Nanny for Hire . . . If You Don't Care About the Consequences
Passersby on the street often don’t know what happens behind closed doors . . . in this case behind the closed doors of Manhattan brownstones. These New York City landmarks – with 19th Century oak doors, iron fencing, and balanced facades of windows and trim – sometimes hide present-day stories.
For example: What happens when a diplomat, living in one these polished homes, is accused of harboring an illegal immigrant? Sounds like a “Law and Order” episode? Or like a New York City/U.S. District Attorney 12/13/2013 episode:
Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York . . . announced the arrest of Devyani Khobragade on charges [she] allegedly caused materially false and fraudulent documents and . . . statements made to the U.S. Department of State in support of a visa application for an Indian national employed as a babysitter and housekeeper at [Ms.] Khobragade’s home in New York, NY.
[The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York]
(Note: Ms. Khobragade is currently employed as the influential Deputy Consul General for Political, Economic, Commercial and Women’s Affairs at the Consulate General of India in New York, New York.)
But what’s the truth? We don’t know, really.
Now, according to Reuters, 03/12/2014:
[Khobragade], charged in New York with visa fraud and making false statements about a domestic worker she employed, has won a dismissal of a federal indictment, ending a dispute that frayed U.S.-Indian diplomatic relations.
A New York criminal attorney would have gone ballistic over this. Visa fraud? Misrepresentation?
This is where the haves-and-have-nots square off, both in reality and in “Law and Order” episodes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office apologizes, perhaps because of politics.
But the fact – as The Blanch Law Firm realizes – is that the tools are already here:
- Apply for foreign diplomat status immediately (it affords immunity from criminal charges)
- Hire a team of top criminal lawyers to prepare defense-motion papers (papers ready to file immediately, when necessary, if indicted on federal charges)
In short, think in advance. This is your day-one action.