NBC Nightly News - 1985-12-03

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] The mob and gasoline, a billion dollar

[0:03] ripoff. Begs and McFarland out the door

[0:07] and the high rolling testimony of

[0:08] Louisiana's governor.

[0:12] >> NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokoff.

[0:15] >> Good evening. Tonight we begin with a

[0:17] shocking investigative report by Brian

[0:20] Ross on the latest enterprise of

[0:21] organized crime, the mob. The mob goes

[0:25] where the money is. And over the years,

[0:26] it has moved into legitimate businesses

[0:28] as well as drugs and vice. It has

[0:30] controlled construction projects,

[0:32] meatacking operations, the clothing

[0:34] trade. Now, a new ripoff for the mob.

[0:37] And after a three-month investigation,

[0:39] Brian is prepared to bring us the first

[0:41] of two reports.

[0:45] This is the part of Long Island near New

[0:47] York City that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote

[0:49] about in The Great Gatsby. Fabulous

[0:51] homes, great wealth. Some of the richest

[0:54] people in the country live here,

[0:56] including the alleged young mafia boss

[0:58] who has just had this place built for

[1:00] him. His name is Michael Francesi, shown

[1:04] here at a party in Florida last year.

[1:07] State and federal law enforcement

[1:08] authorities in New York and Florida say

[1:10] Francei, who was only in his 30s, is the

[1:13] youngest mafia boss in the country and

[1:16] possibly the richest. Authorities say in

[1:19] the last 5 years, Francesy and some of

[1:22] the men around him have made perhaps as

[1:24] much as a billion dollars. Not from

[1:26] heroin or cocaine or prostitution or

[1:28] gambling, but from a new mob business,

[1:33] gasoline.

[1:34] For more than a year now, FBI agents and

[1:37] police in states along the Atlantic

[1:39] coast have been following the movement

[1:41] of hundreds of millions of gallons of

[1:43] gasoline by companies said to be

[1:45] controlled by the mafia. Authorities say

[1:48] Francei and other organized crime

[1:50] figures in a very short period of time

[1:53] have taken over or set up their own

[1:55] storage terminals, tanker truck fleets,

[1:57] wholesalers, jobbers, a whole network,

[2:00] everything necessary to move gasoline

[2:02] under mob rule from the refinery to the

[2:05] corner gas station.

[2:07] >> I would compare them to a pack of

[2:09] jackals. These men, who asked that their

[2:11] identities be concealed, say their

[2:13] wholesale gasoline business was taken

[2:15] over by mafia thuds who showed up and

[2:18] threatened to kill them if they wouldn't

[2:20] do business the way the mob wanted them

[2:22] to.

[2:23] >> Carry on like this, waving his hands

[2:25] around and going, "God damn, it's going

[2:26] to be done my way. I'm the boss around

[2:29] here. I see what goes on around here.

[2:31] It's going to be done my way."

[2:32] >> And this is the mafia's way. Mobc

[2:35] controlled gasoline companies, often

[2:37] working in the middle of the night, sell

[2:39] and deliver one tanker load after

[2:41] another and just don't pay the federal

[2:44] and state gasoline taxes they're

[2:46] supposed to. It is a bonanza for the

[2:49] mob. In New York State, for example, the

[2:51] taxes due on just one 8,000galon tanker

[2:55] load of regular gasoline come to $2,128.

[3:00] And authorities say mob gasoline

[3:02] companies have for years made tens of

[3:05] thousands of tanker runs without paying

[3:07] taxes and without getting caught.

[3:10] >> And the motorist will come here.

[3:13] >> Because they don't pay gasoline taxes,

[3:15] the mob sells gasoline to gas stations

[3:17] at prices 3 to 4 cents a gallon lower

[3:20] than legitimate dealers can offer. And

[3:22] these men say even local dealers under

[3:24] contract to major oil companies wanted

[3:27] secret deliveries of the mob's cheap

[3:29] gasoline.

[3:30] >> We had mobile stations. We had Texico

[3:33] stations. We had Chevron stations.

[3:36] Uh we had Shell stations.

