AMERICAN JUSTICE
HALL OF SHAME
Listing of All Concepcion's Information
I was married on October 29. 1966. At that time, we had very
difficult moments due to an old woman that my husband claims as
his aunt. She was, however, no relationship whatsoever.
In the beginning, I noticed very peculiar behavior between them.
I believed it to be the Italian way of life and Italian customs.
I tried very hard to gain her sympathy; but everything I did was
useless. she never agreed that my husband was married. One of
her best friends, Gina Granrelli, used to tell us that we should
move far away from her. This lady told me. "It is not because
of you, Conchita (short for Concepcion). Any girl who married
him would have the same problems and difficulties." She
addressed herself to my husband and said, "So what is the
situation now? Two husbands and two wives?" that meant there
was something going on between them. After we were married my
husband told me that, at the age of nineteen, he was involved
with a baronessa in Italy, and that he was living with her until
he came to the United States; and that he already had this other
old woman's address in his pocket.
She nagged at me all the time telling me that in those days,
they didn't have all the facilities that we have today. For
instance, that they had to wash everything by hand, that they
didn't have a car, and so on. They also made many remarks that I
was not able to give birth to a child. This was very painful for
me, so one day, I asked her how many children she had. I was
sick and tired of her annoying, and interfering in my private
life.
We could not go to see a movie unless they felt like going, or
even go to the beach. If someone invited us to a wedding, or
even a shower for the new bride, they had to be invited too,
otherwise we wold have to refuse the invitation.
My husband used to convince me to cope with the situation, since
they were very old and that one day we would be the owners of
their property and belongings. I did love my husband very much,
and so I tried my best to please everyone.
The first two years of our married life were spent at 380 Avenue
U, Brooklyn, New York there we had a beautiful modern apartment.
The only problem was that we did not spend very much time in it
besides the working hours. Every night we had to go to dinner at
her house and we stayed very late. We went in the summer and
winter, and we had to walk home to sleep. Many times we slept
there, too. I tried to convince my husband to stay home and let
me cook for him to see if he liked my cooking. He did not like
the idea, but finally agreed. However, on Thursdays and
weekends, we had to go there. One day during dinner, he started
to argue about the same thing. He raised his fist and banged the
table and all the dishes and food flew around the room. He then
took his jacket and left the house, spending that night in a
motel, as he told me after.
The next day, I went to the parish church to see and talk with
Father Frank Souccimar, the priest that performed our marriage,
and explained the whole situation. He called upon my husband and
advised him to change his behavior, or make a decision between
the old woman and myself. Again he persuaded me to be patient and to cope with him and carry on
this cross that God put upon him.
As the time passed, I was going through the sane problem.
One day we received news that the apartment on the second floor
of this woman's house (but it is also under my husband's name)
was going to be vacant. One of the tenants had died, and the
house was too big for the wife, so we moved in. I figured that
instead of making so many trips going back and forth to the
apartment, this would save us a walk in the cold weather. Once
we had more rooms than our apartment, and I was trying to make it
as comfortable as possible. Besides, I was working at the
Commercial Office in the Spanish Embassy and had been for a
period of seven years, and I enjoyed buying things for the house.
I wanted to have a baby, but somehow I was not able to get
pregnant. We went to see the best doctors, and they told me that
there was nothing wrong with me, and that probably I had too much
pressure at home and work. The best thing for ms to do would be
to stay home and relax, which I refused to do. I liked work, and
I had the feeling of independence, plus the extra money came in
handy as we always needed things for the house.
I was having a hard time convincing my husband to adopt a
child. We went to the Children's Aid Society on East 45th Street
between Lexington and Third Avenue in New York City. After a long
period of waiting, more than a year, we were told that there
wasn't much hope for the only babies they had available at the
time did not suit us, these babies had birth defects, etc. My
husband spoke with his friends, and people at work, when one of
his best friends told us that he would, get in touch with a
family in Buenos Aires, Argentina; and that it would be easy to
get what we wanted there.
On June 15, 1973, my husband called me at the office and said
that his friend had a phone call from Argentina and that there
was a baby girl waiting for us. In order to get her, we were told
we had to go right away or we would lose the opportunity. We also
were told to leave $600.00 for maternity expenses in the clinic.
My husband picked me up at the office, went to the bank to
withdraw the money, made air line reservations and the next day
we flew to Buenos Aires.
His friend's family was waiting for us at the airport and
drove us to their house where we talked and were told that we
would see the baby the next day. I could hardly sleep that night
waiting for something that I had been dreaming for a long time.
Finally the morning came, and we were ready to see the child and
take her home. The day came and went, and we did not have the
baby. They told us that the father of the girl who had had the
baby found out that she was in the clinic and went to see what
happened. Although he had been told, there was the problem of a
nervous breakdown since in Latin countries, it was very bad for a
single girl to have a baby, and it gave her a bad reputation.
After three or four days, they told us that Peron was arriving
from Spain and the army had taken over the hospitals and clinics.
we had to wait a few more days because of this. I started to
become suspicious about the whole thing, but I had no choice and
had to wait. Two weeks later they told us that
the father of the girl had found out the truth about the baby and
decided to keep it. I was upset about the whole situation, but I
was down there and had no other alternative but to wait and see.
