THE KRUCHKOW FAMILY, David, your author, his wife Sara and their daughter Michelle (Shelly) Beth, formerly known as Maria Soledad Ibarra Marquez. Experienced two lost referrals and one fraudulent, illegal adoption in this story.
THE LIBERTO FAMILY, John, his wife Rosalie and their daughter Gabby, formerly Sulema Gabriella Tozcano. Also parents to two older girls from Columbia. Experienced a lost referral and two disrupted adoptions in this story.
THE CLARKE FAMILY, Richard, Sharon and daughter Nicole from Guatemala. This family and Nicole were held up as an example of their success by the Arlenes. Later, this family lost tens of thousands of dollars in fees and foster care costs to Reyes and the Arlenes for the adoption of a child that was never placed with them.
ARLENE LIEBERMAN, one of the two Arlenes, wife to Jay. Helped run several problematic adoption businesses in NY including Stork International, Adoption Choice and International Adoption Consultants, Inc. The later served as consultants to and NY contacts for Adoption Choice of Milwaukee, WI and ran their Latin American international adoption programs. Adoption Choice in Milwaukee provided the legally licensed agency while International Adoption Consultants provided the experince, expertise and contacts in Latin America.
ARLENE REINGOLD, the second of the two Arlenes, wife to Dennis, adoptive parent and Arlene Lieberman's neighbor and partner in the adoption business.
MARIO REYES (full name Manuel Mario Reyes Burgueno), Mexican adoption attorney with dual US/Mexican citizenship. Resident of Douglas, AZ with law office across the border in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. The attorney used by the Arlenes and Adoption Choice for Mexican adoptions.
TIMOTHY MACHT, Assistant US Attorney in Brooklyn, NY. Lead prosecutor in the federal case against Reyes and the Arlenes.
KAREN PACE, INS special investigator and lead investigator in the federal investigation of the activities of Reyes and the Arlenes.
MRS. LOIS TROUPE, INS Examiner in the NYC INS office in charge of processing all paperwork for all international adoptions that pass through that office.
MELINDA RANDA, director and co-founder of Adoption Choice in Milwaukee, WI, the agency with which we contracted for our Mexican adoption.
JILL GERLACH, Melinda Randa's partner in Adoption Choice and their International Program Coordinator.
JUDITH KRAMER, LINDA MOODY, CHRISTINA LEONARD, invstigators and prosecutors for the NYS Office of the Attorney General in charge of the state's investigation and prosecution of the Arlenes.
ELYSE RITTER, single adoptive mother victimized in this case. Claims Adoption Choice in WI sent her to the Arlenes. Won a civil judgement against Reyes which went uncollected due to bankruptcy filing by Reyes.
THE ABATE FAMILY, adopted two children from Guatemala. Used Adoption Choice and the Arlenes for their first one and it was problematic.
JUDGE JACOB MISHLER, federal judge who presided over the testimony and sentencing of Reyes and the Arlenes after they negotiated a plea bargain with the US Attorney.
ELIZABETH GARCIA VILLALOBOS, our first failed referral. Allegedly, her legal custodian, her maternal grandmother, failed to show up at her third and final Mexican court hearing to relinquish custody due to a last-minute change of heart. Elizabeth's fate is unknown.
DANITZA, Elizabeth's older sister and the Liberto's failed referral. The Libertos were told the exact same story about her that we were told about Elizabeth. Her fate is also unknown.
NICOLE/FLORA TOZCANO, Gabby Liberto's older biological sister who came to live with the Liberto family twice, but inisisted on returning to her biologcal mother in Mexico. She is one of the two disrupted adoptions the Libertos had. She had also been offered to the Clarke's at in 1995, but they preferred a younger child. This is where Flora took the name Nicole, in emulation of the Clarke's Guatemalan daughter.
ZOYITA/CJ TOZCANO, Gabby's older and Nicole's younger sister. Placed with another victim family from Long Island. Sadly, this family prefers to keep CJ from growing up knowing her sister, even though they are within a short distance of each other. There is likely at least one more Tozcano sibling placed with a US family by Reyes, but he or she may not have been included in this case.
STEPHANIE, a child that Reyes offered the Libertos after Nicole went back to Mexico the first time. The offer was withdrawn, then made again when Nicole returned to the Libertos, only Gabby was a surprise, last-minute substitution for Stephanie. Stephanie's fate is unknown, although she may be with another one of the victim families.
