Marcello Lucero Killed by Six White Teenagers, One Hispanic, Raises Questions of Simmering Racial Tensions

The stabbing death of Ecuadorian Marcello Lucero, 37, is heart-wrenching. He lived in from Patchogue, N.Y. and was killed by a gang of teens -- six white and one Hispanic. Media reports have said the teens set out that night to attack a Mexican, but a Suffolk County district attorney office spokesman couldn't substantiate those claims. The seven teens have been charged and arraigned. The alleged ringleader, Jeffrey Conroy, 17, of Medford, N.Y., was charged with first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and first-degree gang assault. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail at the Suffolk County jail.

The remaining suspects, all charged with first-degree gang assault, pleaded not guilty and were assigned bond options. They are: Jordan Dasch, 17, Anthony Hartford, 17, Nicholas Hausch, 17, and Kevin Shea, 17, all of Medford, N.Y., as well as Christopher Overton, 16, and Jose Pacheco, 17, both of East Patchogue, N.Y.

This is a throwback to Bensonhurst and the Crown Heights riots. His death has rightly sparked a shock wave of anger and sadness in this community on New York's Long Island, with Hispanic leaders saying it took a murder for attention to finally be turned to ongoing racial tension between Hispanics, whites and Suffolk County officials.

The Rev. Allan Ramirez, pastor of the Brookville Reformed Church in neighboring Nassau County, has been involved in the Suffolk County Latino community for years. He said Lucero's death is not an isolated incident, but the latest in a growing list of anti-Hispanic violence. "And most likely, sadly, it will happen again," Ramirez said. In past years, there have been beatings, robberies, vandalized properties, and reports of houses being burned down. "We know when we talk in the streets, when we talk to the community, that hate crimes are occurring on a regular basis," Ramirez said. Source: ABC News

According to media reports, there were six anti-Hispanic hate crimes in both 2005 and 2006 in Suffolk County and one in 2007, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, a number way off base with anecdotal evidence from the community.

To add insult to injury, county executive Steve Levy stuck his foot in his mouth when he suggested that Lucero's death would have been a "one-day story" had it occurred in Nassau County and that it had only received media attention to draw attention to his stance on immigration policies. He has since sought to change his stance.

"It was absolutely the wrong time for me to suggest that coverage of events in Suffolk is treated differently by the media," he continued in his letter. "The horrible incident is indeed more than a one-day story. It was a reminder of how far we as a society still have to go."

One has to wonder if this man has "blood on his hands," because according to ABC News,

Levy has been accused with anti-immigration sentiment in the past. Since he took office in 2004, the county has put forth laws on issues that some say pertain to the Hispanic community, both illegal and legal, including restrictions on non-related people living in the same residence and anti-loitering proposals that sought to cut down on day laborers who wait by the roadside looking for work. He's also signed legislation to bar undocumented workers from being hired by county contractors and those with county licenses.

When asked to comment on his relations with the Hispanic community and his comments regarding the Lucero murder, Levy's spokesman said that the county executive "has consistently denounced this heinous act." "This is not a time for politics, finger-pointing or a debate on the issue of illegal immigration," the spokesman said.

It is time to bridge the cultural divides in America. Not tear one another down. We all want the same things out of life--food, shelter, happiness and a job. Some of our young people are on a dangerous collision course for complete destruction. It is really sad and I hope these young men will spend the rest of their lives in prison. No-one deserves to meet such fate.