Arnold was born on January 18, 1956 in L'Aquila, Italy. He was four-years-old when he arrived in the United States. With the exception of those first four years, Arnold has lived his entire life in the United States. He is a legal, permanent resident of the U.S.

Arnold served in the United States Army from 7/25/1976 until 7/29/1979, and in the National Guard until 1/26/1983. (records 1, 2)

He married in 1988 and was divorced in 1993. After his divorce, he ended up falling on hard times. Unfortunately, his path eventually led him to some pretty severe substance abuse. The abuse became worse and worse until he found himself embroiled in a full fledge drug addiction.

Everyone always wants to know "what'd he do?" Not just with Arnold, but in any case that involves someone asking you to side with a criminal. Before someone is going to offer the time and energy of their indignation, they need to know if the punishment may be warranted.

Arnold has convictions for three different types of crimes on his record. Two Simple Possessions of Narcotics (just enough for personal use), Three Failures to Appear, and Larceny on a number of occasions, almost every time in the 6th degree. He has one 5th degree and one 4th degree larceny conviction. They are all misdemeanors and mostly come from small-time shoplifting arrests (6th degree means under $250.)

When his addiction was at its worst, he was literally on the street, and it is to his great shame now that he did the things he did to support his habit. His last arrest was on January 23, 2007. He has since become entirely clean and sober, and subsequently, wouldn't dream of stealing anything from anybody.

Unfortunately, his criminal record is going to follow him wherever he goes for the rest of his life.

Those charges are no doubt a large part of the reason that he set his employment sights so low when he was released from jail in 2008. I think he preferred the night job at a fast food restaurant to "real interviews" and the humiliation of explaining to potential employers that he spent the last few years of his life as a homeless drug addict and a petty thief. That is not who Arnold was for the first 50 years of his life, and it is not who Arnold will be for his remaining years.

There has been one question that has been nagging at all of us since this nightmare began - - WHY NOW?     

Arnold was on parole and probation for years. There was a very long period of time that the United States Court System allowed him - encouraged him - required him - to get his life together and start flying right.

They released him from jail and allowed him to go out and create a whole lot worth losing. They set him free and told him to go build a life. He repaired and rebuilt long-ago damaged family ties. He got married and a had a daughter. He even paid a visit to the immigration building after he lost his green card. They gave him a new one. He got a new driver's license too. No one even hinted that there might be a problem with his resident status. (Why didn't he ever become a citizen? 11/6/11)

Even if by some stretch of the imagination, you deemed Arnold's past of theft and drug use to be worthy of  deportation, you cannot argue that my niece has done anything to deserve losing her father. The last three and a half months have been unnecessarily trying for her. 

Since Arnold  became a father, he has not committed a crime. (Sharon can attest, he can't speed in the Geo.) He has gone to work every day and provided for his family. He has been a consistent, solid, dependable family man. In spite of that, he still ended up behind bars. He has committed no new crime, there is nothing he is charged with. He has already been incarcerated for more than 3 months and he was just given a hearing date of October 25th. Over five months (minimum) right off the bat that he will be locked up, missing out on his daughter, and my sister will have to continue to field questions about when Daddy's coming home. [Hearing pushed back until November 22. Still incarcerated.]

From the time Arnold found out he was going to be a father, he has devoted himself to that role. He worked, and he saved, and he stayed clean and sober. He walked three miles to work, and he never missed a day. He wrote Sharon  daily letters during her incarceration. He rented a tiny apartment and saved every spare penny he made for his family.

His wife is my baby sister, and as such, I have always been one of Arnold's toughest critics. At first I was critical of the age difference, and then I disapproved of the lives they were living, and I made no secret of that. My relationship with Arnold goes back a way and has always been outwardly strained. When Sharon contacted me in 2008 that she was pregnant with his child and incarcerated, I was skeptical, to say the least.

As he and Sharon completed court requirements, saved money, and prepared for their daughter's arrival, he responded to my skepticism with an understated and reassuring patience that I hadn't been expecting. There were times I could see my sister's anxiousness as she wanted to hurry up and fast forward to the part where there would be no lingering discomfort and distrust from years of drug abuse and criminal records - Arnold would bring her back to Zen-like reality with a simple reminder that they just had to do it. There were no more stories. No lies, or regrets, or missed opportunities. She didn't need to convince anyone she was going to do the right thing. She just had to do the right thing. Eventually, people would stop being surprised. He showed her all of that by example.

Everything I thought I knew about Arnold changed the day Blair Katie Angel Giammarco was born. Sharon was incarcerated when Blair was born, so none of us could be in the room with her. The nurse had done Arnold a favor and snuck him some Polaroid shots of Sharon and his new daughter. When I arrived at the hospital, I saw him in a waiting room, through a glass window. He didn't know anyone was watching. He had his glasses perched up on his forehead like he does, and he was staring at these Polaroids with pride like I have never seen. I was witnessing a man of 53 years  literally find a meaning in his life.

I'm a card-carrying atheist, but I believe a true miracle happened to my sister in 2008, and I believe it started with the one that happened for Arnold in 2007. Arnold was an instrumental factor in my sister's recovery, and frankly, it's another miracle that Uncle Sam didn't drive her to relapse when he took away her main support. While I am pleased to find out that she is capable of doing it on her own, what a rough way for her to have to learn.

This has gone on far too long. A family is torn apart, and taxpayer resources are being wasted. There is no justice being served here.

Bring Arnold Home.

   First Anniversary - July 4, 2011