[3:39] >> Authorities say the mafia first moved

[3:41] into the gasoline business in New York

[3:43] and is now active in at least 12 other

[3:45] states. By some estimates, the loss in

[3:48] gasoline taxes is as much as $1 billion.

[3:52] >> You're talking on billions and billions

[3:53] of ga gallons of gasoline.

[3:55] >> Robert Dempsey, the head of the Florida

[3:57] Department of Law Enforcement, says the

[3:58] mob has been so successful because very

[4:01] little checking is done on taxes due

[4:03] from gasoline wholesalers.

[4:05] >> If Florida, New York, and New Jersey

[4:06] were examples, it was obvious that they

[4:08] found the loopholes and they jumped into

[4:09] them. and uh the potential for it being

[4:12] a nationwide uh scheme in every state

[4:14] that has gasoline tax revenues is is

[4:17] quite obvious.

[4:18] >> Florida has been the most aggressive of

[4:20] the states going after the mobsters. One

[4:22] month ago in Costa Rica, Florida

[4:24] investigators arranged a secret meeting

[4:26] with this man, a panameanian lawyer who

[4:28] helped the mob set up its gasoline front

[4:30] companies. And now, Florida

[4:33] investigators have broken the mob's

[4:35] computer codes, making it possible for

[4:37] investigators to find out how business

[4:39] records were falsified to show tax

[4:41] payments when there were none. The mob's

[4:44] own records show transactions with

[4:46] hundreds of gasoline companies.

[4:48] >> And now, for the first time, industry

[4:51] leaders are talking about their fears of

[4:52] a mafia takeover. Tom Platis, the

[4:55] president of Highway Oil, one of the

[4:57] country's largest chains. that 5 years

[4:59] ago, uh, me talking about the mafia and

[5:02] the gasoline business would have been

[5:05] absolutely a a joke, but it's gotten

[5:08] serious where the point that it could

[5:10] very easily happen. If they could move

[5:12] in and take over,

[5:13] >> they could take over a substantial

[5:15] portion of it.

[5:16] >> There have been some arrests. Several

[5:19] mob gasoline companies have been put out

[5:21] of business, and prosecutors in Florida

[5:23] and New York are preparing new charges.

[5:25] But as of now, in many places, gasoline

[5:29] is a mob cargo. Brian Ross, NBC News,

[5:33] New York. Tomorrow night, Brian will

[5:36] show us how the mob hides the millions

[5:38] of dollars that it makes by dodging

[5:39] gasoline taxes. Also coming up on this

[5:42] program tonight, Peter Kent on an

[5:44] emotional funeral in South Africa today

[5:46] and an accounting of the death toll

[5:48] without news cameras present. Robert

[5:50] Elliot tonight on a young woman who

[5:52] suddenly finds herself without a

[5:54] country, about to be deported from the

[5:56] only family she has ever known.

[6:31] Heat. Heat.

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[7:37] The big defense contractor General

[7:39] Dynamics is back in hot water with the

[7:41] federal government tonight. The Pentagon

[7:43] Pentagon announced that General Dynamics

[7:45] has been temporarily suspended from

[7:46] obtaining new contracts with the defense

[7:48] department and the federal branch of the

[7:50] government. Today's announcement follows

[7:52] the indictment of three General Dynamics

[7:54] executives on charges of fraud. One of

[7:56] them is James Begs, now the chief

[7:58] administrator of NASA. And NBC's Chris

[8:00] Wallace reports tonight, senior

[8:02] administration officials expect Begs to

[8:04] resign or take a leave of absence as

[8:06] early as tomorrow. Begs and the other

[8:09] two men were indicted on charges of

[8:11] overbilling the government on a major

[8:12] weapons contract in 1977. Correspondent

[8:15] Wallace also reports the stories about

[8:17] Robert McFarland's imminent departure

[8:19] from the White House have a new urgency

[8:21] tonight. McFarland, the president's

[8:23] national security affairs adviser, has

[8:25] been clashing with White House chief of

[8:27] staff Donald Rean. And tonight, a senior

[8:30] administration official said McFarland's

[8:32] resignation is expected shortly. And

[8:34] while all of that is going on around

[8:36] him, the president is trying to decide

[8:38] what to do about a tax reform bill that

[8:41] is steadily making its way out of

[8:42] Congress. This is the bill worked out by

[8:44] the House Ways and Means Committee and

[8:46] opposed by a lot of big business

[8:48] interest. As NBC's congressional

[8:50] correspondent Bob Kerr reports tonight,

[8:52] it may not be all the president wants,

[8:54] but it may be all he'll get.

