Harvard couple who paid housekeeper $4 a week for more than 13 YEARS are spared jail

[firsttimer]

Martha Smalanskas, 48, and Richard Smalanskas, 49, from Harvard, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to violating the Fair Labor Standards Act at a federal court hearing in Boston on Wednesday
They originally met their victim in Bolivia when she was 16 and hired for as a nanny for their three children
Three years later they brought her to the U.S. illegally, claiming her to be a relative
For 13 years and four months she worked as their housekeeper and nanny, with the prosecution saying she made $2500 total

The family will pay her $150,000 restitution and serve 12 months probation, escaping prison time for a charge of harboring an illegal immigrant, which was subsequently dropped


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537887/Married-couple-smuggled-immigrant-housekeeper-U-S-paid-4-week-13-YEARS-receive-12-months-probation.html#ixzz2qFEIBMuI
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[kelliekat44]

1. No words! nt

[Ed Suspicious]

2. Shameful. How can the look themselves in the mirror?

[El_Johns]

3. Harboring an illegal immigrant? How about slavery?

If she were just paid minimum for 8 hours only they'd own her $211,120. Doubt she only worked 8 hour days.

[firsttimer]

6. correct

Once in the country, they took away her travel documents and forced her to work from 6am to 8pm, six days a week.

[NoOneMan]

4. Two Americas

[El_Johns]

5. Rick Smalanskas from Harvard Massachusetts is a sales and marketing executive and slaver.

A few things about Rick Smalanskas

Richard, who goes by Rick Smalanskas from Harvard Massachusetts is a sales and marketing executive and business development professional with consistent over quota performance and top sales rankings via account penetration analyses. Rick Smalanskas has initiated large, multi year contracts with marquee type companies like Dow Corning, US Steel and BMW. A high performance revenue generator and strategist with a proven sales approach, he is a SalesForce.com expert who elicits motivation, boosts client confidence, devises channel strategies and influences under performing sales teams. A diverse expertise in emergency notification, BPO, business continuity and cloud based solutions, Rick is Fluent in Spanish and open to travel.

On a more personal note, Rick is the father of three great kids, him and his wife Martha are very involved in their community of Harvard Massachusetts in a variety of volunteer and sporting activities. \

http://richardsmalanskas.com/


works for varolii, voted one of WA state's "best corporations to work for"

Varolii Corporation offers two-way, multi-channel emergency communications more than 175 countries. Founded in 1999 and proven during some of the world’s most notable disasters, only Varolii has the experience, best practices, and professional services expertise to offer the utmost value to your business. Today, more than 350 organizations trust Varolii to send 3.5 million messages every business day. Current U.S. customers include 6 of the ten largest banks and financial services companies, the 5 largest wireless carriers, 25 utility companies, 5 of the top ten airlines, 4 of the top ten pharmacy benefits management companies and retail pharmacies, and over 25 government departments and agencies. For more information, visit www.varolii.com/bc.

Contact: Rick Smalanskas
Eastern Regional Account Executive
Varolii Corporation
781-482-2172
100 Corsby Drive - Suite 101,
Bedford MA 01730

[Cha]

14. Ooops.. Slaver added to his

resume. How could they ever think that was all right?

[frazzled]

17. "him and his wife"?

I hate to be the grammar police, but it speaks volumes about this type. I guess it helps to be an uneducated good ol' boy if you want to be a "high performance revenue generator" for "marquee type companies" (while retaining a slave).

[TroglodyteScholar]

25. This asshole is all buzzwords

Bet he never made an honest dollar in his pathetic life

[WhiteTara]

7. How does this stack up to the Indian diplomat and her

maid?

[davidpdx]

15. I think it was $3 something an hour

But you'll find very few on DU that think she should also face charges. Apparently because she is a foreign diplomat that excuses her.

[redqueen]

23. She definitely should, and the charges against her still stand. nt

[davidpdx]

28. I know, but India has thrown enough of a snitfit that they will quietly get dropped

I hope I'm wrong. There have been quite a few people here on DU that have said she shouldn't have been charged and the whole thing is the fault of the big bad corrupt United States and have repeated the lies she has told about being cavity searched. How these people can hate their own country is just beside me.

[n2doc]

35. Since DU is anonymous, one never knows what country they are from n/t

[Recursion]

32. Oh, India is going to be howling about this when it trickles into the media here

"Oh, so rich white people just get a warning", etc.

Sigh.

[WhiteTara]

34. My sentiment.

I'm tired of two tiered justice.

[Tanuki]

8. Gee, who would ever think this guy's Facebook Favorites would include

Rick Santorum, Scott Brown, and something called Catholics Restoring Culture?
https://www.facebook.com/rsmalanskas

[firsttimer]

9. there's a shocker

[El_Johns]

13. The slave traders of old were very religious too.

[Cha]

16. O-Kay.. then. That answers my

question up thread on how this guy could ever think this was all right.

[fishwax]

10. wow -- they got off light

shouldn't be surprising, though

[A Little Weird]

11. Shameful

It should at least be $150,000 for each of the 12 years she was forced to work for them.

[Cha]

12. $4 fooking $$$$ a

Week! Could they spare it!?!

Well at least this woman has some money now.. Geeze!

"The victim was removed from the home for unknown reasons in May 2011"

This is interesting.. I was wondering how the authorities found out about all of this?! And, the couple was brought to some justice.

thanks firsttimer

[jsr]

18. Lots of money, zero soul or conscience.

[JI7]

19. 150K only ? that's like 10k a month

they should pay 150k x 13 at the least .

[cstanleytech]

20. Agreed, that or she should be offered full citizenship at the very least if she doesnt have it

so that she can us the money to hopefully start a new life here.

[Meandyou]

21. Disgusting!

How can they treat another human being like that?

[Veilex]

22. so let me get this straight...

They took 13 years of her life and are now required to pay ONLY $5.55 (less than minimum wage equivalent) for restitution? That doesn't even come close to the wages she SHOULD have been paid for being a housekeeper. Even the lowest paid 10% make nearly $8/hr(1)... this is a travesty.

She should have received $213616 for lost wages and then another $213616 for damages.


1. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes372012.htm

[JimDandy]

30. Perhaps the judge took into account the cost of her room and board

In any case, she should have been awarded a large amount for punitive damages.

[Whiskeytide]

36. I have not yet been able to read the article...

... But I'm thinking this is ONLY the criminal case. I suspect there will be a civil action against these idiots as well, and maybe that will hit them where it hurts.

[TroglodyteScholar]

24. It would be great if their home address was public info available via whitepages.com

So we could all mail them sacks of poop....

Say...I wonder....

[firsttimer]

26. ha

[redqueen]

27. They need to go to prison for human trafficking and slavery. nt

[MADem]

29. That's not enough.

Thirteen years? I think they'd need to at least double that amount, maybe even triple it.

Monsters! They enslaved that woman.

The headline reads like they're from the university, but they're from the town...big difference!

[Recursion]

31. Damn. That's visa fraud and TIP in spades.

They should go to jail.

[Recursion]

33. Also, just wanted to point out, Harvard, MA, is not related to Harvard University

It's a bedroom community suburb of Boston off to the northwest.