I'M NOT A CRIMINAL. I'M JUST A DISHWASHER

A Man Tries to Return to Guatemala, But the $59,000 He Saved Working
Here Is Confiscated

MIAMI - After nine years of washing dishes illegally in South Florida,
Pedro Zapeta decided his work here was done.

He packed what little he had in the way of clothes and then filled his
duffel with stacks of neatly rubber-banded cash. In all, $59,000,
every penny he had saved.

It was time to go home to Guatemala and build the home for the family
he hadn't seen in more than a decade.

He got as far as the airport.

A security screener noticed the bricks of cash. What happened next was
inevitable. The bag was opened. The cash was seized. Zapeta missed his
flight.

That was two years ago.

Since then Zapeta has been stuck in legal limbo. The government is
trying to deport him, but he doesn't want to leave without the money
he worked so hard for.

"It's ironic," says his attorney, Robert Gershman. "He was on his way
out. The money was his exit."

Even in the labyrinthine world of immigration law, Zapeta's case is
unusual, experts say. Few illegal immigrants choose to return home
permanently, instead hoping to avoid detection and stay long enough to
win a resident green card.

And while many illegal immigrants save assiduously, most choose to
send their money home these days through wire transfers, or cash
remittances.

But Zapeta, 39, who doesn't have much of an education, sent no money
back to Guatemala over the years.

No Bank Account

He didn't have a bank account. Because he had obtained false papers,
he was scared he would lose his money if he opened an account that
didn't bear his real name. He kept his savings by his bed in a house
he shared in Stuart.

He dreamed of building a house for his mother and four sisters, and
maybe opening a store in his village, Totonicapan, about three hours
from the Guatemalan capital.

In late summer 2005, having avoided detection by immigration
authorities, he bought a one-way airline ticket and headed for Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

"He puts the bag on the conveyor belt and when it went through the
X-ray machine they see all the money in rubber bands," Gershman said.

Customs officers confiscated the money, citing a law requiring anyone
entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 to declare the
money to U.S. Customs. Zapeta wasn't arrested. Instead, he was given a
receipt for his money, and allowed to go back to Stuart.

"They arrested the money," Gershman said. "My client hasn't been
charged with any crime."

Zapeta says he had no idea he was violating the law. "In the court
they said it was my fault. I don't think so," he said. "It was
ignorance. It just seemed like a minor accident to me."

For the past two years Zapeta has been fighting deportation
proceedings in immigration court. At the same time he began civil
proceedings to get his money back.

Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug
trade, but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from
restaurants where he had worked, earning $5.50 an hour.

U.S. officials say they cannot discuss ongoing court
cases.

Zapeta admits he entered the country illegally in 1996, across the
Texas border. He also admits he bought a fake Social Security number
for $25. But he doesn't believe his crime deserves such harsh punishment.

"I'm not a criminal. I'm just a dishwasher," he said. "I haven't been
home for 11 years. I want to build a house for my mother and start a
business."

Immigration advocates say despite Zapeta's illegal actions, his case
cries out for compassion. After Zapeta's story ran on CNN and in the
Palm Beach Post, well-wishers gave him nearly $10,000. That money sits
in a trust.

Taxes Deducted

At first a judge ruled that Zapeta must forfeit the entire amount for
the currency reporting violation. Prosecutors noted Zapeta never filed
income taxes while in the country. Zapeta's lawyer countered that his
pay stubs showed taxes had been deducted.

In January, U.S. District Judge James Cohn revised that ruling, saying
Zapeta could keep $10,000, the amount anyone is legally allowed to
carry without filing a report.

But Zapeta says he can't accept the ruling and has appealed
it.

His attorney complains the government appears more interested in
Zapeta's money than doing justice. Had criminal charges been filed,
Zapeta would have faced a maximum $5,000 fine. But the civil currency
violation carries a maximum $250,000 fine, allowing the government to
seize a greater amount.

Zapeta is currently working legally. He was granted a work permit
while his immigration case was being heard. So he's back at the
restaurant, earning his $5.50 per hour.

But time is running out. An immigration judge recently ruled Zapeta
must leave the country by the end of January, or face forced removal.

"I'm more than happy to go home, but not without my money," Zapeta
says. "I'll go back to Guatemala tomorrow if they give it back to me.
It's all I have."