Attack On Mexican Laborer Being Investigated As Hate Crime

Mario Vera

A Mexican day laborer is hospitalized with brain damage after being attacked somewhere in Williamsburg or Bushwick by three black men shouting "wetback." Mario Vera was riding his bike back home to Bushwick with groceries from a lower Manhattan food pantry when the young men hit him in the back of his head "with something hard" while yelling anti-immigrant slurs. The assault happened on September 23rd, but wasn't reported until last Friday, because Vera is an undocumented immigrant afraid to go to the police. (NYPD policy prohibits officers from sharing law-abiding immigrants' status with the Feds, but it has been known to happen.)

Vera's memory of the attack is fuzzy, but he recalls the youths yelling, "Mojado! Hey, wetback!" and beating him somewhere between the bridge and Bushwick. He stumbled home, and two days later, his wife Ana Maria Gallardo took him to Woodhull Hospital, where he was given a CAT scan that showed "nothing" and received Tylenol, WCBS reports. But his condition worsened dramatically, and he's now in intensive care at Beth Israel, suffering from blood clots on the brain. He also has seizures.

Vera's wife Ana Maria tells Eyewitness News, "They really beat him up without cause...and I, as his wife, felt helpless, when he came home. My husband's condition is bad...They say he could come out of it quickly or it could take years." She is also worried about how she will "make ends meet" and support their teenage daughter, but at least the Mexican Consul-General has offered to help in some way.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told NY1 last night, "The event happened on September 23rd. His wife comes to the police on October 9th. Since that time, we've been aggressively investigating this incident." Police are offering a $12,000 reward, and anyone with information about the case is being asked to contact Crime Stoppers. It's believed that this attack occurred not far from another hate crime in December, in which an Ecuadorian man was killed.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on October 16, 2009 9:02 AM

Comments [rss]

inoyourider

Wait a minute, black people can't be racist!

tsol

Actually, our elected officials should serve the people who they they represent: voters, i.e. CITIZENS.

hubcap

inalienable rights

Spirit of 76

Citizens like the cretins who beat this guy up? Or the two douchebags who went after Jack Price? How about the cop who flashed his piece on the LIRR? Or the other cop who crashed into that pregnant woman's car? I'd rather have an illegal around who just does his job and pays taxes rather than any of these "citizen voters" anyday.

You sound like you'd be a great politician, caring about nothing but the almighty vote.

dilligaf

I am sorry that a this guy got beat. Having to wait to got to the cops out of fear of being deported is just another reason why you should not be in this country illegally. And to not even speak the language? C'mon! I am also angry at the punks who beat this guy three on one(cowards).

The punks should be in jail

And the couple shipped back to their native land

efg72

Um...this is their native land. Sure we have national borders, but when you're talking land, they were here before "Americans."

Steven

It's sorry he got beat up, but the guy and his wife is in America illegally. Who payed for the hospital visit? He and many others are taking away jobs from other people.

zackly76

I can't wait for #10 (steven) to get his ass beaten down someday for speeding and be perfectly fine with it because, hey, he was doing something illegal.

brilliant little piece of logic he's got going on.

T

If it wasn't for this immigrant Steven would still have his job as a grammar teacher.

Steven

All illegals do is milk the system. The guy and his wife should go back to Mexico. If you want to come to America come here LEGALLY.

Marisol

Not another hate crime against immigrant communities! As the immigration debate begins to stir, hate crimes tend to increase particularly in working class communities as communities are pitted against each other for scarce jobs. Unfortunately this is deeper than local economic scarcity, but rather a globalized workforce that is seeking refuge.

It doesnt help to have hate spewed on FOX news and surprisingly in CNN's Lou Dobbs. The amount of scapegoating is detestable.

As a diverse community in NYC, our elected officials should make public statements condemning these crimes. Immigrants contribute plenty to this community and

My prayers to the Vera family.

We cant stop the hate! Visit http://www.bastadobbs.com/

sjack

Hm, did my comment get deleted? At least when Jen gets called out on style or grammar mistakes she won't delete the offending post.

TooTallJeff

In their defense, the alleged attackers didn't deliver the beat down themselves. They went to Home Depot and picked up some day-laborers to kick this guys ass.