[8:58] The president remained non-committal

[9:00] today, but after meeting with him at the

[9:02] White House, Republican congressional

[9:04] leaders indicated that Mr. Reagan would

[9:06] not try to kill the Ways and Means

[9:08] Committee tax bill.

[9:10] >> I think he wants to keep the process

[9:11] alive. That's the message I received

[9:13] that uh which would indicate that uh uh

[9:17] that he's not going to reject uh the

[9:19] House Ways and Means package. The

[9:21] committee controlled by Democrats met

[9:23] today to vote final approval of its

[9:25] proposed tax law changes. But the

[9:28] committee's proposal differs from what

[9:30] Mr. Reagan and many House Republicans

[9:32] want. The top individual tax rate, the

[9:35] presidents, is lower than the House

[9:37] Republicans or the Ways and Means

[9:38] Committees. The personal exemption, the

[9:41] president and House Republicans are more

[9:43] generous than the committee. The

[9:45] deduction for state and local taxes. Mr.

[9:48] Reagan would repeal it. House

[9:49] Republicans limit it. The committee keep

[9:52] it. The top corporate rate, the

[9:54] president and House Republicans propose

[9:56] a lower rate than the committee.

[9:59] Generally on tax breaks for industry,

[10:01] Mr. Reagan and House Republicans would

[10:03] be more generous than the committee.

[10:06] That's one reason House Republicans

[10:07] today announced they'll fight the

[10:09] committee's proposal with their own. We

[10:11] we think that the the anti- business

[10:14] part of the the bill certainly could

[10:16] affect the economy of this country and

[10:18] we don't think our bill will.

[10:21] >> With a House floor fight in mind,

[10:23] supporters today gave Ways and Means

[10:25] Committee Chairman Rostenowski a

[10:27] sledgehammer.

[10:28] >> I'm not looking for a fight. I think the

[10:31] president uh should be pleased with uh

[10:34] what we've accomplished. Now that the

[10:37] committee's approved it, the tax bill

[10:38] goes to the House floor next week. And

[10:40] the betting here is that Mr. Reagan

[10:42] won't fight the House on this one

[10:44] because like Rostenowski, the president

[10:47] wants a place in tax history books. Bob

[10:50] Kerr, NBC News, at the US capital. There

[10:54] is one good reason Congress and the

[10:56] White House are determined to pass some

[10:58] kind of tax reform this year. It's an

[10:59] explosive campaign issue with enormous

[11:02] popular support. According to the latest

[11:04] NBC News Wall Street Journal poll, fully

[11:07] twothirds of the public favor tax

[11:09] reform, only 18% are opposed. 16% say

[11:13] they aren't sure. But Americans don't

[11:15] think much of the way that Congress has

[11:17] handled the issue. Among voters, only

[11:19] 11% give Congress a good rating on tax

[11:22] reform this year. 45% give it a fair

[11:25] rating. More than onethird of the

[11:27] voters, 36% said Congress is doing a

[11:30] poor job on tax reform.

[11:33] A vote on textile imports today focused

[11:35] attention on another highly charged

[11:37] issue facing Congress this year. In a

[11:39] head-on challenge to President Reagan's

[11:41] free trade policy, lawmakers late this

[11:43] afternoon approved strict quotas on

[11:45] imported textiles. But the bill did not

[11:47] receive enough support to override

[11:49] President Reagan's expected veto. And

[11:51] the Senate today put aside a measure

[11:53] that would reduce campaign contributions

[11:55] from political action committees or

[11:57] packs as they're known. Apparently, a

[11:59] good many senators opposed the stricter

[12:01] limits, but did not want to go on record

[12:03] against them. So, they voted to study

[12:05] the bill and debated again next year.

