vil, is that Silsby appeared to be randomly trying to gather up any child in her path while on her Haiti mission, though adoption papers require a child’s name to be on the document. How could the papers be drawn up if she didn’t know what children she would be finding? I assumed at the time that she had the names of some children, and was planning to, well, wing it with any others.
When I pressed her at the time about the nature of the paperwork, or the name or identity of the ‘minister,’ she demurred.
I was not certain if she was referring to a government minister, or a religious one (or both?)."
and
"
What gave her confidence, I saw, was the ‘letter of authorization’ she had from her Dominican ‘minister.’ She also implied that she had ‘connections’ to help her with the border crossing.
Another thing Silsby kept stressing was that the New Life group ‘was different’ from all the other adoption agencies working in Haiti. They didn’t plan to take the children out of the Dominican Republic, she told me. That’s why the Dominicans had agreed to help her, she explained. She said she had contacts helping her in Haiti, and planned to target ‘native’ Haitian-run orphanages where, she felt (or had been told), those in charge could no longer care for the children because their facilities had been damaged."
There's much much more at link. Some info we've seen, but a lot has been added.
