Woodburn Independent Online

Wounds reopened

The Puente family recently discovered that a chief naval officer was using the identity of their deceased son

• By: Jason Horton  
• Published: 7/18/2010 12:30:49 PM

Photo By: Jason HortonStolen identity
Rick Puente kneels next to the grave of his brother, Arturo at Belle Passi Cemetery. Arturo died at age 11 on April 23, 1980 but his identity was stolen and used by a person serving in the U.S. Navy. Rick is fighting for the justice system to prosecute the man who used his brother’s identity, Guillermo Salinas Guzman.

WOODBURN — It’s all in a name. Just ask Rick Puente. Thirty years after his older brother, Arturo, died from a severe asthma attack, his family is going through it all over again.
 
Arturo Puente died April 23, 1980. He was 11 years old and a drummer in a local Woodburn church and, according to Rick, was a great brother.
 
However, 30 years later, the Puente family is reliving his death after State Department officials found his identity had been stolen and used by a high-ranking Navy official for the past 22 years.
 
In late December 2009, Guillermo Salinas Guzman was arrested for making false statements when he applied for a diplomatic passport in 2006. At the time, Guzman while working at the U.S. Embassy in Panama, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia.
 
He was charged in federal court as “John Doe, AKA Arturo Puente.”
 
At the time of his arrest, Guzman said he was “confused” by the situation even after admitting he knew Arturo Puente wasn’t his real name.
 
“My family shouldn’t have to go through this again,” Rick said.
 
“We buried my brother and had to get over his death and now all of those old memories are coming back.”

 
A different time
 
It started in 1979 when Carolina Puente had her purse stolen out of the front seat of the family station wagon. She kept all of her children’s documents together in an envelope and had put them in her purse on that particular evening.
 
“She had birth certificates, social security cards and all that information because she was going to sign us up for baseball, and she put her purse under the front seat of the car, which was not uncommon to do in 1979,” Rick said.
 
“You didn’t even lock your front door back then.”
 
Carolina found out later, when the family was at the grocery store, that her purse was stolen. Identity theft wasn’t something people thought much of back then, so the family moved on.
 
“It’s a whole new ballgame now,” Rick said. “Now, you don’t do that. You don’t leave those documents in your car.”

 
Family learns State Department won’t pursue charges
 
The family hadn’t given those stolen documents another thought — until late last year when they received a call from State Department agents.
 
“They called me because we’ve worked on cases together and they recognized my last name and Woodburn,” said Rick, who works  as a detective for the Woodburn Police Department.
 
He said they started asking him questions about his family and told him that they had found Guzman using Arturo’s name.
 
“They were investigating why the name had the same information of a dead child in Oregon,” Rick said.
 
Investigators found that Guzman’s father had used the stolen documents and given his son Arturo’s identity. Rick said the investigators don’t know whether the father stole the documents himself or whether he bought them off the street.
 
Rick wanted justice. But it appeared the State Department wasn’t going to do anything.
“As I was told, nothing is going to happen to (Guzman),” he said.
 
“(Guzman) was basically offered to retire now (rather than face prosecution).”
 
Rick was told by the agents that Guzman was brought into the U.S.  illegally at the age of 6 and his father used Arturo’s information.
 
“Guzman knew that he was using my brother’s identity and the U.S. Attorney stated he knew that, but they aren’t going to pursue the matter.”

 
Pressure on U.S. Attorney pushes investigation
 
So Rick took his fight to the local and statewide media to put pressure on the U.S. Attorney’s office and the State Department to do something.
 
“My biggest frustration is why this guy can get away with it for 22 years and not have any consequences — that’s why my parents are frustrated,” he said. “We laid my brother to rest 30 years ago, and for this to come up 30 years later has really impacted our family emotionally, having to relive a lot of this.
 
“I’ve had to see my mom shed some tears to think about this and if you make my mom cry, I have to take action. You don’t hurt my family. I need to do something about it because it’s unfair and unjust.”
 
Rick said the State Department would turn it over to the Department of Homeland Security because it was a breach of national security.
 
“(Guzman) had a high level of clearance, so the agents are hoping Homeland Security will do something about it,” Rick said.
 
The pressure seems to be working. Rick received a call from an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida who said he was going to take a deeper look into the investigation and get to the bottom of it.
 
“He said he would find out why it isn’t being pursued and he would get back to me,” Rick said. “It seems they are getting some calls from different media outlets on why it isn’t being pursued.”
 
The issue is personal, Rick said.
 
His sister Mina’s identity was  also stolen and so was another sibling’s. In his family, names are sacred and have special meaning.
 
“I took it personally. We were really tight and I lost two brothers within two years of each other. My brother Gilbert was killed in an auto accident two years later,” Rick said.
 
“I named my first son after Arturo. I saw what my brother meant to people, as a student, a member of our church — in every aspect he was well-liked, slow to anger — all the characteristics you wanted to be.
 
“When my son was born, as a father, you start to think what you want for your son, and I want those characteristics for my son, to be like that, have those attributes.”
 
Rick said what his family really wants is for justice to be served and for his brother’s memories to be allowed to rest in peace.
 
“Back in 1980, when he died, it was hard for our family, and for my family, this isn’t right. Yes, (Salinas Guzman) did serve our country, but he did it illegally and, to me, that’s a crime and he did it knowingly. Is it not being pursued very hard because he had a good military record? That’s not a good enough reason to my family.
 
“My mom is sad and, as the oldest living son, that gets me. I was pissed when I found out and I was pissed even more when they told me they weren’t going to do anything about it. I feel a little more relaxed now that the U.S. Attorney has called me and they are going to get to the bottom of this.”

 
Strength in God
 
Death has been a big part of the Puente family. Three other children have died and Rick said the strength of the family lies in his father, Benito, who has shown what true faith is all about.
 
“What has gotten us through it? Our faith in God,” Rick said. “My dad is blind and he may not have been able to show us a lot of stuff, but he has brought us through life, through crisis, tragedy, everything. … He has brought us through it all. My dad is solid and he has incredible faith.
 
“To this day. I owe a lot to my dad.”

  (log in to rate)