Hispanic mayor uses his position to help Latino criminals

One evening in northern Massachusetts, Marco Tejeda knocked on the front door of a single-family home. When the homeowner answered, Tejeda hit the man over the head with a baseball bat, then struck him repeatedly as he lay on the floor. Tejeda seized some cash and some prescription medication before fleeing. Tejeda was a legal immigrant - his father works for the Dominican consulate. Fortunately, the police arrested Marco Tejeda quickly, and the judge ordered him held without bail. Tejeda submitted to the court a character reference from William Lantigua, Mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and the most influential Hispanic politician in the state. The letter, written on mayoral stationary, was addressed “To whom it may concern” and described Marco Tejeda as “a hardworking individual with a strong set of values and high ethical standards.” This was not the first character reference that Mayor Lantigua had written for a criminal constituent. Lantigua also vouched for the character of a man charged with armed robbery, and another man charged with assaulting and robbing his own mother. Moreover, these character references were written immediately after the men were arrested for their crimes.