[12:17] Some of you are being asked to choose a

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[13:47] South Africa today lifted the four-month

[13:49] state of emergency in eight districts

[13:51] while keeping it in effect in 30 others.

[13:53] Earlier, as many as 50,000 South

[13:56] Africans went to a funeral for a dozen

[13:58] blacks killed two weeks ago. It was one

[14:00] of the biggest gatherings since the

[14:01] state of emergency was imposed. And as

[14:03] NBC's Peter Kent reports tonight, it was

[14:05] largely peaceful.

[14:09] They sang and danced and chanted, but

[14:12] mourers gathered with some uncertainty.

[14:14] The police and army had said they would

[14:16] not interfere with the mass funeral, but

[14:18] a similar assurance was given two weeks

[14:20] ago when these victims, including a

[14:22] 69-year-old woman and a two-month-old

[14:24] child, were killed.

[14:27] One big difference today was the

[14:29] presence of newsmen and Western

[14:31] diplomats invited as observers by the

[14:33] grieving families. Tim Carney, the US

[14:36] embassy's political counselor, said he

[14:38] came out of respect for friends and

[14:40] employees who live in Mammal. My

[14:42] presence is is to indicate American

[14:44] support for the principle of peaceful

[14:46] protest. Some white South Africans came

[14:49] as well.

[14:50] >> The killings must stop.

[14:53] >> The already emotional gathering was

[14:55] further roused when Winnie Mandela, wife

[14:57] of the best known prisoner of apartate,

[14:59] Nelson Mandela, once again defied a

[15:01] government ban on her making political

[15:03] statements.

[15:05] We are here today to tell you that that

[15:08] day is not far when we shall lead you to

[15:12] freedom.

[15:14] >> Despite that sort of defiance throughout

[15:16] the day, the police and army stayed away

[15:18] watching from an overlooking hill.

[15:21] Camera crews who have been prohibited

[15:23] from covering events like this for the

[15:25] past month made the most of today's

[15:27] opportunity. The 13 killed in the

[15:29] controversial Mamalot shooting

[15:31] contributed to South Africa's November

[15:33] death toll of at least 90, which is at

[15:35] least five more dead than in the month

[15:37] before the press ban. The statistics

[15:39] seem to contradict the government's

[15:40] contention that newsmen were responsible

[15:43] for much of the unrest and violence. The

[15:46] news cameras did not incite violence

[15:48] here today, but the resulting coverage,

[15:49] domestic and international, will likely

[15:52] increase pressure on the government for

[15:53] an inquiry into what happened here two

[15:56] weeks ago. Peter Kent, NBC News, Mammal

[15:59] Township, South Africa.

[16:02] >> A plot to smuggle $10 million worth of

[16:04] military spare parts to Iran has been

[16:06] broken by US customs agents. Tonight, a

[16:09] retired Turkish Air Force officer and

[16:11] two other Turks are being held. They're

[16:13] in custody in New York after being

[16:14] arrested last night in Port Newark.

[16:17] Customs agents caught them trying to buy

[16:19] spare parts for Iranian military

[16:20] aircraft and radar systems. There is an

[16:23] embargo on shipping military goods to

[16:25] Iran, which has been fighting a long war

[16:27] with Iraq.

[16:30] >> Back in this country, in a New Orleans

[16:31] courtroom today, Louisiana's Governor

[16:33] Edwin Edwards was cross-examined about

[16:35] his finances and his gambling. Edwards

[16:38] is accused of racketeering and fraud.

[16:40] But as NBC's Ken Bod reports tonight, he

[16:43] insists that he's done nothing wrong.

[16:45] >> It's an awfully hard thing to Edwards

[16:46] has spent 12 weeks in federal court in a

[16:49] trial he originally branded a political

[16:51] witch hunt.

[16:52] >> Do you feel nervous?