DAVE HERBST, the Licensing Specialist whose signature is on the agency license granted to Adoption Choice by the State of WI.
MARITZA, a two year old placed by the Reyes and the Arlenes wit the Libertos. Although she was alleged to be healthy, she was quickly diagnosed as malnourished, retarded and the victim of probable sexual abuse. The Libertos disrupted this adoption and got the Arlenes to promise to get this child proper medical care in Mexico. Instead, this is the child that was used to defraud the Clarkes out of tens of thousands of dollars. Allegedly, this child was eventually placed in a Mexican orphanage.
MARIA SOLEDAD IBARRA MARQUEZ, the name on the false documents of the child we would meet, bring home and call Shelly (Michelle Beth). Her nickname in Mexico was Choli.
SGT. GARCIA, a Mexican customs and immigration officer who stamped some documents for us at the direction of Reyes when we were in Agua Prieta in Oct. 1997.
MARY, the woman on the phone who Reyes referred to an immigration attorney in NY while we were in his office in Oct. 1997.
CONGRESSMAN GARY ACKERMAN, our congressional representative.
KARI HITCHMAN, from the State of WI Department of Family Services, part of the Dept. of Health and Social Services, to whom we addressed our complaint about Adoption Choice after we got Shelly home.
COLLEEN HENRY, investigative reporter for WISN TV in Milwaukee, WI. Contacted us briefly regarding a report she was doing on problems with international adoptions. Although our case was not included in her televised report, she did inform us that we were not alone in experiencing problems with Adoption Choice.
JUDY HERMAN, the licensing specialist for the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health and Family Services, who handled our complaint to Kari Hitchman.
MARGARITA SOTO, employed by Reyes in Mexico as a foster mother and name-giver, whose arrest in Mexico in Oct. 1998 spelled the beginning of the end for Reyes' adoption business.
THERESA HERNANDEZ REYES KRYGER and KIRK KRYGER, adoption attorneys in the San Diego/Tijuana area. Theresa was allegedly relates to Mario Reyes and they may have networked "professionally." She was profiled in a FOX TV investigative story regarding problems her clients were experiencing trying to bring home their adopted children from Mexico.
AARON BRITVAN, head of the NYS Bar Association of Adoption Attorneys and the one selected by both the Libertos and ourselves to represent our families. He ended up representing many of the victims in this case.
MARVIN ZEVIN, the criminal attorney selected by both the Libertos and ourselves to represent and protect us when we received subpoenas for a federal grand jury.
KEVIN SIBLEY, Karen Pace's partner in this case, a Special Agent for the INS and co-questioner with Timothy Macht when we appeared for questioning in lieu of grand jury testimony.
NANCY FABRIZIO, victims/witnesses services coordinator for Timothy Macht at the US Attorney's office.
TERI WHITCRAFT, 20/20 producer for Connie Chung who briefly interviewed us by phone. Sent us a copy of the Karen Pace's deposition before the grand jury.
LISA FRIED, INS counsel in charge of adjusting the status of the children in this case. Later known as Lisa Fried-Greenberg.
BRUCE HARRIS, director of Casa Alianza, the Latin American arm of Convenant House.
JUAN MANUEL ESTRADA, director of Mexico's Foundation for Lost and Stolen Children who was reported to be trying to have the children in this case repatriated to Mexico in a Canadian tabloid.
MS. LYNCH, Assistant US Attorney who worked with Timothy Macht on this case.
BARBARA AUSTIN, the only victim allowed to speak at the sentencing of Reyes and the Arlenes.
JUDGE DEPHILLIPS, Queens County Family Court Judge who presided over our legal, final NYS adoption of our daughter.
ED MCELROY, director of the NYC office of the INS.
MARY MOONEY, founder and owner of The Adoption Guide (www.theadoptionguide.com) and tireless worker for consumer protection in adoptions. A woman I'm glad to consider a friend.
JOHN STUPP, Licensing Specialist for the NYS Dept. of Health and Family Services.
JEAN DONOVAN, a woman mired in a problematic adoption from Paraguay with Adoption Choice at the time we were mired in our Mexican adoption. A story appearing in a Paraguayan newspaper shows how Melinda Randa tries to help straighten things out.
JEANINE CASTAGNA, Aaron Britvan's partner who did most of the family court work for our NYS adoption of Shelly.
The additional people mentioned in the Postscript are identified there. |
