Milyen Kanadában élni? Ha jobb, mint Magyarországon, jövök!
- Téma inditó pestieszti
- Kezdés dátuma
I. fázis
Sziasztok!
Én egy hónapja voltam egy üzleti úton Bostonban (egy USA cég hazai leányvállalatánál dolgozom kereskedelmi igazgatóként, fejtágításra mentem). Valami nagyon szép időt fogtunk ki, úgyhogy amikor hazatelefonáltam, akkor valószínűleg a dugómentes belváros, a mosolygós emberek, a hihetetlen életszínvonal különbség és a mellettem elhúzó családi terepjáróban vigyorgó két kölök plusz az utánfutón található motorok miatt lelkendezve meséltem a páromnak az élményeimről, és a végén azt mondtam, hogy itt akarok élni. Mire ő azt felelte, hogy ő benne van. Amitől kicsit lezsibbadtam, de azóta érdeklődünk, olvasgatom a fórumokat, stb. Felmerült Kanada is...
Most éppen abban a fázisban vagyok, hogy rendben, van két diplomám, hazai körülmények között egész jó fizetésem (amiből ettől függetlenül nem jövünk ki hónap végére a lakáshitel, rezsiköltségek, illetve a két gyermeke költségei miatt úgy, hogy nem járunk el szórakozni, csak ingyenes partneri eseményekre...), szakmai múltam, szóval tulajdonképpen van egy középszintű perspektívám kis hazánkban - amibe viszont nem szeretnék beledögleni. A végzettségem, szakmai múltam, tudásom itthon hiába értékes, gyakorlatilag nem látom esélyét annak, hogy kint ilyesmikre alapozva tudnék megélni. Ugyanakkor tipikusan "elméleti" ember vagyok, nem feltétlenül kétkezi. Imádok dolgozni, de nem értek amolyan igazi "szakmához". Szóval nem tudom, milyen lehetőség várna ránk odakint, most túrom az állásportálokat mindenfelé, de azt hiszem, nem kerülhetem el, hogy ismét megtanuljak itthon valamit, ami külföldön biztos alapot nyújtana.
Vagy rosszul okoskodom? Mik a tapasztalatok, jól tippelem az esélyeket az újrakezdésre?
Üdv:
elmelo
Sziasztok!
Én egy hónapja voltam egy üzleti úton Bostonban (egy USA cég hazai leányvállalatánál dolgozom kereskedelmi igazgatóként, fejtágításra mentem). Valami nagyon szép időt fogtunk ki, úgyhogy amikor hazatelefonáltam, akkor valószínűleg a dugómentes belváros, a mosolygós emberek, a hihetetlen életszínvonal különbség és a mellettem elhúzó családi terepjáróban vigyorgó két kölök plusz az utánfutón található motorok miatt lelkendezve meséltem a páromnak az élményeimről, és a végén azt mondtam, hogy itt akarok élni. Mire ő azt felelte, hogy ő benne van. Amitől kicsit lezsibbadtam, de azóta érdeklődünk, olvasgatom a fórumokat, stb. Felmerült Kanada is...
Most éppen abban a fázisban vagyok, hogy rendben, van két diplomám, hazai körülmények között egész jó fizetésem (amiből ettől függetlenül nem jövünk ki hónap végére a lakáshitel, rezsiköltségek, illetve a két gyermeke költségei miatt úgy, hogy nem járunk el szórakozni, csak ingyenes partneri eseményekre...), szakmai múltam, szóval tulajdonképpen van egy középszintű perspektívám kis hazánkban - amibe viszont nem szeretnék beledögleni. A végzettségem, szakmai múltam, tudásom itthon hiába értékes, gyakorlatilag nem látom esélyét annak, hogy kint ilyesmikre alapozva tudnék megélni. Ugyanakkor tipikusan "elméleti" ember vagyok, nem feltétlenül kétkezi. Imádok dolgozni, de nem értek amolyan igazi "szakmához". Szóval nem tudom, milyen lehetőség várna ránk odakint, most túrom az állásportálokat mindenfelé, de azt hiszem, nem kerülhetem el, hogy ismét megtanuljak itthon valamit, ami külföldön biztos alapot nyújtana.
Vagy rosszul okoskodom? Mik a tapasztalatok, jól tippelem az esélyeket az újrakezdésre?
Üdv:
elmelo
de azt hiszem, nem kerülhetem el, hogy ismét megtanuljak itthon valamit, ami külföldön biztos alapot nyújtana.
Sztem jól gondolkodsz, én is pont ezt teszem, diplomával és nyelvvizsgákkal. A két kezemből valószínűleg jobban meg tudok élni odakint, mint ismeretlen diplomával. És reménykedem a legjobbakban.... Hogy a párom is belátja lassan, hogy itt nincs jövő, se nekünk, se a gyerekeinknek. Mert jól mondod, lehet "jó" állásban lenni ideig-óráig, de a "jó" állásokban napi 10-12 órát dolgozol, azért, hogy a nullán legyél (vagy mínuszban) hónap végén. És egyetlen állás sem örökéletű...
Sztem jól gondolkodsz, én is pont ezt teszem, diplomával és nyelvvizsgákkal. A két kezemből valószínűleg jobban meg tudok élni odakint, mint ismeretlen diplomával. És reménykedem a legjobbakban.... Hogy a párom is belátja lassan, hogy itt nincs jövő, se nekünk, se a gyerekeinknek. Mert jól mondod, lehet "jó" állásban lenni ideig-óráig, de a "jó" állásokban napi 10-12 órát dolgozol, azért, hogy a nullán legyél (vagy mínuszban) hónap végén. És egyetlen állás sem örökéletű...
Figyeljetek, az én férjem,aki "made in canada" ,reggel 7től dolgozik (tehát 6kor megy el) és este 7-9 között jön haza és kétkezű munkája van.Direkt rákérdeztem most,h ha vki megkérdezné,h jó-e a fizetése mit mondana.Erre azt válszolta,h hát azt mondaná,h oké.
Vagy,hogy egy ismerősömet említsem: a férje mérnök (hogy most milyen ágon,ne kérdezzétek),évi 60ezer dollár megvan,de az is elmegy reggel és este 8kor jön haza-kocsival.Ha ehhez hozzáveszitek,h aki kijön annak nem lesz rögtön kocsija,hanem marad a busz-akkor ez már nem este 8 lesz,hanem 9 is...
Semmivel sem másabb itt,mint otthon munka szempontjából-itt is gürizni kell.Annyi a különbség,h nagyjából az árak egy szinten vannak a fizukkal,de itt vannak McDonaldsban,Tim Hortonban dolgozók,akik a minimálbért kapják.Ők mondjuk általában szülőkkel élnek.
Vegyétek azt is figyelembe,h a fizuból albérletet kell fizetni,rezsit,kaját és mondjuk mindent meg kell venni,ami a lakásba kell. (A villáktól kezdve, az edényeken át,bútorokat,stb)
Vagy,hogy egy ismerősömet említsem: a férje mérnök (hogy most milyen ágon,ne kérdezzétek),évi 60ezer dollár megvan,de az is elmegy reggel és este 8kor jön haza-kocsival.Ha ehhez hozzáveszitek,h aki kijön annak nem lesz rögtön kocsija,hanem marad a busz-akkor ez már nem este 8 lesz,hanem 9 is...
Semmivel sem másabb itt,mint otthon munka szempontjából-itt is gürizni kell.Annyi a különbség,h nagyjából az árak egy szinten vannak a fizukkal,de itt vannak McDonaldsban,Tim Hortonban dolgozók,akik a minimálbért kapják.Ők mondjuk általában szülőkkel élnek.
Vegyétek azt is figyelembe,h a fizuból albérletet kell fizetni,rezsit,kaját és mondjuk mindent meg kell venni,ami a lakásba kell. (A villáktól kezdve, az edényeken át,bútorokat,stb)
De valamiért megis kijottetek es itt maradtok ha minden igaz.
Én a nyugalmat találtam meg elsősorban itt nem tudom ki hogyan elte meg az első kijovetelt de nekem ez volt a feltűnő.
Aztán az hogy gulizni kell sokat hat igen bár odaát is sokat dolgozik az ember csak nem becsülik meg ez a baj.
Udv
Én a nyugalmat találtam meg elsősorban itt nem tudom ki hogyan elte meg az első kijovetelt de nekem ez volt a feltűnő.
Aztán az hogy gulizni kell sokat hat igen bár odaát is sokat dolgozik az ember csak nem becsülik meg ez a baj.
Udv
M
majaskrem
Vendég
Part 2: Hamilton's human trafficking connection
HOUSE
Ferenc Domotor Sr., the alleged leader of the Gypsy trafficking ring, is under house arrest in his family’s $715,000 home on Cloverleaf Drive, Ancaster.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> var PhotoPlayers = PhotoPlayers || {}; PhotoPlayers["StarterPhotoPlayer"] = new PhotoPlayerObj("ctl00_ctl00_Content_CPH_Main_ctl02_TrueTemplate0_ctl04_Template0_ctl05_Template0_ctl00_TrueTemplate0_ctl00_FalseTemplate0_StarterPhotoPlayer__PhotoWrapper", 1,0,[ { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/4c/14/2039b37244d7bde4f293c232f35a.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HOUSE","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/4a/26/f036d7d1429297460de1b03687f2.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor Sr., the alleged leader of the Gypsy trafficking ring, is under house arrest in his family’s $715,000 home on Cloverleaf Drive, Ancaster."} } , { "Display":{"display":"The Hamilton Spectator
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/c9/2e/8e4010d04c348d89a758ebcf29b4.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/02/80/897cf0a74275b91c68f5fcfd869c.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor Sr. leaving his Ancaster house."} } , { "Display":{"display":"Cathie Coward/The...
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/96/ed/578ea5bb456fabb7c3df90f1e55e.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HUMAN TRAFFICKING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/01/14/0ae82e77461fb98b169562d1ed7b.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Janos Acs is from Hungary and was promised opportunity in Canada by an individual who arranged for him to come here . What he got was work for no pay while living in prison-like quarters. The people responsible for his story (and many others) are now facing charges of human trafficking."} } , { "Display":{"display":"Cathie Coward/The...
