On Friday, a Washington, DC-based, public interest group filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Obama Department of Homeland Security to obtain documents related to an internal investigation of Carlos Martinelly-Montano.
Montano, a Bolivian illegal alien, struck and killed a Virginia nun in a drunk driving accident on August 1, 2010. Montano had been arrested on two prior drunk driving charges. He was placed in the custody of federal immigration officials in 2008 and was scheduled for deportation but was released on his own recognizance pending a deportation hearing that never took place, according to officials at Judicial Watch, an organization that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had ordered an investigation on August 2, 2010, to determine why Montano’s removal process took so long. However, DHS now refuses to release a report documenting the results of its probe.
As reported in The Washington Post:
The [Montano] inquiry is complete, but Homeland Security does not plan to make the results public, according to the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the matter.
“'It's a document that includes law enforcement sensitivities, so it will not be made public,” the official said. He declined to discuss the nature of those sensitivities.
According to officials, Judicial Watch requested the DHS report on October 12, 2010. DHS acknowledged receipt of the request on October 21, 2010, and granted itself a 10-day extension to respond.
By law, a response was due to Judicial Watch by November 26, 2010. However, to date, DHS officials are stonewalling the request and have failed to demonstrate why the records should be withheld, prompting Judicial Watch’s December 2 lawsuit.
Montano, who entered the country illegally as a child from Bolivia, killed Sister Denise Mosier and critically injured two other nuns while driving drunk in Prince William County, Virginia, on August 1, 2010.
The illegal alien was arrested and charged with drunken driving, involuntary manslaughter and felony driving on a revoked license after his car crossed a median and struck the automobile carrying three nuns, police say. One nun, 66-year old Sister Denise Mosier died at the scene while her companions, Sister Charlotte Lange and Sister Connie Ruth Lupton, were rushed to the hospital.
Montano's arrest in the case and his history of driving while intoxicated have provoked angry words from the law enforcement community and many citizens' organizations over the government's mishandling of illegal alien case and illegal immigration in general.
The young man originally from Bolivia has been arrested twice before and charged with drunk driving, and has other arrests for other traffic-related offenses, say police.
In October 2008, Montano was arrested for another drunken driving incident and placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was scheduled for deportation. However, Montano’s deportation hearing was delayed three times and never took place.
The Obama administration claims it ordered federal immigration agents to focus deportation efforts on illegal aliens suspected of terrorist activity and those convicted of violent crimes.
“Now we see the deadly consequences of the Obama administration’s decision to fail to enforce federal immigration laws. The Obama administration’s irresponsible policy led to the death of Sister Mosier and critical injuries to two other nuns," stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton
"The Department of Homeland Security’s refusal to release the results of its investigation of Montano smacks of a cover-up. The American people deserve to know why a repeat criminal illegal alien scheduled for deportation was allowed to roam free in the United States for almost two years and ultimately kill a nun. And once again, Judicial Watch is forced to go to court to force the ‘transparent’ Obama administration to follow the open records law,” Fitton said .
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a columnist for Examiner.com and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
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