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4 <title>Olga Moffat</title>
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9 <meta name="author" content="Andrew DeFaria">
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13 <h1 align="center">Attempted theft by Olga Moffat</h1>
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15 <div align="center">
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17 <h2>Introduction</h2>
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18 On October 8, 2002 my wife, Olga DeFaria (AKA Olga Moffat) was detained by
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19 Macy's security personal at the store in Oakridge Mall, San Jose for attempting
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20 to take approximately $2500 - $3000 worth of clothing, perfume and jewelry.
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21 Olga was given to the San Jose police, booked for burglary/theft and was
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22 released on her own reconnaissance. Olga arrived in the US on May 3, 2002
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23 on a fiancée visa and we married on July 3, 2002. As an immigrant,
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24 Olga faces possible deportation if convicted of a crime of mortal turpitude.
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25 And as such I face losing my wife. This punishment is over and above that
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26 faced by most people who may have committed such crimes. My letter to you
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27 today is a plea for leniency and a cry for help so that my family and I will
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28 not suffer the loss of a loved one. I beg of you to read this letter fully
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29 and consider all the circumstances with the thought of true justice.<br>
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31 The following is an explanation of some of the adversities that my wife was
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32 facing before and after the incident at Macy's. These were all largely unknown
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33 to me at the time, that my wife was struggling through such hardships. Please
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34 consider them when you make your decision.<br>
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35 <h3>Adverse mental conditions</h3>
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36 Olga is currently suffering from several adverse mental conditions
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37 that were not known to me when she arrived in May, 2002. It is well known
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38 that often immigrants suffer from a natural adjustment to a new country
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39 and there are even support groups established in the US specifically for
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40 women immigrating from Eastern Europe. Olga is from Eastern Europe (Ukraine).
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43 Also, Olga was previously in the US in 1995 and suffered from a failed
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44 marriage in 1995. She subsequently tried to adjust to American life but
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45 after some time she decided to return to the Ukraine instead of staying
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46 in the US and risk immigration problems with the INS. I viewed this previous
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47 experience with living in the US as favorable in that she seemed more adjusted
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48 than most other Eastern European women that I had met to live in America.
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49 However, I have since learned that this failed marriage and return to the
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50 Ukraine had profound effects on Olga. Due to financial and other reasons,
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51 Olga was not afforded the opportunity for adequate psychological<b> </b>counseling
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52 during her stay in the US nor when she returned to her home country. The
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53 Ukraine is not known as a leader in psychological therapy - only the very
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54 wealthy can afford such treatment.<br>
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56 Olga also suffers from various childhood abuses as described below.<br>
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58 I had hoped that Olga's past childhood experiences and her failed
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59 marriage and return to the Ukraine had somehow been overcome over the
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60 time she had spent in the Ukraine after returning from the US. <br>
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62 On October 3, 2002, Olga went to Kaiser Permenente regarding what she described
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63 as a "stomach problem", complaining of not being able to hold down food at
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64 times. She told me that she had simply a digestion problem. The doctor at
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65 Kaiser had prescribed Paxil to help her deal with this. I saw this prescription
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66 and had thought that Paxil might be related to a psychiatric problem but
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67 wasn't sure about that. <br>
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69 After the arrest Olga told me that the doctor at Kaiser had sent
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70 her to a psychiatrist, suspecting that the "stomach problem" may be an
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71 eating disorder best treated by a psychiatrist as well as covering any possible physical
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72 problems. This was not known to me at the time that she first went to Kaiser.<br>
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74 Later, Olga started attending a therapy class offered by Kaiser called
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75 IOP (Intensive OutPatient) therapy, which, from my reading of the course
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76 material, seems to be oriented toward people who may be close to committing
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77 suicide. Olga has, on more than one occasion, professed to me that she
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78 will "just kill herself". I was indeed concerned that she might make good
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79 on that promise and was glad that the Kaiser program might help her in this
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80 regard. She had just begun this treatment recently.<br>
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82 Olga often will write down English words that she does not yet understand
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83 and later look up the Russian equivalent so as to learn a new English word.