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/88/f1/d9b455fd49819ba13dcbc85e1d21.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HUMAN TRAFFICKING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/24/3e/2b9a8b754068a83a3ded295a5d8c.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Janos Acs is from Hungary and was promised opportunity in Canada by an individual who arranged for him to come here . What he got was work for no pay while living in prison-like quarters. The people responsible for his story (and many others) are now facing charges of human trafficking."} } , { "Display":{"display":"Gary Yokoyama/The...
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/67/84/b3c0f4d947629d991e45a61db43f.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HUMAN TRAFFICKING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/36/4b/88bd343346189040009115373aa7.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor (white shirt) and Ferenc Karadi leave Sopinka Court House."} } , { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/31/d5/4fde74d948f281cdbbc9c03052a5.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"Gypsy hang out 1","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/7c/29/c911eee442778be0bafb88356a67.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":""} } , { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/51/63/918bfde245a7a6f77f60e08f9ce4.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"GYPSY KING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/93/e8/09285a784760b3b2b87d7aa013e4.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Photos from Papa, Hungary"} } , { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/5a/04/b71d12284190a4373e11769baa19.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"PAPA HUNGARY","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/49/d5/b786baa8447eb064e7bbe8475094.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"The main shopping street in Papa."} } ]); </script>
Related Stories
The gypsy kings: Part 1 of 2 We’re sitting in the cramped office of the local Gypsy council when a burly man walks through the door.
Sidebar
[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]ABOUT THE AUTHORS:[/FONT]
For Acs, a 58-year-old unemployed casual labourer in the small Hungarian village of Bakonybel, it was an offer too tempting to resist, even though he’d never been on an airplane or outside of Hungary, for that matter, even though the border with Slovakia is just 50 kilometres away.
His older brother, Antal, knew better, though. Antal told him he would be crazy to fall for such a story.
“My brother knew me well and he told me not to come here and don’t trust this other man,” Acs said.
But Acs waved off his brother’s concerns. “There is a better life in Canada,” he told Antal.
[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]VIEW IT: PAPA HUNGARY PHOTO ZONE [/FONT]
There had to be a better life than collecting welfare or taking the occasional odd job chopping wood in the thick forests around Bakonybel, a 1,000-year-old village near the small city of Papa.
So he boarded the plane, ignoring his own growing sense something was wrong with this offer that seemed too good to be true.
“I was stupid,” Acs says quietly, staring down at his rough labourer’s hands. “I was stupid and I was believing what this guy said.
“My brother knew that in the event this wasn’t a successful trip, I was going to be very bitter and depressed,” added Acs.
“And I am.”
Now Acs spends his days at a men’s shelter in the Hamilton area, idle and alone and with only a couple of words of English to rely upon.
Acs is one of 19 people, all men except one, who have stepped forward claiming they were victims of an alleged human trafficking operation run by three Hungarian families now based in Hamilton.
The families running the operation and some of the victims are believed to be of Roma descent, often referred to as Gypsies, or czigany in Hungarian. All the victims, however, claimed refugee status on the basis of being Roma, allegedly on the instructions of their captors.
A dozen people are now facing more than 60 charges stemming from an ongoing year-long investigation conducted jointly by the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency.
The alleged leader of the Gypsy trafficking ring is Ferenc Domotor Sr., now under house arrest in his family’s $715,000 home on Cloverleaf Drive in Ancaster.
[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]DOMOTOR/KOLOMPAR FAMILY TREE: VIEW IT [/FONT]
Both the number of alleged victims and accused perpetrators make this the largest case of human trafficking in Canadian history.
The charges would lead to the first convictions related to forced labour since Canada’s Criminal Code was changed in 2005 to include human trafficking as an offence.
Domotor Sr. told The Spectator he and his family are innocent of the charges, that he only knows two of the 19 alleged victims and those two men were employed legally in his construction business.
The allegations, laid out in criminal charges and RCMP search warrant documents filed in court, are shocking.
According to RCMP allegations, the victims were targeted and recruited in and around Papa, a city of about 33,000 in western Hungary about 70 kilometres from the Austrian border.
The victims were allegedly flown to Canada, coached to declare themselves refugees once they arrived, then taken to a handful of residences in Hamilton and Ancaster, where they were kept in what are alleged to be virtual slave-like conditions.
The men were allegedly kept in the basements of at least five houses in groups of four or five, fed “three-day-old meals that even dogs would not eat,” according to one statement received by the RCMP, and forced to work up to seven days a week for no pay while the alleged captors held their official documents.
“You will regret 10 times (over) that you came here,” one of the victims allegedly told a new arrival.
Many of the victims allege they were threatened, ordered to not leave the houses unescorted and, in some cases, beaten.
The accused belong to three families police believe are intertwined by marriage.
Facing a variety of human trafficking, fraud, conspiracy and organized crime charges are:
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Domotor Sr., 48, the alleged kingpin of the operation;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Domotor Jr., 20, son of Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Domotor Sr.’s father, also named Ferenc, 68;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gyongyi Kolompar, 40, spouse of Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gyula Domotor, 32, brother of Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Lajos Domotor, 42;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gizella Domotor, 42;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gizella Kolompar, 41, known as Eva;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Attila Kolompar, 35;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Karadi, 47;
The charges carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 14 years.
Charges are also pending against Jozsef Domotor, 43, who is being held in custody on separate charges laid by Canada Border Services Agency.
Zsanett Karadi, the 24-year-old daughter of Ferenc Karadi, is also facing conspiracy and theft charges.
A number of the alleged perpetrators of the human trafficking ring have been denied bail and remain in jail while Domotor Jr., like his father, is under house arrest.
In addition, four other accused are facing several CBSA charges.
Domotor Sr. is also facing six other charges laid by London police for fraud under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime for his role in an alleged scheme to cash business cheques that had been intercepted and stolen after being sent in the mail.
Gizella Domotor, Eva Kolompar and Domotor Sr.’s father remain at large.
According to information contained in a 49-page RCMP search warrant document, the victims were driven to local banks “where they were instructed to open individual accounts with a predetermined PIN provided by the traffickers. Once the account was opened, the traffickers seized the victim’s bank card and took control of their bank accounts.”
The victims were then allegedly taken by their captors to apply for social assistance that they were eligible to obtain because of their refugee claims.
“Before escorting the victims to appointments with Ontario Works, one or more of the traffickers coached the victims to make false claims regarding their health in order to qualify for maximum benefits,” according to the RCMP. “These financial benefits were automatically deposited into the newly created bank accounts, allowing the traffickers to withdraw the funds to be converted for their own use, and depriving the victims of monies.”
The victims were forced to do stucco and construction work for businesses and properties owned by Domotor Sr.’s family, even though they didn’t have work permits.
Business cards seized by the RCMP also suggest Domotor Sr. was contracting out agricultural labour.
“The victims were not paid for their work and were told their wages were being used to pay off their debt for coming to Canada,” the RCMP alleges.
It was just after lunch on Dec. 22, 2009, at the Ontario Works office on Main Street East in downtown Hamilton.
A case worker stepped into the office of program director Carolin Anderson to tell her about a disturbing situation that was developing.
A Hungarian-speaking client named Sandor Simon and his interpreter were having an agitated conversation.
A horrifying story began to tumble out as the interpreter relayed Simon’s words.
Simon, Anderson said, “was white as a ghost.”
“You could tell he was just very upset, and so was the interpreter, actually,” Anderson continued. “I think the interpreter was quite shaken up by the information that was provided.
“Between the two of them, they looked very frightened.”
Simon told her he was in trouble and needed help. He had arrived in Canada two weeks earlier and was being kept in the basement of a house at 362 Mohawk Rd. East with three other men.
“I was in shock,” Anderson said. “I just felt so horrible for this gentleman. I mean, he looked sick. He and the interpreter were just beside themselves.”
Anderson called the RCMP and two investigators showed up at the Ontario Works office within a short time to interview Simon.
Back in Hungary, he had been promised a high-paying job in Canada by two passing acquaintances.
Eva Kolompar, one of the accused, sent him a plane ticket and Simon was instructed to repeat the word “refugee” again and again to airport staff in Canada.
Simon and another victim arrived together and were met at the Toronto airport by Kolompar, her husband Lajos Domotor, and their son-in-law.
Simon and the other victim were taken to the Mohawk Road house and confined to the basement.
As they went downstairs for the first time, they discovered two other men were already there — Istvan Voros had been there for more than a year and never paid for his work, and Janos Acs had been in the same situation for seven months.
Voros and Acs told the newcomers: “You have no idea where you have come. You will regret 10 times (over) that you came here. You will work here but never get paid,” according to Simon’s statement to the RCMP.
Simon said he had been taken to the bank to open an account and obtain a bank card, with Eva Kolompar’s son-in-law acting as interpreter. As soon as the card was handed to Simon, he alleged, Kolompar snatched it out of his hands.
According to the RCMP’s document, Eva Kolompar had been arrested by Hamilton police the previous week on Dec. 15 with 10 of the victims’ bank cards in her possession. She was released, however, without being charged.
“(Eva) Kolompar was contacted by (Hamilton) police to attend the police station where she was to bring Mr. Simon,” according to the RCMP document.
“They attended but it was so busy that (Eva) Kolompar and the group left. (Eva) Kolompar had a driver take them in his grey minivan because her vehicle had been seized.”
A day later, she took Simon to the bank again and obtained another card for him, which she again seized.
Hamilton police spokesperson Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings said Kolompar was arrested and the major fraud unit was consulted, but no charges were laid because of insufficient evidence.
Collings said there was no record of Kolompar reporting to a police station and it is unclear why she may have shown up because no warrant was issued.
Police “don’t have a crystal ball,” she said, adding that there was no way for officers to know Kolompar would subsequently be wanted for human trafficking.
In preparation for his Ontario Works appointment, Kolompar told Simon to “act dumb and pretend he had no education,” the RCMP alleges. “She also told him to say that he had a stomach problem to gain more money.”
Before leaving for Ontario Works, the other three victims in the house pleaded with Simon to alert the case worker to their plight, fearing it might be their only chance to get out.
On Dec. 23, the day after Simon was interviewed, two RCMP officers showed up at 362 Mohawk Rd. East.
They saw a man, later identified as Acs, leave the house and get into a van. One of the RCMP officers approached Acs and asked him with hand gestures if he wanted to leave the house and he indicated yes.
