“Colombian Visitor with Rare Form of Cancer

Wants To See His Family”

Mayor Wildes w/Latino organization, ODECI

present Duberney Gomez (right of Mayor Wildes)

with check for funds raised for Mr. Gomez's behalf.

Duberney Gomez, a Colombian national receiving treatment in America for leukemia has one wish: to see his wife and three young children. He has no funds of his own and the wells of hope are drying up in a hurry. He is receiving Cancer treatment at Hackensack University Hospital Cancer Center and his medication is being provided to him free of charge by phamaceutical giant NOVARTIS through their patient assistance program. His family will only be allowed to enter the country if they can assure the American consulate in Bogota, Colombia that after their temporary visit in the United States, they will intend to return their home in Pereira, Colombia. Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, a partner with the law offices of Wildes, Weinberg, Grunblatt and Wildes, a prominent immigration law firm, has taken this case pro bono to help Mr. Gomez and his family reunite. Mayor Wildes and his firm have already succeeded in securing an extension of Mr. Gomez’s visitors visa. Currently, he is surviving only due to the generosity of others. Mayor Wildes and ODECI--Englewood, New Jersey’s Hispanic based charity are currently raising funds for visas and travel expenses. At this point, it does not look like the family will be able to see him again, unless he returns home.

Paid for by Friends of Michael J. Wildes, Claudia Colbert, Treasurer