7 News Belize

Alleged Queenpin Cleared? Immigration Case Collapses
posted (December 9, 2014)
The Accused Immigration Queenpin, Marleny Castellanos, and her husband Alfredo Orlando Gonzalez Marcos, have been cleared of all criminal charges. They were accused of being the chief arranger of illegal Belizean nationality documents for immigrants.

It made big news when an investigation conducted by joint law enforcement agencies alleged that she and her husband stole the identity of dead Belizeans and reportedly got through the backdoors of the system to get all their documents to live in the country. Another narrative developed that a number of illegal immigrants accused the couple of a lucrative hustle in which they arranged for illegal passports and nationality certificates to be created so that these people could live in Belize unlawfully. These persons alleged that they misrepresented themselves as legitimate immigration agents to get this done, and that the victims were all ignorant to the laws they were breaking.

As we told you at the end of October, Castellanos and her husband managed to get themselves acquitted of 10 charges arising from documents they allegedly forged for themselves.

Well today, the prosecution against Castellanos for 17 remaining charges was to have started. In that prosecution, these alleged victims that she supposedly arranged the documents for would have been given the opportunity to testify and give evidence against Castellanos.

That never happened because at today's hearing, the prosecutor from the Immigration Department informed the presiding Magistrate, Dale Cayetano, that after consideration, the state wanted to withdraw all charges. That cause more than a few jaws in the court to drop - but with nothing left to face them, Castellanos and her husband walked out of court completely free and clear after 1 month on remand at prison and 6 more months with the charges hanging over their heads.

This evening, we spoke with their attorney, Kevin Arthurs, and he told us that the Immigration Department must have realized that they did not have any actual case against his clients, and that's why they withdrew the charges.

So, what do Castellanos and Marcos want to do now that they are free? Well, Arthurs told us that his clients have expressed an interest to return to their private lives and leave this entire ordeal behind them. The Immigration Department still has Marcos' Social Security Card, and Magistrate Cayetano has ordered that it be handed back over to him, or else the Immigration Director will be held in contempt of court. Before today, they Immigration Department refused to comply with the previous court order to hand it back over to him.

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