Eugenio German sold ice cream from a pushcart. Anita Villalongo left her building each day to buy a cone.
Their friendship blossomed into a marriage. Their marriage blossomed into a family; two daughters and a son.
But cancer and corruption almost wiped it all away. Ms. Villalongo-German, a Puerto Rican American citizen, died of cancer – multiple myeloma – and renal failure on March 26, 2011. Meanwhile, attorneys the couple had hired to process Dominican-born Mr. German’s application for citizenship defrauded them, leaving Mr. German in danger of deportation.
Fortunately, the Catholic Charities Immigration department stepped in to help.