The case of missing 3-year-old Angelina Montes is centered around a clash of cultures.
Montes is in the middle of a custody battle. Her mother is in Venezuela, and her father was arrested for interfering with parental custody rights. Although attorney Michael Grieco said that the 3-year-old has been staying with her father's parents, she is officially listed as missing by state authorities.
The family calls themselves Gypsies, a heritage the Montes grandparents said they are very proud of. Their people migrated from India in the 11th century through Europe and eventually into the Americas.
Police estimate there are about 2,000 Gypsies in South Florida at any given time. They say the number is an estimate because the Gypsy community travels almost constantly, often changing names from city to city. Police call gypsies that commit crimes "transient offenders."
The "transient offenders" commit crimes such as insurance fraud and staged accidents, according to an undercover police investigator.
"There is always a new scam just around the corner," said the investigator whose name and agency are being withheld by his request to protect his identity.
He is an expert on the Gypsy culture and educates police departments all over the nation about the Gypsy crimes.
He said Gypsy children are pulled from school after just a few years because of moral conflicts.
"The values and the ethics that are taught generally in schools conflict with the norms and ethics that are taught within that society," the detective said. "The average American value system may be that you work a 40 hour work week, you work hard, you save and accomplish a certain goal. Some people look at that as not being very intelligent because you can just take what you want and go on your way. Obviously that conflicts with the American society's laws."
The investigator told NBC Miami that the kids are taught criminal trades such as imposter burglaries, in which someone poses as a city or utility worker to get inside your home. They are also taught things like organized shoplifting.
When there is a custody dispute, such as the Montes case, they like to handle matters among themselves in their own legal system.
"Often times the first born will go with the father's family or the father when they separate," he said. "The remaining children will be divided up as the elders determine."