Acs went back in the house with the officers to retrieve his luggage and once inside, the RCMP discovered the three other victims in the basement. The four men left to provide statements to the police.
Back in Hungary, Acs told The Spectator, he was friendly with the member of the Domotor family who offered him a job in Canada.
“We chummed around, there was no problem,” Acs said. “The relationship was very amicable and I trusted the person.
“When I came over here, the situation became a servant and master thing.”
As soon as Acs arrived at the house on Mohawk Road, he knew he was in trouble.
“I realized it right then and there that I’d made a mistake,” Acs said through a translator.
Before applying for social assistance, Acs said, Eva Kolompar told him to say he had no schooling and he was mentally challenged.
“This way I would be able to get through the paperwork easier,” he said.
“She fabricated that I was mentally incompetent and had no education.
“I contradicted everything but I couldn’t speak because I don’t speak any English, so I couldn’t say that she was making up the story,” he added. “I’ve got schooling and I’m capable of reading and writing in Hungarian.”
On two earlier occasions, Acs said he escaped from the house and even approached police officers on the street, but couldn’t get past the language barrier.
He stretched out his arms and put his wrists together and “I told the police to cuff me up and put me in jail because I don’t want to go back there.”
“But the police were just laughing at me,” Acs said. “They sent me away. They didn’t understand a word I was trying to say.”
The RCMP also interviewed Voros, one of the other men being kept in the basement, two days before Christmas, and his story was even more bizarre.
Voros said he had known Eva Kolompar since childhood and he believed she was single, with an ex-husband.
In June 2008, Voros was attempting to sell his house in Hungary. He agreed to let Kolompar complete the sale, since she said she had a buyer and the money would be deposited into his account.
She then proposed they live together, although Voros was unaware Kolompar was, in fact, still married.
Voros said he’d think about it. She also proposed they go on a vacation to Paris.
When they arrived in Paris, Kolompar told Voros they had missed their flight.
Voros then asked her “Where are you really taking me?” She told him Canada, to visit her family.
Voros said he had little choice but to accompany her since she was holding his documents and he had no money. They arrived in Canada on Nov. 24, 2008, and Kolompar’s brother met them at the airport.
Voros told the RCMP he was eventually forced to work seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. He was paid once in that time — $50 — and alleged he “was fed dry food with one warm meal a day.”
Voros also told police one of his responsibilities was to monitor a “never-ending yard sale” for Eva Kolompar at 362 Mohawk Rd. East. “All the items for sale were stolen,” he alleged.
Kolompar took Voros to immigration, told him to claim he was a Roma, and she told immigration the two were living common-law.
Voros was taken to a Toronto bank to open an account and obtain a card with a predetermined PIN.
Adding insult to injury, Voros also discovered Kolompar’s husband had gone to Voros’s house in Hungary and removed half its contents, according to his statement to the RCMP.
As the RCMP investigation deepened, more victims began to come forward.
On Jan. 3, David Bogdan left Domotor Sr.’s house and walked to the nearest police station.
Back in Hungary, he was unemployed and living with his parents in Szombathely, Hungary’s oldest city, near the Austrian border, about 60 kilometres west of Papa.
He was told there was a stucco job for him in Canada that would pay $1,000 a month. He spoke with Domotor Sr. by phone, who told him, “Come to Canada, you will make good money here.”
When Bogdan and another victim arrived in Canada, their passports were seized and given to Domotor Sr.
According to the RCMP document, Domotor Sr. indicated a member of the Kolompar family had been paid 300,000 Hungarian forints (about $1,500) for recruiting Bogdan and Bogdan wouldn’t be paid until he had worked off his debt.
Bogdan alleged he was forced to sleep on a mattress in the garage and that Domotor Sr. once punched him in the face. He also alleged that Domotor Sr. had threatened him with a collapsible baton.
On Jan. 10, three more victims escaped, sneaking out while everyone in the house was asleep.
One of the men was Peter Bodai, who told the RCMP he had borrowed $75 in Hungary and was being threatened with a beating if he didn’t repay the man.
To settle the account, the man contacted Ferenc Karadi, one of the accused, and then told Bodai there was a good job opportunity in Canada, where he would get a BMW and “be able to party with girls.”
The job would involve stucco and drywalling work, and not only would he get a furnished room, Karadi also said Bodai “could have his daughter, Brigitta.”
A plane ticket and letter of invitation was sent to Bodai but he changed his mind and went into hiding at his father’s house.
The lender forced his way in and threatened Bodai. Karadi then told Bodai by phone that he had to come to Canada because Karadi had already paid a lot of money for him.
A taxi arrived that night. Bodai was taken to the airport and flew to Canada on Dec. 12.
Karadi later told Bodai he had been purchased for 150,000 Hungarian forints, about $750.
Another victim, Tibor Baranyai, told the RCMP that Karadi also offered him a job by phone from Canada.
Karadi allegedly sent 200,000 Hungarian forints, about $1,000, to a man in Hungary, purportedly to cover Baranyai’s expenses, but it was more likely a recruiting fee to the man.
Karadi told Baranyai to make a refugee claim in Canada and say people had thrown Molotov cocktails at his home in Hungary and harassed him on the street.
In Hamilton, Baranyai alleged, Karadi would bring guests downstairs in his home “to show off the ‘slaves.’” Baranyai was told that if he left, Karadi’s family would find him and kill him.
Baranyai was also told he had to pay his rent as well as the 200,000 Hungarian forints that had been sent to Hungary.
By late January, the RCMP had identified and interviewed 10 victims while conducting surveillance work on an Ancaster house and two homes on the Mountain suspected to be headquarters for the alleged trafficking ring.
On Feb. 4, the RCMP executed searches of the three properties on East 35th Street, West 31st Street and Cloverleaf Drive in Ancaster.
The list of seized items takes up 36 pages. Nearly a dozen desktop and laptop computers were seized, along with six cellphones. There were also dozens of DVDs and CDs containing religious music, talks and movies.
Other items seized included:
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] an application to a bank for a $550,000 line of credit for Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] an application to a bank for a $30,000 line of credit for Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] a Money Mart Western Union preferred customer card;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ontario Drug Benefit eligibility cards and City of Hamilton dental benefit eligibility cards for several of the victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] City of Hamilton direct deposit statements for several of the victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] a variety of prescription medicines obtained in the names of several victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] U.S. personal account chequebooks, and a pamphlet with a scribbled reference to a law firm in Austin, Texas;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Home Depot credit applications in the names of several victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] chequebooks for some of the victims, along with customer registration forms for National Money Mart in the names of victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] credit cards in the names of some of the victims, and even a notice from a collection agency against one of the victims, whose name had been attached to credit cards and wireless accounts.
The RCMP also seized a number of doctor’s notes for some of the victims, written by Dr. Iidiko Mary Sajo, a Hungarian-speaking family doctor in Scarborough.
Acs said in a Spectator interview that he had been taken to Dr. Sajo’s office on two occasions and everything had been arranged by Eva Kolompar. Acs said he went only because he was ordered to go.
“The doctor never looked at me, she never examined me,” Acs said.
“Neither the doctor or (Kolompar) never mentioned the reason we were going there,” he added. “Eva picked up all the papers that I signed and that the doctor signed and she took them away.
“I don’t know what I signed and I don’t know what happened to the papers.”
Sajo said she did examine Acs on July 3, 2009, but she was unaware he was an alleged victim. Sajo said none of the patients brought to her by Kolompar ever indicated to her they were in trouble.
“Honestly, I had no idea,” Sajo said. “I have a very clean practice in Scarborough for the last 30 years and I really don’t want to be involved with these people.”
The doctor said she was contacted by the RCMP last spring and she turned over all medical records related to the victims.
“I feel very sorry for these people. I hope that justice will be done.”
There was one final irony among the seized items.
The RCMP found a letter dated May 22, 2008, from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to the Kolompars stating that their claim for refugee protection is eligible to be fast-tracked.
The Gypsy king wasn’t hard to find.
All it took was a knock on the front door of a massive house in the Ancaster Meadowlands.
It swings open and thereis Ferenc Domotor Sr., waving his guests in, a phone pressed against his ear as he continues to conduct business.
For the second time in eight months, Domotor Sr., the alleged leader of an international human trafficking ring, has cordially invited a Spectator reporter to sit at his kitchen table to discuss the growing list of serious accusations his family now faces.
Two days earlier, he’d been released from a London jail after posting what he said was $5,000 bail related to the cheque fraud charges. That’s in addition to the $50,000 he had to post for his earlier release from Hamilton jail on the human trafficking-related charges.
He’s under house arrest in Ancaster, not allowed to leave except in the company of his surety, an older man from the same Hungarian Pentecostal church the Domotors attend in Toronto.
Domotor Sr. said he usually attends church twice a week with his family.
“Our religion doesn’t allow us to lie,” he said.
Eight months ago, the kitchen table conversation was much different.
At that time, no criminal charges had been laid and Domotor Sr.’s wife, Gyongyi, and their son, Ferenc Jr., were sitting alongside him.
A truck in the driveway was loaded with workers who may or may not have been victims.
Now, Gyongyi is in custody, where she has been since Thanksgiving after bail was denied, and Domotor Jr. is under house arrest, living with his surety in Burlington.
The conversation is also being held at a different house, too.
On Aug. 30, the Domotor family moved several doors down on Cloverleaf Drive to a new house.
The home was purchased by Domotor Jr., 19 at the time, and he paid $715,000 for the house, taking out $616,000 in mortgages against the property, according to Ontario Land Registry documents.
The massive home, with its grand spiralling staircases, is sparsely furnished. A couple of the rooms on the main level are bare.
A few doors away, Domotor Sr.’s brother, Gyula, owns a house he bought last December for $462,000.
For more than 90 minutes, Domotor Sr. sat at his kitchen table, answering questions, explaining his side of the story and declaring his innocence.
His sentences would often begin in English, coming faster and faster until he could no longer keep up and would switch to Hungarian and one of his daughters would translate.
In one breath, Domotor Sr. would plead for patience, stating he’d give The Spectator the full story at a later date if no notes were taken. In the next breath, he’d freely answer questions with long, passionate defences of his innocence.
Domotor Sr. claims he’s a hard-working man who has built a legitimate construction business that has been passed on to his son.
At various points, Domotor Sr. would pull out papers he said were proper work permits for some of the men who now claim to be victims.
