[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 22, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H4712-H4713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TIME IS UP FOR MEXICO TO RETURN ACCUSED KILLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to update the House 
on a situation of grave concern to me and to the constituents in my 
district.
  It has been 19 months since 13-year-old Stevie Bellush came home from 
school to find her mother's body on the kitchen floor.
  Sheila Bellush, a young, vibrant 35-year-old and mother of six, had 
been shot in the face and her throat had been slashed. Her 2-year-old 
quadruplets were crawling in her blood next to her body. At that 
moment, it would have seemed inconceivable that the drama had only 
begun as the case turned into a national nightmare for our Sarasota 
community.
  An overwhelming trail of evidence immediately led to Jose Luis Del 
Toro, who allegedly killed Sheila in a murder-for-hire scheme. Del Toro 
fled to Mexico, where he was arrested on November 20, 1997, 19 months 
ago, and he remains in Mexican prison.
  Del Toro is a U.S. citizen born and raised in Texas. His parents are 
U.S. citizens. Mr. Del Toro is accused of driving from San Antonio, 
Texas, to Sarasota, Florida, to commit a murder, driving back to San 
Antonio, and then crossing the Mexican border to escape justice in this 
country. He had entered Mexico illegally and he was scheduled for 
deportation 2 days after his arrest in November of 1997. At the last 
hour, as border patrol agents in Texas were awaiting Del Toro's arrival 
at the border to take him into custody, Sarasota State attorney, Earl 
Moreland, received a phone call from officials at the Department of 
Justice who informed him that Del Toro's deportation had been canceled 
and that the United States will have to file a formal extradition 
request.

                              {time}  1815

  No reason was given for this change. Then the Department of Justice 
delivered a startling and dismal message. The State Attorney's office 
would have to waive the death penalty in order to obtain Del Toro's 
return. It was a difficult decision, but Mexican demands were agreed to 
in the hope that Del Toro would at least return to Florida to serve a 
life sentence. Nineteen months later, he has still not returned.
  Tomorrow morning, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) will hold a 
hearing on this case in the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug 
Policy and Human Resources of the Committee on Government Reform. This 
hearing is another important step in keeping the pressure on Mexico to 
return fugitives like Del Toro to the United States. Pressure needs to 
be applied not only to Mexico but to the administration as well to 
renegotiate our extradition treaty with Mexico to prevent other U.S. 
fugitives from escaping justice by merely walking across the border. 
Mexico should not be a haven for murderers. This is a case where a U.S. 
citizen was murdered, the accused is a U.S. citizen, Mexico has nothing 
to do with the case, and Del Toro should be promptly returned to this 
country so justice can be served. I greatly appreciate the gentleman 
from Florida having this hearing tomorrow.

[[Page H4713]]

  As the old saying goes, justice delayed is justice denied, and I will 
not stand by quietly as justice is denied to my congressional district 
by a foreign entity who should have no interest in this case. Today's 
editorial page in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reads, ``Time's Up for 
Mexico.'' It begins, ``The reasons for Mexico to extradite murder 
suspect Jose Luis Del Toro Jr. will be the same tomorrow as they were a 
year ago. The only difference is that Mexico can no longer cite the 
need for time as its inexcusable refusal to send Del Toro to trial in 
the United States.'' I could not agree more. I am here today on the 
floor of the House to say, ``Mexico, your time is up. Send back Del 
Toro.''

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