ADOPTION AGENCY SHUT BY STATE
The Miami Herald
Author: NOAH BIERMAN AND MARIKA LYNCH, nbierman@herald.com
A Coral Springs adoption agency had its license revoked on Friday after state child welfare workers said the company was lying about its connections with a suspected child smuggler.
The Broward adoption agency, International Adoption Resources, is under continuing investigation, said Jack Moss, the Department of Children & Families administrator for Broward County, in a written statement.
The suspended Broward adoption agency's director, Rebecca Thurmond, did not respond to numerous phone messages left by The Herald.
The investigation stems from a September discovery in Costa Rica of nine Guatemalan babies living in a makeshift nursery allegedly being used as a transit point for babies en route to foreign couples who wanted to adopt. Costa Rican officials, fearing Guatemala's baby-smuggling problems would penetrate its borders, put a high priority on busting the ring. They linked the babies to IAR, the South Florida agency, through a Costa Rican attorney named Carlos Robles, who was acting as an intermediary.
Robles was jailed in September by Costa Rican authorities - along with two Hondurans, four Guatemalans, and a Swiss national. Robles is being detained on suspicion of child trafficking. The case is still under investigation, Sandra Castro, a spokeswoman for Costa Rica's judicial system, said. When the investigation concludes, a judge will determine whether to charge Robles with a crime.
La Nacion, a Costa Rican newspaper, also reported that the Guatemalan mothers have asked for their children back, but will have to wait for the investigation is concluded.
When Florida began its investigation, Thurmond told investigators she had no relationship with Robles, the Costa Rican lawyer.
``A letter sent by IAR to the Costa Rican consulate, however, clearly names Carlos Robles as acting on behalf of Rebecca Thurmond, executive director of IAR,'' Moss wrote in his suspension letter.
Moss also said Thurmond lied about another company associate, Rafael Leyva. Thurmond denied knowing who he was - even though he worked for her using the name Rolf Levy, according to Moss' letter. Leyva told The Herald in September that he indeed worked for IAR and that the company had erred in associating with Robles, failing to do a proper background check.
An American couple who has been working to adopt a Guatemalan baby through IAR for the past year said Thurmond has been slow to respond to requests for information about the baby's status.
``There's a lot of concern and a lot of frustration,'' said the husband, a Midwestern man in his early 40s who asked not to be identified, fearing it could hurt his chances of adopting.
He and his wife paid Thurmond's company in February, and were told to expect an adoption within five to eight months, they said.
``We checked them out as much as we could,'' said the husband, who still hopes the adoption will move forward.
Herald staff writers Ashley Fantz and Carol Marbin Miller contributed to this report.