McHenry County Blog

The following press release details how a Mexican criminal was sent back to his homeland, but returned. Now he is going to Federal prison.

The interesting part of the release to me is the reference to his having been found by “McHenry County law enforcement.”

MEXICAN CITIZEN SENTENCED TO 41 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGALLY RE-ENTERING THE UNITED STATES

ROCKFORD — PATRICK J. FITZGERALD, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and GARY J. HARTWIG, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, today made the following announcement:

Orlando Tapia-Fonseca

Yesterday afternoon, United States District Judge Frederick J. Kapala sentenced ORLANDO TAPIA-FONSECA, 32, who is a citizen of Mexico, to 41 months in prison for illegally re-entering the United States following his previous deportation to Mexico.

Tapia-Fonseca was originally  indicted by a federal grand jury on August 10, 2010, and charged with illegally re-entering the United States. Tapia-Fonseca pled guilty to the charge on November 19, 2010.

According to plea agreement, Tapia-Fonseca was convicted of an aggravated felony in Brown County, Wisconsin, on April 8, 1998, and sentenced to 9 months in jail and 2 years of probation.

The back of the McHenry County Jail

As stated in the plea agreement, Tapia-Fonseca was then ordered removed from the United States on July 30, 1998.

Tapia-Fonseca further admitted that sometime after August 8, 1998, he illegally re-entered the United States without obtaining the appropriate consent of either the United States Attorney General, or the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Homeland Security was alerted to Tapia-Fonseca’s presence in the United States on June 22, 2010, upon being notified by McHenry County law enforcement.

In addition to the 41 months’ prison sentence, the court ordered Tapia-Fonseca to surrender to immigration authorities following his release from prison.

The case was investigated by the Chicago office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The case was prosecuted in federal court by Assistant United States Attorney SCOTT A. VERSEMAN.

525,000 is the number of illegal immigrants that something called the Pew Hispanic Center has come up with.

4.1% of the state’s population.

That’s up from 500,000 in 2007 and up from 200,000 in 1990.

Some of those who marched through Crystal Lake this summer in support of immigrant rights.

The size of the average congressional district in the next ten years will be 646,952, so Illinois might have lost two seats if it were not for our undocumented brethren.

“The number of children born to at least one unauthorized-immigrant parent in 2009 was 350,000 and they made up 8% of all U.S. births, essentially the same as a year earlier,” the study reports.

The seven-pointed star appears on this letter of endorsement GOP primary State's Attorney candidate Dan Regna by Sheriff Keith Nygren. Click to enlarge.

December 15, 2010, there was a Rockford court hearing in which 15-year McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Milliman’s sworn deposition testimony was discussed in Zane Seipler’s wrongful termination case against the Sheriff’s Department.

Seven-pointed star can be seen to the left of the entrance to the McHenry County Jail.

Now the arena moves to Woodstock where Zane Seipler attorney Blake Horwitz has filed a request to broaden his request for a special prosecutor to investigate McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren.

The motion outlines Horwitz’ previous allegation:

“Pending before this Court is a Petition to Appoint a Special Prosecutor with regard to theft of services concerning the illegal use of the Seven Point Star for both political and official purposes.

“New allegations have now surfaced warranting the supplementation of the second with additional data in support of the pending Petition.”

The motion continues,

“Since the most recent hearing in this cause, a transcript of a federal civil rights action involving Sheriff Nygren, has become publicly available.  [A footnote here reads, "The transcript contains the proceedings of a court hearing before Federal Magistrate Judge Mahoney of the Northern District of Illinois held on December 15, 2010 in a cause entitled Seipler v. Cundiff, et. al,, Case No. 8 C 50257.  The transcript of this hearing is attached hereto as Exhibit A."]

Page 1 of Zane Seipler's December 27, 2010, motion. Click to enlarge any image.

Continuing the motion reads,

“The transcript discloses statements made by Deputy Scott Milliman, a 15-year veteran of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department, which reveal previously secret criminal conduct by Sheriff Nygren.  Specifically, the transcript discloses deposition testimony by Deputy Milliman in Seipler v. Nygren, et. al., regarding criminal activity by Sheriff Nygren to which Mr. Milliman was a witness.  The transcript also establishes that a code of silence exists in the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department and discloses that seven other officers set forth that they will be retaliated against if they break this code.  The transcript also reveals that Sheriff Nygren was observed to have committed and/or participated in the following:

Page 2 of Zane Seipler's December 27, 2010, motion.

• “Engaged in ‘Solicitation of Murder,’ in violation of 720 ILCS 5/8-1
• “Facilitated and promoted the trafficking of illegal aliens from Mexico to McHenry County, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/8-2 and the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Par. 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv)(iii)
• “Covered up racial profiling in the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department where at least one member in 2008 falsified the race of Hispanic drivers on at least 140 occasions, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/8-2.1 and
• “Participated prior to 2007 in a pay-off scheme with a member of the McHenry County State’s Attorney Office, whereby pending criminal prosecutions were dropped as nolle prosequi in exchange for money, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/33-1 and 720 ILCS 5/33-2.”