[16:56] >> Today was the day of the great faceoff,

[16:58] cross-examination of Edwards by

[17:00] Republican US Attorney John Vol. Edwards

[17:03] made $2 million in a complicated

[17:05] hospital deal while he was out of

[17:07] office. The prosecution has sought to

[17:09] establish that Edwards did very little

[17:11] work for that money, implying it was his

[17:13] influence as governor that was for sale.

[17:15] Edwards described his roles in the deal

[17:17] as that of lawyer, consultant, and door

[17:20] opener. But the defense insists that

[17:22] everything he did was as private citizen

[17:24] Edwards, not Governor Edwards. The jury,

[17:27] mostly ordinary and poor Louisianans,

[17:29] was fascinated as the prosecution sought

[17:31] to establish the governor's casino

[17:33] gambling debts as a motive that he

[17:35] needed the cash. One casino sent two

[17:38] employees to Baton Rouge to pick up

[17:39] nearly $800,000 from the governor. Cash

[17:42] in suitcases. Edwards testified that his

[17:45] gambling has never been a secret, that

[17:47] he always paid his debts or collected

[17:48] his winnings in cash. He produced a

[17:51] little black book, his only record of

[17:52] winnings and lossings. He said he often

[17:54] gambled under aliases at the suggestion

[17:56] of the casino because he was a

[17:58] well-known public figure. Punched

[18:00] Governor Edwin Edwards into a casino

[18:02] computer and out will come the aliases

[18:04] T. Lee, enough, and T. Wong. In

[18:07] testimony, Edwards repeatedly said he is

[18:09] not a detail man. But today, on

[18:12] cross-examination, he was meticulously

[18:14] prepared, often citing specific pages of

[18:16] his grand jury testimony from memory.

[18:19] >> When it was over, the governor said he

[18:20] thought he'd had a good day in court.

[18:22] >> Didn't see any fun in games today, but

[18:25] >> I had fun.

[18:26] >> The Edwards defense team is costing an

[18:28] estimated $10,000 a day. And today, the

[18:30] governor told his lawyers, "Earn your

[18:32] fees." Both sides say the case could go

[18:35] to the jury by this weekend. Ken Bod,

[18:37] NBC News, New Orleans.

[18:40] For more safety in the workplace, the

[18:42] federal government today proposed new

[18:44] limits on the exposure of workers to

[18:45] four chemicals suspected of causing

[18:47] cancer and other diseases. The chemicals

[18:50] include benzene and formaldahhide if

[18:52] approved. The rules would affect more

[18:54] than 2 million workers in this country.

[18:56] Sources inside Toyota say the Japanese

[18:59] company now has tenatively decided to

[19:01] build its first American car assembly

[19:03] plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, which is

[19:05] near Lexington. An official announcement

[19:07] is expected next week. The cost of the

[19:09] new plant is put at $500 million.

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[20:51] >> The opposition to Philippines President

[20:53] Fernidan Marcos was heard clearly and

[20:55] dramatically once again today. First,

[20:57] Corazan Aino, widow of the murdered

[20:59] opposition leader, announced that she

[21:01] will run against Marcos in the February

[21:03] election. She said the country had been

[21:05] devastated by 20 years of Marcos rule

[21:08] and that she represented contrast and

[21:10] change.

[21:11] >> Mr. My boss

[21:14] is the cause of all of the suffering and

[21:17] hardship in this country.

[21:20] I think the contrast is very necessary

[21:22] in order to convince the people that

[21:25] there is still a chance for this country

[21:28] that there is still hope.

[21:32] >> Tonight, there were new protests against

[21:33] yesterday's verdict that cleared the

[21:35] head of the armed forces and 25 others

[21:37] in the murder of Mrs. Aino's husband,

[21:39] Benino. Her supporters paraded through

[21:42] part of Manila to boost her candidacy

[21:44] and to protest that government verdict.

[21:48] The challenge to Marcos is the subject

[21:49] of John Chancellor's commentary tonight.

