Pedro Zapeta came here from Guatemala, worked as a dishwasher for 11 years and lived on basic budget to make enough money to buy land in his mountain village and build a home for his mother and sisters. He didn't poses enough education to send any of his money home or open a bank account.
He saved $59,000 in cash, stuffed it into a duffel bag and went to the Ft. Lauderdale terminal for a flight home. When Customs officials asked how much money he had, Zapeta showed them the duffel bag. They seized it.
I guess he figured that its the safest way to bring all that money to his home country. Boy was he wrong. US customs takes all the money, and now after 2 years of trials, they gave him until January 2008, to get out, or be kicked out, without a penny. Damn it. What would you do?Western Union commercial?