“The specific facts attesting to the criminal allegations noted above are subject to a protective order in Seipler v. Nygren, et. al., and therefore are not publicly available.  Hence, Petitioner cannot tender these additional facts to this Court at present, but can and does refer to the publicly-available hearing transcript discussed above.”

Under the heading, “Other Information in the Public Domain,” Horwitz notes, “There is one other item of information that is in the public domain regarding Sheriff Nygren’s alleged criminal participation in a conspiracy to murder: Deputy Milliman testified that one victim of attempted murder was a political adversary of Sheriff Nygren.”

Page 3 of Zane Seipler's December 27, 2010, motion.

The next paragraph reads, “With regard to the trafficking of illegal aliens, it is well-established that Sheriff Nygren developed an exchange program between a local police department from Zacatecas, Mexico and McHenry County. Petitioner has sound reasons to believe that this exchange program facilitated the transportation of illegal aliens to McHenry County.”

“With regard to the pay-off scheme (money for case dismissals),” the December 27th motion continues, “if current members of the McHenry County State’s Attorney Office were also involved in this scheme, it would be prudent for this Court to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate this matter on behalf of the People. [A footnote here says, ”The appearance of impropriety mandates the appointment of a special prosecutor.  See People v. Lang, 805 N.E.2nd 1249, 346 Ill. App. 3rd 677 (2nd Dist. 2004); In re Guardianship of Angell, 26 Ill.App.2nd 239, 243 (State's Attorney has an allegiance to the People); Fleming v. Kane County, 1986 WL 1414 (N.D. Ill 1986) (accord)."]

“Lastly, given the gravity of the offenses that have been alleged by Deputy Milliman, it would be in the best interest of McHenry County for an independent Special Prosecutor to further investigate these matters.

“WHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully requests that this Honorable Court appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing by Sheriff Nygren.”

This motions is signed by Blake Horwitz, Zane R. Seipler’s attorney.

Seipler attorney Horwitz concludes that “given the gravity of the offenses that have been alleged by Deputy Milliman, it would be in the best interest of McHenry County for an independent Special Prosecutor to further investigate these matters.”

= = = = =

See these posts by McHenry County Blog, which reprint the first parts of the transcripts of the December 15, 2010, Federal Court hearing before P. Michael Mahoney:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

The rest of the over 10,000 word transcript will be published in bite-sized pieces as the days roll on.

The observation deck of the McHenry County Jail when young Chinese political leaders were being given a tour of the McHenry County Jail.

McHenry County Blog is the only local source reporting on the number of illegal aliens being picked up in McHenry County.

In November, the number of such undocumented aliens with criminal backgrounds was 32, according to the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department.

This is part of the Homeland Security Department’s Secure Communities program.

Congressman-Elect Joe Walsh calling on a questionner at his McHenry West High School Town Hall meeting.

The “news” at Congressman-Elect Joe Walsh’s first post-election Town Hall meeting in McHenry County was that he would not vote for the compromise tax bill being considered in Congress.

But the take-away message was that constituents should expect a lot of opportunities to ask their Federal Representative tough questions and have dialogue on issues than has been the case with the woman he beat, Melissa Bean.

“There’s nothing more important than your Representative getting in front of the people all of the time answering any question without any aides around me,” he said at the beginning of the meeting.

“I intend to do this more than you’ll ever believe.”

Walsh intends not to settle in in Washington.

Upwards of 80 people turned out at McHenry West High School on the coldest night of this winter.

“I’m sleeping on my couch in my House office.”

The McHenry resident (he lives near the Drive-In) observed,

“Look, there’s a lot about Melissa Bean that bugged me and a lot about Phil Crane that bugged her.”

Walsh seemed to be referring to the lack of face-to-face contact that both Members of Congress had with their constituents.

“You can do telephone town halls and think that’s good enough.

"I can't compete against people with multiple families living in one house," compalined unemployed electrician/truck driver Andrew Stewart, seen on the right. His message to employers: "Hire legal people. We need the jobs." Joe Walsh picked up on his description of himself as "a simple guy." Walsh replied, "We need a hell of a lot more people like you in Washington." Beginning his words on immigration with the observation that America is the most compassionate country in the world, Walsh got passionate. "Damn it, secure the borders. Enforce the immigration laws. Hold business as accountable as we can." Stewart's number is 847-721-4962, if anyone has work.

“If I can’t stand before Republicans and Democrats and answer any question, I don’t deserved to be re-elected.”