Domotor Sr. stated he only knew two of the 19 alleged victims who stepped forward and that he’s innocent of the charges.
“Those 19 guys who are making accusations, I have nothing to do with them,” he said.
Domotor Sr. scoffed at the accusations he was holding any workers against their will.
He said he and his family returned to Hungary for several weeks on vacation at one point, leaving the workers on their own in his house, free to come and go.
If they were prisoners or being treated horribly, he asked, why didn’t they flee? Why, he added, would they stay if the conditions were so horrible?
He also alleged that one of the two men he knows is wanted by police in Hungary on charges of robbery and sexual assault.
Domotor Sr. angrily asked why police would lend credence to that man’s story without questioning if it was merely an attempt to remain in Canada to avoid charges in Hungary.
The RCMP would not comment specifically on any alleged victim’s criminal past.
But Inspector Steve Martin of the RCMP’s Hamilton-Niagara detachment said: “Canada’s system won’t provide a safe haven for persons convicted of criminal offences in other countries.”
“It is the judge’s decision to decide whether or not to believe witnesses and victims,” added Sergeant Kevin Serniuk.
Domotor Sr. also questioned why police readily believe he and the co-accused have been working together and haven’t investigated the possibility the alleged victims have created their stories together.
When asked about connections between the Domotor and Kolompar families through marriage, Domotor Sr. dismissed the question with a wave of his hand and suggested that lots of Roma people are loosely related.
That leads to the heart of the Gypsy king’s complaint about the accusations levelled against his family.
Domotor Sr. says they are the victims of racism, unfairly targeted because they are Roma.
It’s a theme revisited several times during the conversation.
The police, the legal system, the government, the men making the accusations are all anti-Roma racists, according to Domotor Sr.
It’s clear the relationship between the Roma and Hungarians, both here and in Hungary, is tense, emotional and complicated.
Earlier news stories on the human trafficking ring have brought angry phone calls from the local Hungarian community, demanding The Spectator refer to the accused and the victims as Gypsies rather than Hungarians.
In Hungary, discrimination against the Roma remains a significant problem.
An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Roma are in Hungary, representing 6 to 8 per cent of the population.
According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, living conditions for Roma communities are significantly worse than the general population.
“Roma are significantly less educated and have below average income and life expectancy,” the report stated. “The unemployment rate for Roma is estimated at 70 per cent, more than 10 times the national average, and most Roma live in extreme poverty.”
According to a 2009 human rights report by the U.S. State Department, more than 82 per cent of Roma have eight years of education or less, even though Hungary provides free, compulsory education for children up to 18 years of age.
The U.S. report also noted that just 3 per cent of Roma have secondary schooling, and one in five Roma children were segregated by being placed without cause in remedial classes for children with mental disabilities.
“Yes, there are some signs that would be described as some situations of discrimination, not necessarily in the gross sense,” said Imre Helyes, head of the consular section of the Hungarian embassy in Ottawa.
The ongoing global economic downturn has only worsened the situation, Helyes added.
“Those who were on the lower rungs of the ladder, obviously, were the hardest hit and a large part of the Roma population, unfortunately, are without major skills,” he said.
Helyes said the Hungarian government has a long-term plan to improve conditions for the Roma population.
“What’s important is that the government realizes this is a very complex issue,” Helyes said. “It’s not just economic, it’s not just social, it’s not just education.”
An hour into the conversation, Domotor Sr. suddenly gets up from the table without a word and walks into the kitchen. He returns with a glass and a two-litre bottle of cream soda, apologetic that he hadn’t offered his guests any refreshment.
As the discussion winds down, Domotor Sr. is adamant about one point. He has no intention of returning to Hungary to live.
“Never. Never. I’m not going out. This is my country. This is where I want to live.”
He shook his head, then said quietly, “It’s not my life, Hungary.”
At the conclusion of the interview, the Gypsy king stepped outside to the edge of his front porch, looked down and said, “This is as far as I am allowed to go. Just here, that’s all.”
With a final wave, he walked inside and closed the door.
The RCMP believes Ferenc Domotor Sr. and his family are the leaders of an international human trafficking operation.
Just how long he has been the alleged boss, how many alleged victims have come in and out of Hamilton and how long the alleged organization has been operating remains unclear.
Domotor Sr. says he has been in Canada nearly 13 years, and until this past year he said he’s had no trouble, “not even a parking ticket.”
But one man named Johnny, now back in Hungary, says the human trafficking operation has been in place for nearly a decade.
Johnny says he was one of the early victims. His last name is being withheld because he is concerned for his safety, even after many years.
Johnny came to Canada in February 2001 after meeting a man nicknamed Kacsa — “duck” in Hungarian — in Zalaegerszeg, a city in western Hungary with a population of about 62,000.
Johnny, whom others describe as sensitive and naive, is from the small village of Alibánfa, a little more than an hour from Papa.
Kacsa mentioned a number of times “the opportunities in Canada” for Johnny. He offered him the chance to come to Canada as a bricklayer, a skill for which Johnny is trained but could barely find work
Before leaving, Kacsa made contact with three men in Hamilton — Csaba Orosz, Zoltan Nemeth and their alleged boss, Domotor Sr.
Within three weeks, Johnny was flying to Canada. Nemeth met him at the airport.
“As soon as I arrived in Canada, right away, within the first week I realized that what they promised me is never going to happen,” Johnny said through an interpreter in a telephone interview from Hungary.
Every three weeks, he was forced to move. He recalls an address on Main Street East but others have faded from his memory.
Johnny was luckier than some of the other alleged victims. He mostly worked for a Grimsby man named Chris, who runs an agricultural business.
Chris’s last name is being withheld because he, too, fears retribution. In the past, he and his family wore panic bracelets and installed a home security system because they were afraid of retaliation after helping some of the workers escape.
Chris started to notice odd things with Johnny and other Hungarian workers who had been brought to them by Orosz and Nemeth. For instance, the men never brought lunches and they were always driven in old cars with 10-day temporary plates.
Eventually, he and his wife helped Johnny and a couple of others escape.
Despite being paid what would have been equal to $40,000 a year, Johnny showed up with a garbage bag filled with a few belongings.
Along with hard labour for no pay, Johnny said he was threatened, spit at and forced to serve his captor, including rubbing his feet almost every night.
He shared these details with the refugee board, but was deported anyway. Johnny lost his first refugee hearing in 2003 and later appeal attempts failed as well. He left Canada a few years ago.
Meanwhile, Nemeth and Orosz were charged in 2002 with threatening bodily harm, theft by conversion and assault against Johnny and another victim. At their preliminary hearing in 2003, the pair entered pleas only for the assault and threatening charges.
According to court documents, the other charges were dropped and Nemeth and Orosz were sentenced to the four months they had already served in pretrial custody. At the time, Canada hadn’t incorporated human trafficking legislation in the Criminal Code.
Nemeth and Orosz’s whereabouts are not known.
Back in Hungary, Johnny says he dreams of returning to Canada every day, and for some time now, Chris and his wife have been trying to make that happen. Since the RCMP investigation and resulting charges, the couple have contacted an immigration lawyer about bringing Johnny back
Sitting around their dining room table, Chris and his wife pass the phone back and forth, and despite the language barrier they say hello and tell Johnny how much they miss him.
They gather a bunch of the labourers who worked with Johnny so they can shout hello, too.
“I remember the hearing when I was sent home, I felt safe because Chris was beside me,” Johnny said through the interpreter.
Even though Johnny broke away from his captors’ control, he hasn’t been able to escape other dangers.
“When I came home, I got a message — that’s the end of me,” he said.
Threats started pouring in from Papa, from people he had never met.
Johnny said he lives under constant watch from his family, careful never to leave the house alone.
“If we have to go shopping or somewhere, I’m usually taken by a family member. I’m not walking on the streets whatsoever, not talking to anybody.”
Not being able to commute freely makes it even more difficult to find a job, he added.
But no matter how hard life is now, Johnny’s biggest fear would be for the families facing criminal charges to be deported back to Hungary.
“Big trouble if they come back.”
Janos Acs has been free from his alleged captors for nearly a year now.
His freedom, however, is bittersweet.
In the past year, he has drifted from shelter to shelter, he has no job, no money and speaks no English, save for “Hello” and “Thank you.”
He originally had hoped to bring his 30-year-old son over from Hungary to live here, but now Acs is unsure if he wants to remain in Canada.
“I feel very much betrayed and I’m pretty frustrated. I’m kind of all alone and I have no friends to discuss the situation.”
A job would certainly go a long way toward making life more tolerable, he said.
“I would be very happy if I was able to work. Since I can’t occupy my mind with work, I’m very unhappy.
“If I could get a job, I wouldn’t want to go back.”
Life in a men’s shelter has also been a distressing adjustment.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this, living in a shelter, having to sleep with other men in the room. I would like to have my own little room, where I’m the boss and I could come and go and be a free man.
“I appreciate that people are helping me here but I just can’t get used to this.
“I don’t regret that I came to Canada but I didn’t figure it was going to be like this.”
[email protected]
905-526-3226
[email protected]
905-526-3199
HOUSE
Ferenc Domotor Sr., the alleged leader of the Gypsy trafficking ring, is under house arrest in his family’s $715,000 home on Cloverleaf Drive, Ancaster.
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"> var PhotoPlayers = PhotoPlayers || {}; PhotoPlayers["StarterPhotoPlayer"] = new PhotoPlayerObj("ctl00_ctl00_Content_CPH_Main_ctl02_TrueTemplate0_ctl04_Template0_ctl05_Template0_ctl00_TrueTemplate0_ctl00_FalseTemplate0_StarterPhotoPlayer__PhotoWrapper", 1,0,[ { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/4c/14/2039b37244d7bde4f293c232f35a.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HOUSE","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/4a/26/f036d7d1429297460de1b03687f2.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor Sr., the alleged leader of the Gypsy trafficking ring, is under house arrest in his family’s $715,000 home on Cloverleaf Drive, Ancaster."} } , { "Display":{"display":"The Hamilton Spectator
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/c9/2e/8e4010d04c348d89a758ebcf29b4.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/02/80/897cf0a74275b91c68f5fcfd869c.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor Sr. leaving his Ancaster house."} } , { "Display":{"display":"Cathie Coward/The...