The next step was to look for another baby. They introduced
us to a few doctors that they knew, and each one promised to find
us a baby, since I wanted & baby girl, and there were only boys
available. In the end, I was willing to take any baby as long as
it was healthy. They started to bring us babies in a stationwagon
as if they were sacks of potatoes. All of them were newborns,
and we felt very sorry for the poor things, but there wasn't one
that we had in mind. Finally a midwife came to see us with a
two-hour old baby girl. We had decided not to look any more
because we were Very disappointed with the whole situation. They
convinced my husband to go outside to the car and take a look at
the baby. He came back in the house and asked me to see the
child. I refused in the beginning, but then I went, and we both
decided to keep the baby. We made all the arrangements to meet
their demands and settle the whole thing. They drove us to the
Registration Office to register the baby as our own legitimate.
By this time, another doctor rushed in with the news that he had
a baby for us. We thanked him, and told him we already had what
we wanted. He was furious and started to demand the money he
claimed he had to pay other people for their services. I refused
and told him that we did not sign any contract and that we were
looking around. Someone came along first and we had taken our
baby. He took it very hard and became terribly upset. We agreed
to go with him to see the other baby. he drove us to a very fancy
clinic and once inside, a nurse brought the baby girl to us with
the scissors still holding the cord. We liked her too, but my
husband told them that we already had a baby and were settled on
her. I felt sorry for that little one and begged my husband to
take her, too. I told him I would take care of both of them as
if they were twins. He left with the doctor warning us that we
had to pay for this.
After two or three days, my husband went to the American
Consulate to register the baby in order to come back home to the
United States. He signed an affidavit and was told to bring me in
to sign, too. A few days later we went back to talk to the Consul
Deputy, Mr. Hichkok, who was very angry. He took us to his office
and asked us many questions. I'd learned from him that someone
sent an anonymous letter stating that the child was not
legitimately ours. We denied the fact as I was afraid of losing
the baby, with whom I was already in love. They gave me an
appointment to visit a doctor at the British Hospital to verify
the facts. Meanwhile, the people who gave us the baby were
afraid and there was talk about getting rid of the baby by
letting the cord bleed. I was so furious that I told them if
anything should happen to that child, I would go to the
authorities, television, newspapers, etc., I warned them against
touching the baby. They tried to convince my husband to have me
put under for a small operation to show I had had a baby. I
refused the proposition. and told them that no one was going to
touch me or the baby. They seemed very angry. My husband had to
get back to work, and time was running out, for he had only four
weeks vacation. He decided to let me stay there with these
people, and he would go back to the States and see what he could
do from New York. I begged him not to leave me alone with the
baby among people that I already afraid of, but he left, leaving
the baby and I in the middle of the danger.
The baby and I went to the British for the check-up and blood
test, They took blood from the heel of the baby's foot, and
examined me. After through examination of my body, they could
not agree or deny the fact that I had given birth to a child.
After a certain period of time, the birth canal in a woman's body
closes back to its normal size. I had the appointment many days
after the baby was born, so it was not a written law against
nature. Nevertheless, the Consul would not issue the baby any
papers. He simply refused to let the baby enter the U.S., even
though he knew we were American citizens. r the U.S., even though
he knew we were American citizens.
My husband was calling by phone practically every other day.
I begged him to let the baby and I go to Spain with my family and
wait there until he could do something about it. Every time I
mentioned it to him he refused, but he would allow me to go to
Milano, Italy to his brother's house. In fact, he had already
spoken to his brother about it on the phone. I refused because I
felt more comfortable going to Spain with my own people.
Meanwhile it was a nightmare for me in Buenos Aires, living
with that family. I began to notice that every time the baby had
her formula, she would get sick. This made me worry. I suspected
something was wrong with the formula, so I got a mew formula and
locked it in my suitcase in my room, so I would be sure that no
one could get it. When I gave her the new formula, she was fine
and I began to have a suspicious feeling that someone was putting
something in it. I always locked myself in the room and I was
awake as much as I could, as I did not have any confidence in
those people. One night, I heard voices, and people arguing. I
peeked out the door and saw a man holding a gun, with his parents
preventing him from entering the house. I really panicked, and
when my husband called me on the phone and I explained the
situation, he insisted I should be patient and wait. I asked him
again to let me go to Spain, and once more he refused. After I
had been there three months, my husband phoned me and instructed
me to go to the Pan American Office and make a reservation for
myself and the baby. The baby's ticket amounted to ten percent of
the fare. He told me not to worry and that immigration in New
York had made arrangements with Pan Am Airlines to let me get on
the plane with the baby, who was holding an Argentinean passport.
Naturally I was very happy to see that ny imprisonment in that
house was coming to an end, (By the way, all of the time I was in
Argentina, my husband was calling me practically every other day
from the same house that the old woman lived in. She never came
to the telephone to say hello, or give ms advice, or even a good
word... etc) I kept asking my husband why she wouldn't talk to
me, and he always gave me an excuse, that she was busy, or she
was planning a vacation trip to Italy.
