Brazil could soon find out what it’s like to be snubbed

First, let us be clear about one thing: There is no moral equivalency between cold-blooded murder and the drunken antics of a self-absorbed young man.

Nonetheless, we find ourselves agreeing with state Rep. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, who is using the tale of two individuals to highlight the hypocrisy of the Brazilian government when it comes to the issue of extradition.

Brazil is seeking to have U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte sent back to Rio de Janeiro to answer to a criminal charge of filing a false robbery report. If found guilty, Lochte, who won gold medals at this month’s Olympic Games hosted by Brazil, could be sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Lochte could be tried in absentia if he doesn’t return to face the charge.

But as Boccieri pointed out last week, there’s a certain irony in Brazil seeking the swimmer’s extradition.

The Mahoning Valley, in general, and Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, in particular, have been waiting for more than nine years for Brazil to send accused murderer Claudia C. Hoerig back to Warren to stand trial.

Hoerig is charged with killing her husband, Karl, in their Newton Falls home on March 12, 2007. She fled to her native Brazil just before the body of the decorated major in the Air Force Reserve was found. He had been shot.

Watkins secured a grand jury indictment of Claudia on a charge of aggravated murder with a gun specification.

However, despite the effort of Watkins, Boccieri, area congressmen Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, and Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, as well as Ohio’s two U.S. senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Rob Portman, the government of Brazil has protected Claudia Hoerig.

This, despite the fact, that she renounced her Brazilian citizenship when she married Karl Hoerig.

Earlier this year, Claudia Hoerig was arrested in her native country, but it could be many months before she is returned to the Mahoning Valley – even though the Supreme Court in Brazil has ruled that she is not a Brazilian citizen, but a citizen of the United States.

The snub by Brazil has been made worse by the refusal of the administrations of President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush to play hard ball.

Over the years, we joined the region’s elected officials in calling on the White House to use America’s trade relations with Brazil to force the issue of the accused killer’s return. But for some reason, both Democratic and Republican administrations have been reluctant to push government authorities in Brasilia, the capital city.

BOCCIERI’S MESSAGE TO BRAZIL

Boccieri, who was a close friend of Karl Hoerig’s and is a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve, had this observation last week that should grab the attention of the Obama White House:

If he were U.S. secretary of state, “I would tell Brazil that they should honor our laws before we honor their laws.”

The Brazilians want Olympian Lochte to stand trial for not only falsely reporting a crime, but because the incident grabbed headlines around the world.

The story spun by Lochte and fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen was this: They were returning to the Olympic Village in a taxi when they were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi by men with a police badge.

Video surveillance emerged showing the athletes getting into a confrontation with security guards at the gas station when their taxi pulled over to let them use the restroom. While there have been conflicting versions over whether the guards pulled their weapons on the swimmers, Lochte has since acknowledged he was highly intoxicated and that his behavior led to the confrontation.

Lochte left Brazil shortly after the incident. Three days later, local authorities took Conger and Bentz off an airliner heading to the United States so they could be questioned about the robbery claim. They were later allowed to leave Brazil, as was Feigen, after he also gave testimony. Feigen, who initially stood by Lochte’s testimony, was not charged.

Now, Brazilian authorities are determined to see that Lochte pays for his crime.

Yet, for the past nine years, these same individuals and others ignored the appeals from Karl Hoerig’s parents and other members of his family for his accused killer to be brought to justice.

Brazil has earned a snub from the U.S.