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/96/ed/578ea5bb456fabb7c3df90f1e55e.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HUMAN TRAFFICKING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/01/14/0ae82e77461fb98b169562d1ed7b.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Janos Acs is from Hungary and was promised opportunity in Canada by an individual who arranged for him to come here . What he got was work for no pay while living in prison-like quarters. The people responsible for his story (and many others) are now facing charges of human trafficking."} } , { "Display":{"display":"Cathie Coward/The...
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/88/f1/d9b455fd49819ba13dcbc85e1d21.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HUMAN TRAFFICKING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/24/3e/2b9a8b754068a83a3ded295a5d8c.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Janos Acs is from Hungary and was promised opportunity in Canada by an individual who arranged for him to come here . What he got was work for no pay while living in prison-like quarters. The people responsible for his story (and many others) are now facing charges of human trafficking."} } , { "Display":{"display":"Gary Yokoyama/The...
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/67/84/b3c0f4d947629d991e45a61db43f.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"HUMAN TRAFFICKING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/36/4b/88bd343346189040009115373aa7.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Ferenc Domotor (white shirt) and Ferenc Karadi leave Sopinka Court House."} } , { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/31/d5/4fde74d948f281cdbbc9c03052a5.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"Gypsy hang out 1","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/7c/29/c911eee442778be0bafb88356a67.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":""} } , { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/51/63/918bfde245a7a6f77f60e08f9ce4.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"GYPSY KING","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/93/e8/09285a784760b3b2b87d7aa013e4.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"Photos from Papa, Hungary"} } , { "Display":{"display":"
", "background":"http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/5a/04/b71d12284190a4373e11769baa19.jpeg", "onmouseover":"this.playerobj.pauseClick();this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 50);this.playerobj.show('PP-Abstract');"}, "Abstract":{"onmouseout":function(event) {if (this.playerobj.mouseLeaves(this, event)) {this.playerobj.hide('PP-Abstract');this.playerobj.setOpacity('PP-Display', 100);this.playerobj.resumeClick();}}}, "Title":{"display":"PAPA HUNGARY","onload":"if(41 > 37) { this.playerobj.addClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); } else { this.playerobj.removeClass('PP-Title', 'PP-largetitle'); }"}, "Credit":{"display":""}, "Thumbnail": { "background": "http://media.mmgdailies.topscms.com/images/49/d5/b786baa8447eb064e7bbe8475094.jpeg" }, "Body":{"display":"The main shopping street in Papa."} } ]); </script>
Related Stories
The gypsy kings: Part 1 of 2 We’re sitting in the cramped office of the local Gypsy council when a burly man walks through the door.
Sidebar
[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]ABOUT THE AUTHORS:[/FONT]
Steve Buist as won two National Newspaper Awards and been nominated six times. He was named the country’s Investigative Journalist of the Year in 2009 by the Canadian Association of Journalists, twice been named Ontario’s Journalist of the Year and he was also named North American Agricultural Journalist of the Year for his series A Pig’s Tale.
Nicole O’Reilly is a National Newspaper Award-winning journalist who has been with The Spectator for a year. She has also won two Ontario Newspaper Awards and received the 2009 Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize for Young Canadian Journalists in the under-25,000-circulation category. She is a graduate of Ryerson University’s journalism program.
Nicole O’Reilly is a National Newspaper Award-winning journalist who has been with The Spectator for a year. She has also won two Ontario Newspaper Awards and received the 2009 Edward Goff Penny Memorial Prize for Young Canadian Journalists in the under-25,000-circulation category. She is a graduate of Ryerson University’s journalism program.
For Acs, a 58-year-old unemployed casual labourer in the small Hungarian village of Bakonybel, it was an offer too tempting to resist, even though he’d never been on an airplane or outside of Hungary, for that matter, even though the border with Slovakia is just 50 kilometres away.
His older brother, Antal, knew better, though. Antal told him he would be crazy to fall for such a story.
“My brother knew me well and he told me not to come here and don’t trust this other man,” Acs said.
But Acs waved off his brother’s concerns. “There is a better life in Canada,” he told Antal.
[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]VIEW IT: PAPA HUNGARY PHOTO ZONE [/FONT]
There had to be a better life than collecting welfare or taking the occasional odd job chopping wood in the thick forests around Bakonybel, a 1,000-year-old village near the small city of Papa.
So he boarded the plane, ignoring his own growing sense something was wrong with this offer that seemed too good to be true.
“I was stupid,” Acs says quietly, staring down at his rough labourer’s hands. “I was stupid and I was believing what this guy said.
“My brother knew that in the event this wasn’t a successful trip, I was going to be very bitter and depressed,” added Acs.
“And I am.”
Now Acs spends his days at a men’s shelter in the Hamilton area, idle and alone and with only a couple of words of English to rely upon.
Acs is one of 19 people, all men except one, who have stepped forward claiming they were victims of an alleged human trafficking operation run by three Hungarian families now based in Hamilton.
The families running the operation and some of the victims are believed to be of Roma descent, often referred to as Gypsies, or czigany in Hungarian. All the victims, however, claimed refugee status on the basis of being Roma, allegedly on the instructions of their captors.
A dozen people are now facing more than 60 charges stemming from an ongoing year-long investigation conducted jointly by the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency.
The alleged leader of the Gypsy trafficking ring is Ferenc Domotor Sr., now under house arrest in his family’s $715,000 home on Cloverleaf Drive in Ancaster.
[FONT=georgia,times new roman,times,serif]DOMOTOR/KOLOMPAR FAMILY TREE: VIEW IT [/FONT]
Both the number of alleged victims and accused perpetrators make this the largest case of human trafficking in Canadian history.
The charges would lead to the first convictions related to forced labour since Canada’s Criminal Code was changed in 2005 to include human trafficking as an offence.
Domotor Sr. told The Spectator he and his family are innocent of the charges, that he only knows two of the 19 alleged victims and those two men were employed legally in his construction business.
The allegations, laid out in criminal charges and RCMP search warrant documents filed in court, are shocking.
According to RCMP allegations, the victims were targeted and recruited in and around Papa, a city of about 33,000 in western Hungary about 70 kilometres from the Austrian border.
The victims were allegedly flown to Canada, coached to declare themselves refugees once they arrived, then taken to a handful of residences in Hamilton and Ancaster, where they were kept in what are alleged to be virtual slave-like conditions.
The men were allegedly kept in the basements of at least five houses in groups of four or five, fed “three-day-old meals that even dogs would not eat,” according to one statement received by the RCMP, and forced to work up to seven days a week for no pay while the alleged captors held their official documents.
“You will regret 10 times (over) that you came here,” one of the victims allegedly told a new arrival.
Many of the victims allege they were threatened, ordered to not leave the houses unescorted and, in some cases, beaten.
The accused belong to three families police believe are intertwined by marriage.
Facing a variety of human trafficking, fraud, conspiracy and organized crime charges are:
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Domotor Sr., 48, the alleged kingpin of the operation;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Domotor Jr., 20, son of Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Domotor Sr.’s father, also named Ferenc, 68;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gyongyi Kolompar, 40, spouse of Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gyula Domotor, 32, brother of Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Lajos Domotor, 42;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gizella Domotor, 42;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Gizella Kolompar, 41, known as Eva;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Attila Kolompar, 35;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ferenc Karadi, 47;
The charges carry maximum sentences ranging from five to 14 years.
Charges are also pending against Jozsef Domotor, 43, who is being held in custody on separate charges laid by Canada Border Services Agency.
Zsanett Karadi, the 24-year-old daughter of Ferenc Karadi, is also facing conspiracy and theft charges.
A number of the alleged perpetrators of the human trafficking ring have been denied bail and remain in jail while Domotor Jr., like his father, is under house arrest.
In addition, four other accused are facing several CBSA charges.
Domotor Sr. is also facing six other charges laid by London police for fraud under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime for his role in an alleged scheme to cash business cheques that had been intercepted and stolen after being sent in the mail.
Gizella Domotor, Eva Kolompar and Domotor Sr.’s father remain at large.
According to information contained in a 49-page RCMP search warrant document, the victims were driven to local banks “where they were instructed to open individual accounts with a predetermined PIN provided by the traffickers. Once the account was opened, the traffickers seized the victim’s bank card and took control of their bank accounts.”
The victims were then allegedly taken by their captors to apply for social assistance that they were eligible to obtain because of their refugee claims.
“Before escorting the victims to appointments with Ontario Works, one or more of the traffickers coached the victims to make false claims regarding their health in order to qualify for maximum benefits,” according to the RCMP. “These financial benefits were automatically deposited into the newly created bank accounts, allowing the traffickers to withdraw the funds to be converted for their own use, and depriving the victims of monies.”
The victims were forced to do stucco and construction work for businesses and properties owned by Domotor Sr.’s family, even though they didn’t have work permits.
Business cards seized by the RCMP also suggest Domotor Sr. was contracting out agricultural labour.
“The victims were not paid for their work and were told their wages were being used to pay off their debt for coming to Canada,” the RCMP alleges.
It was just after lunch on Dec. 22, 2009, at the Ontario Works office on Main Street East in downtown Hamilton.
A case worker stepped into the office of program director Carolin Anderson to tell her about a disturbing situation that was developing.
A Hungarian-speaking client named Sandor Simon and his interpreter were having an agitated conversation.
A horrifying story began to tumble out as the interpreter relayed Simon’s words.
Simon, Anderson said, “was white as a ghost.”
“You could tell he was just very upset, and so was the interpreter, actually,” Anderson continued. “I think the interpreter was quite shaken up by the information that was provided.
“Between the two of them, they looked very frightened.”
Simon told her he was in trouble and needed help. He had arrived in Canada two weeks earlier and was being kept in the basement of a house at 362 Mohawk Rd. East with three other men.
“I was in shock,” Anderson said. “I just felt so horrible for this gentleman. I mean, he looked sick. He and the interpreter were just beside themselves.”
Anderson called the RCMP and two investigators showed up at the Ontario Works office within a short time to interview Simon.
Back in Hungary, he had been promised a high-paying job in Canada by two passing acquaintances.
Eva Kolompar, one of the accused, sent him a plane ticket and Simon was instructed to repeat the word “refugee” again and again to airport staff in Canada.
Simon and another victim arrived together and were met at the Toronto airport by Kolompar, her husband Lajos Domotor, and their son-in-law.
