$660,000 Loan To Kingston Paid Off Ahead Of Schedule

Thursday, December 28, 1995 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2A 





Boyfriend's confession frees woman &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As an illegal alien, the woman might have to leave the countryFrom Times
Leader Wire Services &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A New York City woman charged with the nation's biggest crack cocaine
seizure was cleared and released from prison after her boyfriend said he
planted the drug in her bag. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Raquel Rosario, who came to the country from the Dominican Republic to
find a heart doctor for her ailing son, might have to leave the country soon
because she is an illegal alien. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rosario, 25, was freed from Monroe County Prison in Stroudsburg, Pa., on
Christmas Day, three days after a Scranton federal judge dismissed an
indictment charging her with conspiring to distribute more than 11 pounds of
crack cocaine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rosario was arrested Oct. 6 with her boyfriend, Radhames Taveras, and
Domingo Sanchez on a Greyhound bus headed for Cleveland on Interstate 80 in
Monroe County. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Authorities found about 18 pounds of crack in clear plastic freezer bags in
Sanchez's luggage and 9 pounds in Rosario's. The Drug Enforcement
Administration said the 27-pound seizure was the largest ever in the United
States. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Taveras, 26, and Sanchez, 30, both of New York City, pleaded guilty Dec. 14
and received respective prison sentences of 10 and five years in prison. The
men later told authorities that Rosario didn't know the crack was in her bag
at the time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Things were not as they appeared initially," said Assistant U.S. Attorney
Bill Houser, who asked Judge Edwin Kosik to dismiss the charges. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rosario's attorney, Gifford R. Cappellini, said Rosario thought she was
going with her boyfriend on a vacation in Pennsylvania. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "She was used and misled by the boyfriend, who was married," Cappellini
said. "She just got caught up in the idea of going on a trip." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rosario had faced a minimum prison term of 19 years to life, Cappellini
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But she may face deportation after a March 1 hearing in Philadelphia
because of her illegal alien status. Authorities who arrested her discovered
she had never been processed for citizenship, although she entered the country
2 years ago. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rosario came to the United States to seek treatment for her son, who is
under 6 years old, for a heart condition, Cappellini said. She lives in New
York City with her mother, who washes clothes, and has a second child. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Boyfriend's Confession Frees Woman As An Illegal Alien, The Woman Might Have To Leave The Country.