WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Brian Jordan, the immigration counselor at St. Francis of Assisi Church on 31st Street in New York City, joined with Frernando Mateo, president of Hispanics Across America to ask the United States attorney’s office to investigate the death of a Guatemalan man who had been murdered in Westchester, N.Y. A rally was held on May 10, on Quarropas Street, in front of the U.S. attorney’s office in downtown White Plains.
Rene Perez’s lifeless body was found near Mount Kisco, N.Y. on April 2. He was the third Guatemalan immigrant to die under questionable circumstances in Mount Kisco in four years.
A series of events led the Bedford, N.Y., police to investigate the three Mount Kisco police officers who responded to a call from the victim shortly before he was found mortally wounded by an abdominal blow.
Brian stated, “To have one local police jurisdiction investigating another, where is the objectivity in that? With all the investigative technology that we have, it would be helpful to have federal law enforcement assist.”
In a later development, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said on May 18, that the United States attorney’s office agreed to join the investigation of the Perez case, noting that the events surrounding his death “may have not only state, but federal implications.”
Brian was shown with Fernando Mateo in a photo that accompanied a comprehensive New York Times article in the May 14 edition.
— Phil is a graphic designer in the communications office.