Simon and the other victim were taken to the Mohawk Road house and confined to the basement.
As they went downstairs for the first time, they discovered two other men were already there — Istvan Voros had been there for more than a year and never paid for his work, and Janos Acs had been in the same situation for seven months.
Voros and Acs told the newcomers: “You have no idea where you have come. You will regret 10 times (over) that you came here. You will work here but never get paid,” according to Simon’s statement to the RCMP.
Simon said he had been taken to the bank to open an account and obtain a bank card, with Eva Kolompar’s son-in-law acting as interpreter. As soon as the card was handed to Simon, he alleged, Kolompar snatched it out of his hands.
According to the RCMP’s document, Eva Kolompar had been arrested by Hamilton police the previous week on Dec. 15 with 10 of the victims’ bank cards in her possession. She was released, however, without being charged.
“(Eva) Kolompar was contacted by (Hamilton) police to attend the police station where she was to bring Mr. Simon,” according to the RCMP document.
“They attended but it was so busy that (Eva) Kolompar and the group left. (Eva) Kolompar had a driver take them in his grey minivan because her vehicle had been seized.”
A day later, she took Simon to the bank again and obtained another card for him, which she again seized.
Hamilton police spokesperson Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings said Kolompar was arrested and the major fraud unit was consulted, but no charges were laid because of insufficient evidence.
Collings said there was no record of Kolompar reporting to a police station and it is unclear why she may have shown up because no warrant was issued.
Police “don’t have a crystal ball,” she said, adding that there was no way for officers to know Kolompar would subsequently be wanted for human trafficking.
In preparation for his Ontario Works appointment, Kolompar told Simon to “act dumb and pretend he had no education,” the RCMP alleges. “She also told him to say that he had a stomach problem to gain more money.”
Before leaving for Ontario Works, the other three victims in the house pleaded with Simon to alert the case worker to their plight, fearing it might be their only chance to get out.
On Dec. 23, the day after Simon was interviewed, two RCMP officers showed up at 362 Mohawk Rd. East.
They saw a man, later identified as Acs, leave the house and get into a van. One of the RCMP officers approached Acs and asked him with hand gestures if he wanted to leave the house and he indicated yes.
Acs went back in the house with the officers to retrieve his luggage and once inside, the RCMP discovered the three other victims in the basement. The four men left to provide statements to the police.
Back in Hungary, Acs told The Spectator, he was friendly with the member of the Domotor family who offered him a job in Canada.
“We chummed around, there was no problem,” Acs said. “The relationship was very amicable and I trusted the person.
“When I came over here, the situation became a servant and master thing.”
As soon as Acs arrived at the house on Mohawk Road, he knew he was in trouble.
“I realized it right then and there that I’d made a mistake,” Acs said through a translator.
Before applying for social assistance, Acs said, Eva Kolompar told him to say he had no schooling and he was mentally challenged.
“This way I would be able to get through the paperwork easier,” he said.
“She fabricated that I was mentally incompetent and had no education.
“I contradicted everything but I couldn’t speak because I don’t speak any English, so I couldn’t say that she was making up the story,” he added. “I’ve got schooling and I’m capable of reading and writing in Hungarian.”
On two earlier occasions, Acs said he escaped from the house and even approached police officers on the street, but couldn’t get past the language barrier.
He stretched out his arms and put his wrists together and “I told the police to cuff me up and put me in jail because I don’t want to go back there.”
“But the police were just laughing at me,” Acs said. “They sent me away. They didn’t understand a word I was trying to say.”
The RCMP also interviewed Voros, one of the other men being kept in the basement, two days before Christmas, and his story was even more bizarre.
Voros said he had known Eva Kolompar since childhood and he believed she was single, with an ex-husband.
In June 2008, Voros was attempting to sell his house in Hungary. He agreed to let Kolompar complete the sale, since she said she had a buyer and the money would be deposited into his account.
She then proposed they live together, although Voros was unaware Kolompar was, in fact, still married.
Voros said he’d think about it. She also proposed they go on a vacation to Paris.
When they arrived in Paris, Kolompar told Voros they had missed their flight.
Voros then asked her “Where are you really taking me?” She told him Canada, to visit her family.
Voros said he had little choice but to accompany her since she was holding his documents and he had no money. They arrived in Canada on Nov. 24, 2008, and Kolompar’s brother met them at the airport.
Voros told the RCMP he was eventually forced to work seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. He was paid once in that time — $50 — and alleged he “was fed dry food with one warm meal a day.”
Voros also told police one of his responsibilities was to monitor a “never-ending yard sale” for Eva Kolompar at 362 Mohawk Rd. East. “All the items for sale were stolen,” he alleged.
Kolompar took Voros to immigration, told him to claim he was a Roma, and she told immigration the two were living common-law.
Voros was taken to a Toronto bank to open an account and obtain a card with a predetermined PIN.
Adding insult to injury, Voros also discovered Kolompar’s husband had gone to Voros’s house in Hungary and removed half its contents, according to his statement to the RCMP.
As the RCMP investigation deepened, more victims began to come forward.
On Jan. 3, David Bogdan left Domotor Sr.’s house and walked to the nearest police station.
Back in Hungary, he was unemployed and living with his parents in Szombathely, Hungary’s oldest city, near the Austrian border, about 60 kilometres west of Papa.
He was told there was a stucco job for him in Canada that would pay $1,000 a month. He spoke with Domotor Sr. by phone, who told him, “Come to Canada, you will make good money here.”
When Bogdan and another victim arrived in Canada, their passports were seized and given to Domotor Sr.
According to the RCMP document, Domotor Sr. indicated a member of the Kolompar family had been paid 300,000 Hungarian forints (about $1,500) for recruiting Bogdan and Bogdan wouldn’t be paid until he had worked off his debt.
Bogdan alleged he was forced to sleep on a mattress in the garage and that Domotor Sr. once punched him in the face. He also alleged that Domotor Sr. had threatened him with a collapsible baton.
On Jan. 10, three more victims escaped, sneaking out while everyone in the house was asleep.
One of the men was Peter Bodai, who told the RCMP he had borrowed $75 in Hungary and was being threatened with a beating if he didn’t repay the man.
To settle the account, the man contacted Ferenc Karadi, one of the accused, and then told Bodai there was a good job opportunity in Canada, where he would get a BMW and “be able to party with girls.”
The job would involve stucco and drywalling work, and not only would he get a furnished room, Karadi also said Bodai “could have his daughter, Brigitta.”
A plane ticket and letter of invitation was sent to Bodai but he changed his mind and went into hiding at his father’s house.
The lender forced his way in and threatened Bodai. Karadi then told Bodai by phone that he had to come to Canada because Karadi had already paid a lot of money for him.
A taxi arrived that night. Bodai was taken to the airport and flew to Canada on Dec. 12.
Karadi later told Bodai he had been purchased for 150,000 Hungarian forints, about $750.
Another victim, Tibor Baranyai, told the RCMP that Karadi also offered him a job by phone from Canada.
Karadi allegedly sent 200,000 Hungarian forints, about $1,000, to a man in Hungary, purportedly to cover Baranyai’s expenses, but it was more likely a recruiting fee to the man.
Karadi told Baranyai to make a refugee claim in Canada and say people had thrown Molotov cocktails at his home in Hungary and harassed him on the street.
In Hamilton, Baranyai alleged, Karadi would bring guests downstairs in his home “to show off the ‘slaves.’” Baranyai was told that if he left, Karadi’s family would find him and kill him.
Baranyai was also told he had to pay his rent as well as the 200,000 Hungarian forints that had been sent to Hungary.
By late January, the RCMP had identified and interviewed 10 victims while conducting surveillance work on an Ancaster house and two homes on the Mountain suspected to be headquarters for the alleged trafficking ring.
On Feb. 4, the RCMP executed searches of the three properties on East 35th Street, West 31st Street and Cloverleaf Drive in Ancaster.
The list of seized items takes up 36 pages. Nearly a dozen desktop and laptop computers were seized, along with six cellphones. There were also dozens of DVDs and CDs containing religious music, talks and movies.
Other items seized included:
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] an application to a bank for a $550,000 line of credit for Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] an application to a bank for a $30,000 line of credit for Domotor Sr.;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] a Money Mart Western Union preferred customer card;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Ontario Drug Benefit eligibility cards and City of Hamilton dental benefit eligibility cards for several of the victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] City of Hamilton direct deposit statements for several of the victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] a variety of prescription medicines obtained in the names of several victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] U.S. personal account chequebooks, and a pamphlet with a scribbled reference to a law firm in Austin, Texas;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] Home Depot credit applications in the names of several victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] chequebooks for some of the victims, along with customer registration forms for National Money Mart in the names of victims;
[SIZE=+2]•[/SIZE] credit cards in the names of some of the victims, and even a notice from a collection agency against one of the victims, whose name had been attached to credit cards and wireless accounts.
The RCMP also seized a number of doctor’s notes for some of the victims, written by Dr. Iidiko Mary Sajo, a Hungarian-speaking family doctor in Scarborough.
Acs said in a Spectator interview that he had been taken to Dr. Sajo’s office on two occasions and everything had been arranged by Eva Kolompar. Acs said he went only because he was ordered to go.
“The doctor never looked at me, she never examined me,” Acs said.
“Neither the doctor or (Kolompar) never mentioned the reason we were going there,” he added. “Eva picked up all the papers that I signed and that the doctor signed and she took them away.
“I don’t know what I signed and I don’t know what happened to the papers.”
Sajo said she did examine Acs on July 3, 2009, but she was unaware he was an alleged victim. Sajo said none of the patients brought to her by Kolompar ever indicated to her they were in trouble.
“Honestly, I had no idea,” Sajo said. “I have a very clean practice in Scarborough for the last 30 years and I really don’t want to be involved with these people.”
The doctor said she was contacted by the RCMP last spring and she turned over all medical records related to the victims.
“I feel very sorry for these people. I hope that justice will be done.”
There was one final irony among the seized items.
The RCMP found a letter dated May 22, 2008, from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to the Kolompars stating that their claim for refugee protection is eligible to be fast-tracked.
The Gypsy king wasn’t hard to find.
All it took was a knock on the front door of a massive house in the Ancaster Meadowlands.
It swings open and thereis Ferenc Domotor Sr., waving his guests in, a phone pressed against his ear as he continues to conduct business.
