Rep. Boccieri says Brazil wants Lochte, but still harbors murder suspect Claudia Hoerig

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

State Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, said the recent events surrounding Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, charged by Rio de Janeiro police with falsely reporting a crime, highlight the inconsistencies in the U.S.-Brazilian relations.

That’s because Brazil has yet to release Claudia Hoerig, a native of that country, to the United States to stand trial for the 2007 killing of her husband, Karl of Newton Falls, an Air Force Reserve pilot and major, and a personal friend of Boccieri’s.

The Brazilian Supreme Court has to approve her extradition, which The Vindicator reported in April could take up to a year.

Rio police said Thursday that it was summoning Lochte back to Brazil for legal proceedings related to an altercation he had at a gas station during the Olympics.

“Lochte’s actions were juvenile,” Boccieri said. “What he did at that gas station doesn’t represent the values we expect from our Olympic ambassadors. But Brazil has some nerve to summon one of our athletes when they are harboring a known fugitive who killed a decorated Air Force pilot.”

Boccieri said if he were the secretary of state, “I would tell Brazil that they should honor our laws before we can acknowledge their laws.”