[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 121 (Tuesday, July 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          CRIME IS ON THE RISE

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                        HON. WILLIAM J. MARTINI

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 25, 1995
  Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the House of 
Representatives with regard to a tragedy that has become far too common 
in this day and age. I am referring to the acts of senseless violence 
committed against our children that tear at the fabric of our society.
  On a street in Paterson, NJ, a town in my congressional district, a 
young woman's dream to become a Wall Street entrepreneur or a scholar 
was shattered on Friday. She was attacked by unknown assailants who had 
approached her car and demanded money. When the young woman told her 
attackers that she had no money one of the men fired shots through the 
driver's side window. She was struck by the barrage of bullets; her 
best friend and the community were left in tears, by her side.
  Cindy Del Carmen Villalba was 20 years old. She died 5 days short of 
her 21st birthday. Cindy was the valedictorian of her high school 
class, the first member of her family to attend college, and an honor 
student at Rutgers University in New Jersey where she studied business 
communications and Spanish. Cindy had just returned from a foreign 
study program where she taught, as well as learned from, schoolchildren 
in Costa Rica. She was 1 of 12 students chosen from Rutgers University 
to participate in the 6 week service, study program. In addition to her 
scholarly activities, she also was active in a dance troupe whose work 
explored Colombian themes and folklore, and she taught catechism at St. 
John's Cathedral.
  Crime in our country is on the rise and the insecurity it breeds will 
erode the American peoples faith in the land of opportunity. It is with 
this passing that we as the Congress, as a Nation, and as a people need 
to summon the strength to dedicate ourselves to ending crime. Such an 
action will keep the memory of this young woman alive.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my condolences to the family 
and friends of Cindy Del Carmen Villalba. It is a shame when a woman 
with such a bright future is taken from this world in such a senseless 
manner. She will be missed by everyone whose heart she touched and 
whose life she brightened.


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