For the second time in eight months, Domotor Sr., the alleged leader of an international human trafficking ring, has cordially invited a Spectator reporter to sit at his kitchen table to discuss the growing list of serious accusations his family now faces.
Two days earlier, he’d been released from a London jail after posting what he said was $5,000 bail related to the cheque fraud charges. That’s in addition to the $50,000 he had to post for his earlier release from Hamilton jail on the human trafficking-related charges.
He’s under house arrest in Ancaster, not allowed to leave except in the company of his surety, an older man from the same Hungarian Pentecostal church the Domotors attend in Toronto.
Domotor Sr. said he usually attends church twice a week with his family.
“Our religion doesn’t allow us to lie,” he said.
Eight months ago, the kitchen table conversation was much different.
At that time, no criminal charges had been laid and Domotor Sr.’s wife, Gyongyi, and their son, Ferenc Jr., were sitting alongside him.
A truck in the driveway was loaded with workers who may or may not have been victims.
Now, Gyongyi is in custody, where she has been since Thanksgiving after bail was denied, and Domotor Jr. is under house arrest, living with his surety in Burlington.
The conversation is also being held at a different house, too.
On Aug. 30, the Domotor family moved several doors down on Cloverleaf Drive to a new house.
The home was purchased by Domotor Jr., 19 at the time, and he paid $715,000 for the house, taking out $616,000 in mortgages against the property, according to Ontario Land Registry documents.
The massive home, with its grand spiralling staircases, is sparsely furnished. A couple of the rooms on the main level are bare.
A few doors away, Domotor Sr.’s brother, Gyula, owns a house he bought last December for $462,000.
For more than 90 minutes, Domotor Sr. sat at his kitchen table, answering questions, explaining his side of the story and declaring his innocence.
His sentences would often begin in English, coming faster and faster until he could no longer keep up and would switch to Hungarian and one of his daughters would translate.
In one breath, Domotor Sr. would plead for patience, stating he’d give The Spectator the full story at a later date if no notes were taken. In the next breath, he’d freely answer questions with long, passionate defences of his innocence.
Domotor Sr. claims he’s a hard-working man who has built a legitimate construction business that has been passed on to his son.
At various points, Domotor Sr. would pull out papers he said were proper work permits for some of the men who now claim to be victims.
Domotor Sr. stated he only knew two of the 19 alleged victims who stepped forward and that he’s innocent of the charges.
“Those 19 guys who are making accusations, I have nothing to do with them,” he said.
Domotor Sr. scoffed at the accusations he was holding any workers against their will.
He said he and his family returned to Hungary for several weeks on vacation at one point, leaving the workers on their own in his house, free to come and go.
If they were prisoners or being treated horribly, he asked, why didn’t they flee? Why, he added, would they stay if the conditions were so horrible?
He also alleged that one of the two men he knows is wanted by police in Hungary on charges of robbery and sexual assault.
Domotor Sr. angrily asked why police would lend credence to that man’s story without questioning if it was merely an attempt to remain in Canada to avoid charges in Hungary.
The RCMP would not comment specifically on any alleged victim’s criminal past.
But Inspector Steve Martin of the RCMP’s Hamilton-Niagara detachment said: “Canada’s system won’t provide a safe haven for persons convicted of criminal offences in other countries.”
“It is the judge’s decision to decide whether or not to believe witnesses and victims,” added Sergeant Kevin Serniuk.
Domotor Sr. also questioned why police readily believe he and the co-accused have been working together and haven’t investigated the possibility the alleged victims have created their stories together.
When asked about connections between the Domotor and Kolompar families through marriage, Domotor Sr. dismissed the question with a wave of his hand and suggested that lots of Roma people are loosely related.
That leads to the heart of the Gypsy king’s complaint about the accusations levelled against his family.
Domotor Sr. says they are the victims of racism, unfairly targeted because they are Roma.
It’s a theme revisited several times during the conversation.
The police, the legal system, the government, the men making the accusations are all anti-Roma racists, according to Domotor Sr.
It’s clear the relationship between the Roma and Hungarians, both here and in Hungary, is tense, emotional and complicated.
Earlier news stories on the human trafficking ring have brought angry phone calls from the local Hungarian community, demanding The Spectator refer to the accused and the victims as Gypsies rather than Hungarians.
In Hungary, discrimination against the Roma remains a significant problem.
An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 Roma are in Hungary, representing 6 to 8 per cent of the population.
According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, living conditions for Roma communities are significantly worse than the general population.
“Roma are significantly less educated and have below average income and life expectancy,” the report stated. “The unemployment rate for Roma is estimated at 70 per cent, more than 10 times the national average, and most Roma live in extreme poverty.”
According to a 2009 human rights report by the U.S. State Department, more than 82 per cent of Roma have eight years of education or less, even though Hungary provides free, compulsory education for children up to 18 years of age.
The U.S. report also noted that just 3 per cent of Roma have secondary schooling, and one in five Roma children were segregated by being placed without cause in remedial classes for children with mental disabilities.
“Yes, there are some signs that would be described as some situations of discrimination, not necessarily in the gross sense,” said Imre Helyes, head of the consular section of the Hungarian embassy in Ottawa.
The ongoing global economic downturn has only worsened the situation, Helyes added.
“Those who were on the lower rungs of the ladder, obviously, were the hardest hit and a large part of the Roma population, unfortunately, are without major skills,” he said.
Helyes said the Hungarian government has a long-term plan to improve conditions for the Roma population.
“What’s important is that the government realizes this is a very complex issue,” Helyes said. “It’s not just economic, it’s not just social, it’s not just education.”
An hour into the conversation, Domotor Sr. suddenly gets up from the table without a word and walks into the kitchen. He returns with a glass and a two-litre bottle of cream soda, apologetic that he hadn’t offered his guests any refreshment.
As the discussion winds down, Domotor Sr. is adamant about one point. He has no intention of returning to Hungary to live.
“Never. Never. I’m not going out. This is my country. This is where I want to live.”
He shook his head, then said quietly, “It’s not my life, Hungary.”
At the conclusion of the interview, the Gypsy king stepped outside to the edge of his front porch, looked down and said, “This is as far as I am allowed to go. Just here, that’s all.”
With a final wave, he walked inside and closed the door.
The RCMP believes Ferenc Domotor Sr. and his family are the leaders of an international human trafficking operation.
Just how long he has been the alleged boss, how many alleged victims have come in and out of Hamilton and how long the alleged organization has been operating remains unclear.
Domotor Sr. says he has been in Canada nearly 13 years, and until this past year he said he’s had no trouble, “not even a parking ticket.”
But one man named Johnny, now back in Hungary, says the human trafficking operation has been in place for nearly a decade.
Johnny says he was one of the early victims. His last name is being withheld because he is concerned for his safety, even after many years.
Johnny came to Canada in February 2001 after meeting a man nicknamed Kacsa — “duck” in Hungarian — in Zalaegerszeg, a city in western Hungary with a population of about 62,000.
Johnny, whom others describe as sensitive and naive, is from the small village of Alibánfa, a little more than an hour from Papa.
Kacsa mentioned a number of times “the opportunities in Canada” for Johnny. He offered him the chance to come to Canada as a bricklayer, a skill for which Johnny is trained but could barely find work
Before leaving, Kacsa made contact with three men in Hamilton — Csaba Orosz, Zoltan Nemeth and their alleged boss, Domotor Sr.
Within three weeks, Johnny was flying to Canada. Nemeth met him at the airport.
“As soon as I arrived in Canada, right away, within the first week I realized that what they promised me is never going to happen,” Johnny said through an interpreter in a telephone interview from Hungary.
Every three weeks, he was forced to move. He recalls an address on Main Street East but others have faded from his memory.
Johnny was luckier than some of the other alleged victims. He mostly worked for a Grimsby man named Chris, who runs an agricultural business.
Chris’s last name is being withheld because he, too, fears retribution. In the past, he and his family wore panic bracelets and installed a home security system because they were afraid of retaliation after helping some of the workers escape.
Chris started to notice odd things with Johnny and other Hungarian workers who had been brought to them by Orosz and Nemeth. For instance, the men never brought lunches and they were always driven in old cars with 10-day temporary plates.
Eventually, he and his wife helped Johnny and a couple of others escape.
Despite being paid what would have been equal to $40,000 a year, Johnny showed up with a garbage bag filled with a few belongings.
Along with hard labour for no pay, Johnny said he was threatened, spit at and forced to serve his captor, including rubbing his feet almost every night.
He shared these details with the refugee board, but was deported anyway. Johnny lost his first refugee hearing in 2003 and later appeal attempts failed as well. He left Canada a few years ago.
Meanwhile, Nemeth and Orosz were charged in 2002 with threatening bodily harm, theft by conversion and assault against Johnny and another victim. At their preliminary hearing in 2003, the pair entered pleas only for the assault and threatening charges.
According to court documents, the other charges were dropped and Nemeth and Orosz were sentenced to the four months they had already served in pretrial custody. At the time, Canada hadn’t incorporated human trafficking legislation in the Criminal Code.
Nemeth and Orosz’s whereabouts are not known.
Back in Hungary, Johnny says he dreams of returning to Canada every day, and for some time now, Chris and his wife have been trying to make that happen. Since the RCMP investigation and resulting charges, the couple have contacted an immigration lawyer about bringing Johnny back
Sitting around their dining room table, Chris and his wife pass the phone back and forth, and despite the language barrier they say hello and tell Johnny how much they miss him.
They gather a bunch of the labourers who worked with Johnny so they can shout hello, too.
“I remember the hearing when I was sent home, I felt safe because Chris was beside me,” Johnny said through the interpreter.
Even though Johnny broke away from his captors’ control, he hasn’t been able to escape other dangers.
“When I came home, I got a message — that’s the end of me,” he said.
Threats started pouring in from Papa, from people he had never met.
Johnny said he lives under constant watch from his family, careful never to leave the house alone.
“If we have to go shopping or somewhere, I’m usually taken by a family member. I’m not walking on the streets whatsoever, not talking to anybody.”
Not being able to commute freely makes it even more difficult to find a job, he added.
But no matter how hard life is now, Johnny’s biggest fear would be for the families facing criminal charges to be deported back to Hungary.
“Big trouble if they come back.”