After eleven hours on the plane, I finally arrived in New York
with my precious cargo. The baby slept all the way, and no one
on the plane could believe their eyes when they saw me disembark
with her. They had no idea that there was a baby on board, that's
how good she is. At the checkpoint, an Immigration officer called
upon me, looked at both passports, and asked me if she was my
baby. I told him she was, and he gave me the passports and told me to go ahead to collect my luggage at
customs. I finally got out the door, where my husband and a few
of his friends were waiting. I was very happy, and I thought
everyone must be. After all the greetings we went home. On the
way my husband told me that Aunt Tessi (that is how he called.
the old woman) went to Italy on vacation. We started painting the
whole apartment, and went shopping for the baby, etc. The house
started to be filled with my husband's friends and neighbors that
Came to see the baby, but I noticed that they were not as warn:
as they use to be with me.. I did not suspect anything as I did
not have a guilty consciencious.
On the week following my arrival, my husband took the baby
and I to a lawyer that he said some friends recommended. This
lawyer was Mr. Ralph Lavine at 26 Court Street, Brooklyn, Mew
York, who, after hearing the whole story, says his fee for
arranging everything with Immigration concerning the baby's
papers will be $5,000.00. We knew that $5,000.00 was a lot of
money, but my husband said as long as we didn't have any
problem with Immigration, we'd sacrifice and pay the money. Mr.
Lavine took our passports, the baby's and her identity book, and
kept them in the office for twenty months.
The next step was to go to the Immigration Office at 20 West
Broadway in New York, to see Mr. Graco, a man that my husband
said helped him with the case. He introduced the baby and I, and
we thanked him. He also went to the Immigration Office in
Brooklyn and presented all the baby's papers. Mr. Vaiggio was the
person assigned to the baby's case. (I somehow found out that
everyone was mad at me, but I was busy with the baby and didn't
pay any attention.) Mr. Vaiggio said that we would hear from him,
meanwhile) I was taking care of the baby and the house. Whenever
we received any letters from Immigration, we simply gave them to
Mr. Lavine and he postponed the case.
The baby was growing up very healthy and bright. From the
very beginning, I began to talk to her in three languages,
English, Spanish, and Italian. I also spoke a little French, and
she was responding to all of them. At the same time I was
teaching her letters and numbers, and when I asked which
one it was, she pointed her little finger very accurately. She
did the same thing with animals and objects, and I was very proud
of her. I thought she was doing pretty good for a baby at her
age.
When the baby was about twenty months old, I began to get a
pain in my left side, and my strength began to lessen. I was very
worried since there vas so much concern on television about
breast cancer. That was the time when Mrs. Ford and Mrs.
Rockefeller had Breasts removed. I wanted to go for a physical
examination, but my husband refused to allow me to see any
doctor. He claimed that I was sick in my head and that he knew my
trouble. He told me that the sickness that was bothering me was
something that no one would believe and that this sickness would
burn my insides. He also told me that no one would help me
because no one would believe it.
Meanwhile, my physical condition was getting worse. I was
getting up in the morning with a mouth and lips very tight, and
my body did not respond as usual. I had to hold myself to the
wall in order to control my balance, and I had a, feeling as if I were being drugged. I
was very drowsy. I asked my husband for an explanation and
received the same answer again. Finally, he decided to let me
have a physical examination in the Union Clinic, Local 485, 160
Montague Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. in which he was a member. After a
thorough examination, they told me I had something in my chest,
and asked me if I ever had worked in a place a exposed to
chemicals. I told them I had always worked in offices as a
secretary, and the only chemicals I had access to were household
detergents, etc. Finally, my husband agreed to let me see the
family doctor who sent me to a radiologist, Marcus Wisner, M.D.,
1430 Forty Eight Street, Brooklyn, N.T. 11219 - Telephone TR-1-
9700.
All the reports they gave me were satisfactory and they said
nothing was wrong with me. I went back to the Union with this
report and they insisted that I had something in my chest. I
began to suspect that someone was not telling me the truth. I
decided to get help by my own sources, but as much as I tried, I
could get no where. First, my husband would not allow me to leave
the house, not even to take the baby for her daily walk. He
refused to let me talk on the phone when he was home, using the
other extension to tell whoever I was talking with not to believe
me because I was crazy. I even called Spain to ask my family to
come, but he went and used the same words.
When I began to suspect something was going on, my husband
remained at home on sick leave, telling me that he had an
accident with the truck at work, and that Mr. Lavine would take
care of the case so he and his friend could collect some money.
He came home every night from the doctor's office with many
little bottles of pills that he was supposed to take every day
according to doctor's instructions.
One night I woke up and caught ny husband feeling ny head.
When I asked him what he was doing he simply said that he was
covering me with the blanket. It happened two or three times
again, and on one of those tines, I heard a click, like glass or
metal. He again excused himself Another night he woke up
screaming and hit himself saying, "God help me, I will kill
myself!" He was all perspiration and I had to change the bed
linens and his pajamas. I started to become very frightened.
Continued...
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