Dominican consul in New York City, Bienvenido Pérez ,denied charges made on a four-minute NBC television program whereby he transports large amounts of money using the diplomatic pouch. The program also pointed out that the consul is not accredited by the U.S. State Department, to which Pérez said that the paperwork is underway. He stated that consular collections are deposited in a U.S. bank and a certified check made out to the national treasury is sent every month to the Banco de Reservas, the Dominican government commercial bank. He said the February check was for US$530,000 . In his opinion, the focus of the U.S. media on the Dominican Republic reflects the increasing importance the community has reached in the U.S. He said that this also occurred in the past with the Irish, Italian, Jewish and Puerto Rican communities. The Dominican community is the migrant group that is growing the fastest in social and economic importance in New York City. NBC based its report on accusations of former consul employee, Julio Valdez. According to the consulate, Valdez was cancelled for beating the consular officer in charge of public relations. As per accusations that the consulate issues false passports to delinquents, he said this is also false since the consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Relations have controls to impede this occurrence.