Janos Acs has been free from his alleged captors for nearly a year now.
His freedom, however, is bittersweet.
In the past year, he has drifted from shelter to shelter, he has no job, no money and speaks no English, save for “Hello” and “Thank you.”
He originally had hoped to bring his 30-year-old son over from Hungary to live here, but now Acs is unsure if he wants to remain in Canada.
“I feel very much betrayed and I’m pretty frustrated. I’m kind of all alone and I have no friends to discuss the situation.”
A job would certainly go a long way toward making life more tolerable, he said.
“I would be very happy if I was able to work. Since I can’t occupy my mind with work, I’m very unhappy.
“If I could get a job, I wouldn’t want to go back.”
Life in a men’s shelter has also been a distressing adjustment.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this, living in a shelter, having to sleep with other men in the room. I would like to have my own little room, where I’m the boss and I could come and go and be a free man.
“I appreciate that people are helping me here but I just can’t get used to this.
“I don’t regret that I came to Canada but I didn’t figure it was going to be like this.”
[email protected]
905-526-3226
[email protected]
905-526-3199
Nagyon sajnálom! Iszonyúan sajnálom! Csak azért tudok veled ennyire együtt érezni, mert teljesen egyetértek a környezetről, illetve hasonló megrázó dolgok történetek velem is. én is el szeretnék menni... mintha ez a sok kicsi dolog, mely undort és megvetést vált ki belőlem, űzne innen el...
Nem is olyan régen Winnipegben történt,h egy buszon egy férfi levágta egy másik férfi fejét,amikor az aludt.Nem is ismerték egymást,nem is beszéltek egymással előtte.
Úgyhogy sajnos mindenhol történnek ilyen dolgok..
És itt is vannak olyan cégek,akik nem tisztelik a dolgozóikat és minimálbérért a beled kihajszolják.
Úgyhogy sajnos mindenhol történnek ilyen dolgok..
És itt is vannak olyan cégek,akik nem tisztelik a dolgozóikat és minimálbérért a beled kihajszolják.
Nem is olyan régen Winnipegben történt,h egy buszon egy férfi levágta egy másik férfi fejét,amikor az aludt.Nem is ismerték egymást,nem is beszéltek egymással előtte.
Úgyhogy sajnos mindenhol történnek ilyen dolgok..
És itt is vannak olyan cégek,akik nem tisztelik a dolgozóikat és minimálbérért a beled kihajszolják.
Igen, ez valoban megtortent. A "gyilkost" fel is mentette a birosag, mert elmebeteg volt. Na viszont ez nem jelenti azt, hogy valaha is szabad labra kerul az illeto.
Biztos elmegyógyban van.
És mit csinálsz? Úgy értem, milyen kétkezi munkát tanulsz? Illetve a párodat még ezek szerint győzködni kell?
Sziasztok, boldog karácsonyt utólag és előre boldog új évet!
Érdeklődnék, és szívesen beszélgetnék msn-en vagy leveleznék kint élőkkel akik egyszerű bár nekem fontos kérdésekre tudnának válaszolni!
Magyarországon élek 15 éve most 23 éves vagyok pilóta, és közel a repülőmérnöki diploma megszerzéséhez csak az itthoni helyzet miatt felfüggesztettem tanulmányaim. Vágyam, hogy ki menjek és kitelepüljek a párommal kanadába és egy barátommal. A gond, hogy nem tudom hogy kezdjek neki, kint sokszor de sajnos 3 hónapoknál többet nem voltam, és akkor sem azt figyeltem hogy- és miként kell megalapozni kint az ember életét hisz gyerek voltam. Nem tudom, hogy nagy előny-e de kinti születésű vagyok Ontari-Toronto Yorkdale rendelkezem érvényes útlevéllel és számlával de egyéb másom nincs. Kettős állampolgárságom van Kanadai - Magyar. Sajnos miután én véglegesen Magyarország mellett döntöttem... mi tagadás szeretek itt élni de már más ha az ember a jövőt is nézi, nem a pénz a fontos pusztán az emberek stresszben és boldogtalanságban élnek ha már egy kicsit is több mosolyt kap kint az ember megéri végleg hazatérnem.
Sajnos családi katasztrófa miatt, már csak én vagyok és a család magyarországi része. Sajnos a kinti helyzetről sem tudok sokat, megélhetési lehetőségek, munka és az hogy mit kell tennem hogy kezdjem kissé tanácstalan vagyok! Remélem lesz olyan aki mesél és ezzel segít feltárni előttem a kanadai életet.
Köszönöm előre is a segítségetek!
Szép estét!
Érdeklődnék, és szívesen beszélgetnék msn-en vagy leveleznék kint élőkkel akik egyszerű bár nekem fontos kérdésekre tudnának válaszolni!
Magyarországon élek 15 éve most 23 éves vagyok pilóta, és közel a repülőmérnöki diploma megszerzéséhez csak az itthoni helyzet miatt felfüggesztettem tanulmányaim. Vágyam, hogy ki menjek és kitelepüljek a párommal kanadába és egy barátommal. A gond, hogy nem tudom hogy kezdjek neki, kint sokszor de sajnos 3 hónapoknál többet nem voltam, és akkor sem azt figyeltem hogy- és miként kell megalapozni kint az ember életét hisz gyerek voltam. Nem tudom, hogy nagy előny-e de kinti születésű vagyok Ontari-Toronto Yorkdale rendelkezem érvényes útlevéllel és számlával de egyéb másom nincs. Kettős állampolgárságom van Kanadai - Magyar. Sajnos miután én véglegesen Magyarország mellett döntöttem... mi tagadás szeretek itt élni de már más ha az ember a jövőt is nézi, nem a pénz a fontos pusztán az emberek stresszben és boldogtalanságban élnek ha már egy kicsit is több mosolyt kap kint az ember megéri végleg hazatérnem.
Sajnos családi katasztrófa miatt, már csak én vagyok és a család magyarországi része. Sajnos a kinti helyzetről sem tudok sokat, megélhetési lehetőségek, munka és az hogy mit kell tennem hogy kezdjem kissé tanácstalan vagyok! Remélem lesz olyan aki mesél és ezzel segít feltárni előttem a kanadai életet.
Köszönöm előre is a segítségetek!
Szép estét!
Thony érdekes eset a tied. Az hogy kettős állampolgár vagy a hivatalos ügyintézést meggyorsitja és valójában ,,haza,, jössz. Nem pontosan értem, hogy a szakképzésed hol tart és azt se, hogy miért adtad fel, hisz valami végzettséggel könnyebb helyzetbe kerülhetnél. Azt csak érdekesség kedvéért kérdezem, hogy beszélsz e angolul, illetve milyen szinten beszélsz angolul, mert pl a pilótasághoz prefekt nyelvtudás kell, de repülőmérnöki diplomához is. Azt meg kell gondolnod, hogy a barátnőd mellett miért akarod bevállalni még a haverod - akinek gondolom nincs kettős állampolgársága - gondjait is. Miért nem abban gondolkodsz, hogy Ti jöttök, elindultok és kb 1-2 év múlva kihozatjátok a havert is, persze hivatalos bevándorlási papirokkal. Mit szeretnél itt csinálni, félkészen? Gondold át jól. Szerintem be kellene fejezni valami sulit és aztán jönni. Ha jól olvasom 23 éves vagy, nem tudsz lekésni semmiről sem.
Sok szerencsét...
Sok szerencsét...
Érdeklődés
T. Fórumozók!
Hamarosan - kb. 1 év időtartamra - Torontó környékére költözöm. Szeretném kicsit felmérni az étkezéssel kapcsolatos megélhetési lehetőségeket, szerencsére a szállásom és a közlekedésem teljes költségét fedezik. Számomra fontosak a hazai ízek, így érdekelne, hogy beszerezhetőek-e hazai termékek, milyen ellátottsággal kellene számolnom, mennyit kellene érte utaznom és kb. milyenek az árak (pl. tészta, szalámi, konzervek, savanyúság, édességek stb.).
A segítséget előre is köszönve várom a szíves tájékoztatást.
T. Fórumozók!
Hamarosan - kb. 1 év időtartamra - Torontó környékére költözöm. Szeretném kicsit felmérni az étkezéssel kapcsolatos megélhetési lehetőségeket, szerencsére a szállásom és a közlekedésem teljes költségét fedezik. Számomra fontosak a hazai ízek, így érdekelne, hogy beszerezhetőek-e hazai termékek, milyen ellátottsággal kellene számolnom, mennyit kellene érte utaznom és kb. milyenek az árak (pl. tészta, szalámi, konzervek, savanyúság, édességek stb.).
A segítséget előre is köszönve várom a szíves tájékoztatást.
Kedves livda 2000!
Latom te is ugy vagy, hogy eloszor is a hasadra gondolsz
nehogy meglepetes erjen, es egy ev utan 20 kg; vesztve a sulyodbol fosz haza menni.
Hat megnyudtatas kent irom, ettol nem kell felned. Mindent
megtudol itt is venni ami a Magyar gyomornak megfelel persze,
ha nagyon igenyes vagy es csak a vendeglokben szeretel etkezni
arra is meg van a lehetoseged, hiszen van Magyar vendeglok is.
Valamint Magyar Delikatesz uzletek is, csak egyett emlitek,
Mezes Macko! ott minden Magyar arut megtaLalsz meg a othonrol importalt "Pick" szalamit is.
Na ennyit gondolom megnyugtatas kent elfogadod.
udv. bubu.
Igen valtozo milyen uzletbe mesz az arak ugy alakulnak. Magyar uzletekben minden kaphato , nem olcso de nagyon finom.Szalami gesztenyepure, magayr csokik, ujsagok, pipere dolgok, kesz eletelek szilvasgombos, kosonya , pogacsa turos taska kremes rigo jancsi stb. MAgyar uditok ,sot viz is, kave es turo rudi, mackosajt,eros pista krumli cukor marcipan nagymama lekvarja stb
teszta , $1 tol 4 -5 $-ig.
Toronto kornyekere mesz onnan a bejaras komoly penz ha nincs kocsid.
Hiaba irom le hogy egy uveg csemege uborka $2.99 mert biztos van olsobb is dragabb is.
A penztarcad jo ha eleg vastag
mert nem olcso a megelhetes.Ezek mind igenyek kerdese hogy menyit koltesz a megelhetsre.