Walsh said he purposely robo-called independents and Democrats.

“I want to hear what they say.”

“I don’t ever want to be in a meeting where people (all) agree with me,” were his last words.

Here’s what Republican County Board candidate Diane Evertsen mailed out just before the election.

It’s a yellow post card, almost goldenrod, it appears to me.

Arriving at the end of the campaign season, this post card was well timed.

Evertsen provides her web site address and says,

Commonsence, conservative solutions…

for a better future in McHenry County

Here’s the message side:

Black and yellow, the colors I liked to use on literature and campaign signs.

If it’s important to you

• Smaller government
• Lower taxes
• Preservation of our agricultural land and open spaces
• Protecting our water resources
• Real representation of the voters

It’s important to me!

Evertsen has been campaigning hard. Besides having knocked on about 6,000 doors as of early October, Evertsen has held meet and greets at local restaurants, even one bowling alley.

A rob-call was made on behalf of Democrat Dennis Palys criticizing her activities with the Midwest Minutemen, which she notes is a free standing organization.

The calls came from: 815-788-9540 with the name M. Bisset. Michael Bisset is the Chairman of the McHenry County Democratic Party.

Here’s what was said:

“What is County Board candidate Diane Evertsen hiding from you now. Has she told you she’s married to a Township Supervisor? Are you concerned about politicians double dipping in the public coffers? Diane calls for smaller government as long as it’s all in the family. How can she objectively represent you? What else is Diane hiding from you? Has she told you about her presidency in a radical vigilante group? Check her out, make an informed decision. There are better choices for the County Board. Paid for by citizens for Dennis Palys.”

What wasn’t said is that Palys’ daughter Jessica is an “Organizer at The Center for Faith & Community Health Transformation,” according to this web page. She has also be an

• Organizer at Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
• Federal Issues Organizer at Citizen Action/Illinois
• Faith Community Organizer at Campaign for Better Health Care

Placard that some immigrant rights' advocates carried to the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock.

While working as an Organizer for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights from February 2010 — June 2010 (5 months), she

• Mobilized the NW Suburbs to support Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2010
• Added 9 buses to our Washington Trip, created the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition
• Organized a suburban May Day March and
• Organized a 54-mile Pilgrimage from Chicago to the McHenry County Jail

The marchers crossed North Shore Drive on Route 14 in Crystal Lake.

The younger Palys also was a scheduler for Melissa Bean in 2004 and helped recruit candidates for the radical pro-abortion Personal PAC in 2007.  Palys father is endorsed by Personal PAC for the county board.

The start of the daughter’s employment career is described like this on the web page:

In-District Staff

State Rep Jack Franks

(Government Agency; 1-10 employees; Political Organization industry)

September 1999 — November 2002 (3 years 3 months)

I have to admit that I didn’t know legislative staffers were in the “political organization industry.  If I had to characterize my legislative assistants’ work, I would say they were in the “helping people” line of work.

In response to an email request about Evertsen’s involvement with Minutemen Midwest (this request was initiated by the Carlos Acosta letter to the editor two weeks ago in the NWH), Evertsen wrote the response below:

Diane Evertsen

I know your standard answer as to why do candidates use border line slander during campaigns is that ‘it works.’

We will not slander other candidates but we do request you publish this on your blog.

We will not participate in the Chicago style politics that it appears the McHenry County Democrats want to bring into McHenry County.

Your prior post on your blog about Franks’ operatives wasting the time of John O’Neill is another classic example of Chicago style politics.

Diane can always be reached at 815-943-3298 if anyone needs further clarification.

Other than that we will let the voters decide who can best SERVE the voters in District 6 on the McHenry County Board.

I am, and have been for the past several years, the President of Minutemen Midwest. Unfortunately, there are those who write Letters to the Editor who are either misinformed or prefer to bastardize the truth for their own purposes.

What letter writers have failed to acknowledge is that there is, in fact, a huge diference between “immigrants” and “illegal aliens”.

Immigrants who have come to our country legally by respecting our processes and abiding by the laws are certainly welcome to be here and assimilate into our culture, becoming Americans.

Those who wish to sneak across our borders or remain as Visa overstays in violation of our immigration laws should be removed back to their country of origin.

The purpose of the organization is to educate the public on immigration issues regarding our borders and ports of entry in order to retain American sovereity, and to keep the election process of our country secure from fraud.

You may also wish to know that Minutemen Midwest is a free-standing organization and not a ‘franchise’ or ‘affiliate’ of any other Minuteman organization.

From the Personal PAC endorsement, we can conclude that Dennis Palys and Diane Evertsen are on opposite sides of the abortion issue.

From the robo-call and Evertsen’s involvement in the immigration issue, we can assume they differ on that issue as well.

