I am trying to follow the Haitian Ten case, apparently now the ten are being sent to prison. It made me wonder, and lo and behold, CBS wondered this
as well,
Who IS Laura Silsby, so called leader of the Haitian Ten?
Who IS Laura Silsby? CBS article
I was surprised to find out she displayed quite unchristian attributes when it came to paying employees in a former business adventure.
From the article:
"Silsby has faced 14 legal complaints for unpaid wages in connection with her online shopping business, Personal Shopper. Employees won nine of those
complaints and Silsby was ordered to pay $31,000 in wages plus another $4,000 in fines, according to the New York Times. "
And:
"She's also had at least nine traffic citations in the last 12 years including four for failing to register or insure her car.
Last July, Silsby defaulted on the mortgage for her Meridian, Idaho. But she used that same address to register a nonprofit, the New Life Children’s
Refuge - the orphanage operation linked to the current kidnapping charges."
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So is she an altruist who wants to help kids, or a scheming deadbeat who is trying to use religious tax breaks to fund horrible financial choices?
Edwin Coq, the lawyer for the Haitian Ten, had this cryptic soundbyte show up a day or so ago, and now, I think it becomes clearer as to why he said
such a thing.
Mr. Coq's statement
From the link:
"The lawyer for the group, Edwin Coq, said after a hearing on Thursday that 9 of his 10 clients were “completely innocent,” but that, apparently
in a reference to Ms. Silsby, “If the judiciary were to keep one, it could be the leader of the group.”
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From the beginning of this something has been weird or strange about this case! I am beginning to wonder if this Miss Silsby lady did not drag some
innocent religious do gooders into a scheme to try and get out of her own financial messes.
If so shame on her. It makes me mad in general because already Haiti has too many orphans. This incident could really slow down the help of people
from other countries in getting access to the ones who need it most, the kids!!
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To be fair, from the cbs article, Laura's words of defense:
"In an exclusive jail cell interview with CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker, Silsby maintained the group's innocence.
"We have not in any way trafficked or kidnapped children. We came here out of love in our hearts for these children and have done our best to help
them," Silsby said. "Once we were asked at the border to provide an additional piece of paperwork for the Haitian government, we willingly
complied.
"I was willing to come back the very next morning at 6:00 a.m. to complete it and the children were going to remain there until I returned. But
instead, they came with [an] armed guard and took us to the police station for interrogation and held us on charges … on false charges."
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One thing Laura claims is that she was intending to build an orphanage in the Dominican republic for the Haiti orphans. When the story first broke, I
remember hearing how the group wanted to bring 100 Haiti orphans back to the orphanage in Idaho (Kuna).
But according to
Eric Evans, contractor, there is no orphanage in Idaho, at
least coming from his company.
"Eric Evans wants to make one thing clear: He is not building a multi-million-dollar complex for runaway children on a 40-acre lot in Kuna for Laura
Silsby as reported in the Wall Street Journal on Friday."
and:
"Evans met Silsby, who has been charged with child abduction in Haiti, a couple of years ago when he sold her a house in Meridian. He has not worked
with her on any other projects since then, Evans said."
Here is the Wall Street Journal article the poor guy was referring to:
online.wsj.com...
"Ms. Silsby had equally grand ambitions closer to home, according to a local builder. The Idaho plan called for a "multi-million-dollar complex"
for runaway children on a 40-acre lot in Kuna, Idaho, according to Eric Evans, owner of Eric Evans Construction in Meridian. Ms. Silsby told him it
would have an indoor swimming pool, tennis courts and dormitories for the children, said Mr. Evans, adding that she had discussed having him build the
project. Ms. Silsby's mother said she had never heard of any such plan."
Apparently some of the parents of these "kidnapped" children gave up their kids willingly, probably in hopes of a better life in America eventually.
But it sounds like Laura Silsby may have been conning these parents as well. I just dont know!
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Is Laura Silsby a con? Are nine of the ten innocent? Do you agree that no matter what, this particular case is going to make it harder for help to
reach Haiti's orphans?
[edit on 6-2-2010 by hotbakedtater]
[edit on 6-2-2010 by hotbakedtater]