[21:51] John

[21:52] >> Tom, the latest news, as we've seen from

[21:54] the Philippines, raises again some

[21:56] difficult questions about the rule of

[21:58] President Marcos. The main question, is

[22:01] the United States stuck again with an

[22:03] aging dictator who's going down the

[22:05] drain? Will the Philippines be a replay

[22:07] of Nicaragua or Iran? Washington put the

[22:10] sha on the throne of Iran and when he

[22:12] fell the place became a rogue nation and

[22:14] a menace to peace. Washington put a

[22:17] dictator named Anastasio Samoza into

[22:19] power in Nicaragua and when his regime

[22:22] was thrown out, Nicaragua became one of

[22:24] the real headaches in this hemisphere.

[22:26] In both cases, the United States ended

[22:28] up backing the wrong horse. But there's

[22:30] a difference in the Philippines. In Iran

[22:33] and to some extent in Nicaragua, the

[22:35] United States was not popular with the

[22:37] people. And that's not true in the

[22:38] Philippines. The United States once

[22:41] owned the Philippines and gave it its

[22:43] independence. Ties with America are

[22:45] strong, forged in peace and war. There

[22:48] are a lot of American Legion posts in

[22:50] the Philippines. Younger Filipinos are

[22:52] not as pro-American as their parents,

[22:54] but there is still a reservoir of

[22:56] respect for the United States, and that

[22:58] means there is still considerable

[23:00] maneuvering room for American policy.

[23:02] The United States will not be any less

[23:04] popular with the people of the

[23:06] Philippines if it leans on Marcos and

[23:08] forces him to make real reforms. And if

[23:10] Marcos gets into the kind of trouble

[23:12] that toppled Samoza or the Sha, the main

[23:15] interest of the United States has to be

[23:17] the friendship of the Philippine people.

[23:19] Being nice to Marcos could lose that

[23:21] friendship. Being tough with him will

[23:23] only reinforce it. Which is commentary

[23:25] for this evening. Tom,

[23:26] >> thanks John. The city of Boal, India,

[23:28] was paralyzed by a general strike today,

[23:30] one year after the Union Carbide gas

[23:32] leak that killed more than 2,000 people.

[23:35] As demonstrators burned Union Carbide's

[23:37] chairman in effigy, the company gave

[23:39] $3,000 to each of its workers left

[23:42] jobless when the pesticide plant was

[23:43] forced to close last July.

[23:53] Tales of heartburn from Gavascon and

[23:56] acid. Once a man ate all of Italy

[23:59] >> pasta with tomato sauce and garlic

[24:01] >> in one night

[24:02] >> and the garlic

[24:04] >> and discovered the only thing worse than

[24:06] daytime heartburn.

[24:07] >> Heartburn

[24:08] >> is nighttime heartburn. Fortunately,

[24:11] there was Gabaskcon specially

[24:13] formulated. So, it not only gives fast

[24:15] relief during the day, it even works at

[24:17] night when you're lying down. Gavascon

[24:20] ant acid. It even works lying down. The

[24:24] age of battery flashlights is over.

[24:28] Introducing the First Alert rechargeable

[24:31] flashlight. The powerful new flashlight

[24:33] that never needs batteries. The First

[24:35] Alert rechargeable flashlight is always

[24:38] bright because it has a unique power

[24:40] plug for easy recharging and a krypton

[24:43] bulb for a powerful beam. Get the new

[24:46] First Alert rechargeable flashlight

[24:51] from First Alert.

[24:54] I'm Bryant Gumble. Tomorrow morning on

[24:56] Today, we'll preview college football's

[24:58] battle for number one.

[24:59] >> I'm Carol Marine. Also, actors Kim

[25:00] Basinger and Shauna. That's tomorrow

[25:02] morning on Today.

[25:04] >> We asked a thousand doctors if stranded

[25:06] on an island, which would they want?

[25:08] Tylenol, extra strength, Tylenol, Advil,

[25:11] or Bayer? More doctors chose Bayer,

[25:14] nearly 2 to1 over extra strength

[25:15] Tylenol. Bayer, the wonder drug that

[25:18] works wonders.

[25:20] >> God, my nose is stuffy.

[25:22] >> Oh, you caught my cold.

[25:24] Neosinephrine cleared up my nose right

[25:26] away. See? And there's neosinphrine for

[25:29] your nose, too.