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84 Contained among her papers I found the word "anorexia". She probably learned
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85 that word from a Kaiser doctor. Olga often regurgitated her food. I do
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86 not know if she is anorexic or bulimic. But I do know that both afflictions
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87 signal mental problems.<br>
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89 <h4>Childhood Abuse</h4>
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90 It is well known that many former Soviet countries have high rates
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91 of alcoholism. Olga's father was no exception. He died when Olga was 10
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92 due mostly to alcohol related problems. Olga's father also was abusive to
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93 her mother. Olga has described to me times when her father went after her
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94 mother with what she later described to me was an ax (initially Olga did
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95 know know the English word for ax and so I didn't not initially understand
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96 the full extent of her father abusing her mother). She told me that often
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97 she and her sisters would huddle in a corner, terrified because her father
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98 was abusing her mother. I believe that this has instilled in Olga a deep
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99 seated mistrust and almost hatred of men in general.<br>
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101 Olga struggles between being a woman and wanting to love her man and
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102 hating her man if and when he reminds her of her father. I believe, and
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103 Olga has admitted to me, that when I have raised my voice to her in a normal
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104 and natural argument between husband and wife, she has seen that as me being
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105 her father and that that often brings up for her this childhood pain and
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106 anger that she has for her father's behavior toward her mother on the men
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107 in her life, including myself. We have gotten into arguments in our marriage,
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108 often attributable to the adjustment that many new immigrants face, and
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109 I have noticed her extreme reaction that, until I had realized the full
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110 extent of her childhood abuse, was puzzling to me. What has became apparent
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111 to me is that she seems to have a problem with managing her anger that I
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112 believe can be overcome.
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113 <h4>Sexual Abuse</h4>
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114 Olga has also experienced sexual abuse and ostracism from her
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115 peer group and neighbors at a very young age when growing up in the Ukraine.
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116 She left home at the early age of 14 to live with an older sister in another
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117 city. While living with her sister she was attacked by a group of young
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118 men and seriously sexually assaulted. She has lived for many years, only
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119 ever telling me of this incident. <br>
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121 Olga returned to her mother's house after this incident and then was
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122 again sexually abused and raped by a neighbor at around 16 years of age,
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123 causing further harm. She later left her mother's house again and started
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124 living on her own, working for as a radio technician traveling around
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127 Recently I persuaded her that it would be in her best interests to discuss
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128 these incidents of severe sexual abuse with her mental health doctors. This
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129 alone is a substantial mental issue to overcome.<br>
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131 <h4>Alcohol Abuse</h4>
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132 After Olga was sent to jail, I went though some of her belongings
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133 to find several receipts from local stores such as Rite Aid showing that
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134 Olga was purchasing bottles of wine at a rate of about 1 every 2 to 3 days.
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135 Olga would not get "fall down" drunk but it's clear that she was at least
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136 using alcohol a lot, possibly in an attempt to "self medicate" herself and
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137 to escape from all of her mental stress. Olga is a very clean and thorough
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138 person in her personal hygiene. As such I was often unaware that she was
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139 drunk as I suspect she often used mouthwash and other means to cover up the
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140 fact that she was drinking. I had asked her if she was drunk when she was
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141 arrested for the alleged theft at Macy's. She said she was. I dropped her
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142 off at Macy's at approximately 9:30 in the morning.<br>
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144 I have spoken to her doctors and they are aware of her alcohol problems.<br>
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146 <h3>Interest of Justice</h3>
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147 If deported I am certain that this will leave Olga even much more
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148 depressed, facing a very hard life in the Ukraine. Her family will hardly
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149 support her in this - they expressed their dislike the first time she
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150 returned. She will be facing the loss of her beloved husband, a person
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151 who, even though he has learned of all of her flaws still wants her in
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152 his life. Even though she has caused me some pain and hurt, I can see that
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153 inside she is a good person just needing help to become the loving person
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154 that I have seen in her many times. To lose a loved one like that would
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155 be extremely hard for me, a US citizen with a good job and career, loving
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156 daughter, homeowner, two cars, etc. Imagine what that would be like for
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157 her, who does not have any of these things, who is faced with jail time,
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158 INS detention, possible deportation to an impoverished country (Ukraine)
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159 with high unemployment, no prospect of a good life and a family that most
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160 likely again ostracize her. Olga has professed to thoughts of suicide and
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161 I fear if deported she may indeed kill herself.<br>
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163 If she is deported I will suffer deeply from the loss of my wife.
