Emilio Garcia Lourdes was arrested in May after flying to Colorado for his daughter's high school graduation. Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, told The Gazette a misdemeanor criminal charge of failing to pay child support had been filed against Lourdes. He was able to come up with the $449,000 within five days of being arrested, and on May 11 he pleaded guilty and was released after having the money wired here. Emilio Lourdes was ordered to pay $5,000 a month, or $60,000 a year, to Diane Lourdes, with whom he had three children in a 1994 case in San Diego. Child support officials would not say where Diane Lourdes lives now, but she filed the case in Colorado Springs. Dorschner said investigators had determined that Emilio Lourdes, a business owner, had the money to pay the child support but was refusing. They did not disclose details of his business. Emilio Lourdes has returned to Mexico, said his Denver lawyer, Paula Ray. She also declined to comment Friday. The plea agreement notes that Emilio Lourdes is in his 60s and in poor health and the children are of college age. It was the largest payment of back child support in Colorado, said Larry Desbien, a section chief in the Colorado Child Support Enforcement Program. The previous highest amount was about $120,000, he said. Diane Lourdes declined to comment Friday, through local child support enforcement officials.
Feds say man pays record amount in child support
COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) - A Mexican businessman has paid a former Colorado Springs resident a record $449,000 in child support, the U.S. attorney's office said.