[25:30] >> Neosinphrine. Nothing's faster or more

[25:32] effective. It lets you breathe a lot

[25:34] easier.

[25:36] >> There are thousands of poignant stories

[25:39] on America's southern borders every

[25:40] week. Stories of people crossing into

[25:42] the United States illegally, desperate

[25:44] to start new lives. Tonight, Robert

[25:47] Elliott has the unusual story of a young

[25:49] woman caught between these two worlds,

[25:50] caught by surprise.

[25:54] >> Illegal aliens crossing the Rio Grand.

[25:56] Border agents waiting for them.

[25:59] >> Are you still at ease? Yes, sir. I have

[26:01] a ride for that.

[26:02] >> Pick up. Pick up.

[26:04] >> It's a cat and mouse game that's played

[26:06] out all along the Texas border.

[26:08] Something Lorie Burr never thought much

[26:10] about until now. She's been in this

[26:12] country for 16 years, but immigration

[26:15] officials now say she's an illegal alien

[26:17] and should be returned to Mexico. The

[26:20] ruling has torn her family apart.

[26:24] >> I can't even talk about it.

[26:26] In 1966, Lori was abandoned by her

[26:29] natural mother in Mexico and adopted by

[26:32] Roberta and Bill Burr, who were working

[26:34] there as missionaries. They returned to

[26:36] the United States and everything was

[26:37] fine until Lorie applied for a social

[26:39] security card. That's when her family

[26:41] found out that because of a mistake in

[26:43] the original paperwork, the adoption was

[26:46] technically illegal. I think the hardest

[26:48] part would um be leaving my family, my

[26:52] friends,

[26:54] and everybody that's been with me.

[26:58] >> As a last resort, the Burrs have turned

[27:00] to the United States Congress.

[27:02] >> Surely, we cannot let bureaucratic red

[27:04] tape stand in the way of justice. If

[27:07] Congress doesn't help Lorie Burr, she'll

[27:09] become a deportable alien, and could be

[27:11] forced to leave her family in the United

[27:13] States, cross the Rio Grand, and return

[27:15] to Mexico.

[27:17] Immigration officials are watching the

[27:19] bill very carefully. If it fails,

[27:21] they'll enforce the law.

[27:23] >> Don't you think that deporting her would

[27:25] be kind of cold-hearted if it comes to

[27:27] that?

[27:30] >> I'm not going to comment on that. It's

[27:32] part of the job. You know, if you have

[27:33] to do it, you have to do it.

[27:36] >> So Lori waits for a final ruling,

[27:38] uncertain of her future. She always

[27:40] assumed she was an American citizen. And

[27:42] now she wonders why all of a sudden the

[27:45] country doesn't want her anymore. Robert

[27:47] Elliot, NBC News, El Paso.

[27:51] That's Nightly News for this Tuesday

[27:53] night. I'm Tom Brokoff. I'll see you

[27:54] tomorrow night.

[28:25] Coming up next on the scene at 6,

[28:27] Vanderbilt's head football coach calls

[28:29] it quits and the governor calls a

[28:31] contempt of court ruling against

[28:32] correction commissioner Steve Norris a

[28:34] bizarre example of justice. Also

[28:36] tonight, the FBI says it is furious at a

[28:39] Nashville judge. And from Unit 4, we'll

[28:42] ask the question, does race affect where

[28:44] we live and move in Nashville today.

[28:48] These stories and more news coming up

[28:50] next on The Scene at 6.

[28:56] Everyone's rushing to Wendy's. They're

[28:58] getting their money and waiting for the

[29:00] doors to open because Wendy's fresh

[29:02] quarter pound singles are now just 99.

[29:05] They're laughing. They're dancing in the

[29:07] streets. They're swinging on over to

[29:09] pick up fresh Wendy singles for just 99.

[29:12] So don't hang around. Drag a friend

[29:14] along. He'll love those fresh Wendy's

[29:17] singles for just 99. But you better

[29:20] shake a leg. You're running out of time.

[29:22] Choose fresh. Choose Wendy's for just

[29:24] 99.

[29:28] Looking through the pages.