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164 Also, my daughter, Olga's stepdaughter, will also be deprived of a stepmother,
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165 something she wants dearly. Normally in criminal cases such as this the
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166 penalty is not expulsion of the defendant from the country and the subsequent
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167 break up of the family thus additionally punishing innocent people. Normally
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168 the accused is afforded the right to return to his or her life after paying
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169 the penalty. However, if deported, Olga will not get the right to return
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170 to her family and may commit suicide.<br>
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172 I hope you can see that Olga's behavior may have been driven by many mental
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173 factors that can be overcome. I propose a remedy that will allow me and
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174 my daughter to not be unduly punished. <br>
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177 Since my wife faces extreme punishment, banishment from the US and since my
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178 family and I face the loss of a loved one I would like for you to consider
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179 an alternate prosecution in my wife's case. I propose keeping this matter
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180 out of court and away from the legal system so that my wife will not be deported.
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181 Before you dismiss this proposal consider this: Cases are settled out of court
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182 every day. I am not looking to merely avoid any punishment for my wife. Both
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183 her and I agree what she did was wrong. Can we perhaps find another form
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184 of punishment that will not trigger deportation? <br>
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186 It is my understanding that all of the stolen items were recovered. I realize
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187 and understand that Macy's has incurred several expenses related to this
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188 incident and we intend to compensate fully for that. Perhaps an out of court
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189 settlement could involve other monetary remedies that we could pay directly
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190 to Macy's to avoid the legal system. <br>
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192 Maybe some other form of restitution can be ordered. Perhaps the charges
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193 could be lowered to a crime that does not carry with it the substantial penalty
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194 of deportation and Olga can be allowed to serve a probationary period along
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195 with a strict set of probationary requirements to insure that Olga is indeed
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196 getting the proper counseling and help that she needs. In this way the state
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197 is involved in her treatment, I am involved in her treatment and she is compelled
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198 to comply with the terms of probation. If, after the time proscribed by the
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199 order of probation, Olga has made progress, has not committed any violations
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200 of law, has maintained a consistent attendance in programs to address her psychological
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201 problems, alcohol problems and anger problems, has maintained a trackable
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202 record of progress as per regular reporting to her probationary officer
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203 then the charges can be dismissed. If not then Olga would still face the
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204 full punishment of her crimes.<br>
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206 We do want to make good on the harm my wife have caused Macy's - we just
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207 desperately want to remain man and wife and we want Olga to receive the kind
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208 of medical attention she needs to become a productive member of society and
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209 avoid the breaking up of my family. <br>
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211 Will you please hear my plea and consider it?<br>
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212 <h3>Acknowledgment<br>
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214 Thank you for taking the time to hear my concerns and to take them
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215 under consideration. I'm sure that my letter has made you more aware of
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216 the circumstances involved in this case, my desire to continue my relationship
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217 with my wife, my desire to help her become the good person that I know she
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218 is, and our desire for her to have a real chance at adjusting to life in
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219 America and addressing her psychological challenges in an environment that
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220 values individuals struggling with personal problems (unlike countries such
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221 as the Ukraine). I hope that you can see there is more to this case than
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222 one could see at first glance. Olga faces extreme consequences with respect
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223 to deportation not normally faced by other people accused of such crimes,
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224 that if deported, other, innocent people, my daughter and myself, stand
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225 to suffer severely. Olga is just an immigrant in need of real help - not
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226 banishment from the US.<br>
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230 <div align="left">Sincerely<br>
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