Considering the Palys daughter’s extended employment with State Rep. Jack Franks and Franks attempt (successful to some extent) to take over some rural township governments, my guess is that the father’s campaign is Franks’ attempt to get a voice on the McHenry County Board.

Incumbent Republican Mary McCann is Evertsen’s running mate.

McHenry County Blog continues to be the only local publication that thinks the Department of Homeland Security’s Secure Communities program is worth watching.

View from a McHenry County Jail corridor of a cell block during lockdown. Visitors are young Chinese political leaders who came in 2007.

This month, the program Sheriff Keith Nygren joined in April, saw 38 illegal aliens with criminal records detained.

That’s lower than any other month since the program began.

Previous articles:

• Nygren to Join Sheriffs Arresting Illegals
• McHenry County Sheriff’s Department Identifies and Detains 116 Illegal Aliens April thru June
• Nygren Locks Up 42 Criminal Illegals in July
• 41 More Illegal Aliens with Criminal Backgrounds Picked Up in McHenry County

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement people went after illegal aliens who have criminal records Tuesday through Thursday.

No arrests were made in McHenry County.

The day room where ICE detainees spend their days. Click to enlarge.

Here’s how many criminals were arrested and where they were picked up, according to the Chicago ICE public affairs officer:

• Cass – 6
• Cook – 24
• DuPage – 6
• Jackson – 1
• Kane – 2
• Kankakee – 1
• Lake – 1
• Madison -2
• Will – 2

45 in all.

The numbers don’t match with the Chicago Tribune’s.  It says 35 were made in Chicago.  Can’t tell you why.

Day room at the McHenry County Jail

The number of people turned over to ICE by Keith Nygren’s McHenry County Sheriff’s Department during July was forty-two.

That’s forty-two more criminals off the street.

Nygren entered the Homeland Security Department’s Secure Communities program, along with other collar county sheriffs not already participating, as of April, 2010.

Here’s the score card since then of illegal aliens with criminal backgrounds who have been detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement people:

• April:  41
• May:  41
• June:  34
• July: 42

158 in all.

If I were sheriff, I’d be bragging about this.

Election results by county in the 2008 Presidential balloting.

McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren

Considering people in most counties voted Republican, I guess it’s not much of a surprise that the National Sheriffs’ Association passed a resolution in favor of ridding their jurisdictions of illegal aliens who are criminals.

The end of June, at which time McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren was about to complete his department’s third month in the program, the following resolution in favor of the ICE Secure Communities program, was passed in San Diego.

During April, May and June, Nygren process 116 criminal illegal aliens through the McHenry County Jail.

NATIONAL SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) CRIMINAL ALIEN ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS

WHEREAS, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has implemented Secure Communities and 287(g) Delegation of Authority among the portfolio of enforcement programs to accurately and efficiently identify and remove criminal aliens from the United States;

WHEREAS, sheriffs generally serve as chief law enforcement officers sworn to uphold public safety with integrity and protect its communities, resulting in the support of prioritizing high risk criminal alien enforcement;

The logo of the National Sheriff's Association

WHEREAS, Secure Communities, through improved technology, continual data analysis, and timely information sharing with a broad range of law enforcement agency partners, helps protect communities across the country at no cost to the sheriff’s office;

WHEREAS, Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 287(g), authorizes state and local law enforcement agencies (LEA) to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), to receive delegated authority for immigration enforcement in their jurisdictions through technical equipment and personnel, comprehensive federal immigration law training, and on-the-job technical instruction, under ICE supervision;

WHEREAS, Secure Communities and 287(g) programs complement each other by utilizing biometric and biographic data to detect criminal aliens to ensure both an ICE officer presence and technological advances are used in tandem, supplementing each other;

WHEREAS, both programs are considered force multipliers toward a common law enforcement goal of identifying, detaining, and removing high-risk criminals for the safety of communities across the country;

WHEREAS, while these programs promote and enhance information sharing among federal, state and local law enforcement to quickly and accurately identify criminal aliens, ICE retains the responsibility of enforcing U.S. immigration laws and taking appropriate action;

WHEREAS, both Secure Communities and 287(g) promote consistency ensuring that state and local law enforcement partners have access to pertinent DHS records that are critical to the safety of, and enforcement of laws that protect the citizens we are sworn to serve; National Sheriffs’ Association 2010 Resolutions

WHEREAS, both Secure Communities and 287(g) programs are committed to upholding civil rights and civil liberties and have safeguards in place to protect against racial or ethnic profiling;

NOW, BE IT RESOLVED, the National Sheriffs’ Association supports ICE’s programs to effectively and accurately identify and remove criminal aliens from the U.S.;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National Sheriffs’ Association reaffirms its support for ICE’s collaboration with federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement to help protect our communities and nation.

Adopted at a Meeting of the General Membership in Anaheim, CA on June 29, 2010.