Her husband, Hector Porrata, was arrested first in front of this house where they lived together.  Cara was arrested several minutes later when a policeman essentially tricked her by calling her from Hector’s cell phone, which he seized from Hector to call Cara, knowing Cara would most likely answer.  Then he used the ploy for Cara to come out and get Hector’s “stuff”, because he was being arrested.  Thus, Cara was lured out of the house on this false pretense.  Once outside, she was told she was being arrested for Insurance Fraud.  Henceforth, she was snapped up in her pajamas, taken to jail, and has not been home since.   It has now been seven months that she has been in custody.   

Lonce: Cara, did you ever have some clue, any clue, that you might possibly get arrested?

Cara:  The DOI (Department of Insurance) talked to me in October of 2008.  DOI did come to Keenan and talked to me.  Out of the blue.  And it was a DOI person and an investigator from the DA’s office or they could have both been from DOI.  The man was pretty brutal.  He was asking me a lot of questions.  And at the end of it he said, “I think you were set up.”  And I said, “Set up by what?”  And he said, “Set up by your boyfriend.”

And he didn’t show me anything so I really didn’t have any clue what he was talking about.  I knew in general what he was talking about.  But I didn’t see anything.  He didn’t show me any evidence or anything.  So, that was it.  That was all I heard.  That whole interrogation business.  I tried to retain an attorney.  That was the guy who wanted to charge me 70,000 bucks.  And then that’s all I heard from them.  That conversation in October.  And I answered them truthfully.  It was tape recorded.  I talked to the attorney. He said that he would get in touch with me if he heard anything.  And I didn’t hear a word until the arrests that day, May 6th. 

Lonce:  So, what do you think of your other inmates?

Cara:  A lot of the girls are in here for drugs and prostitution.  There are some girls in my sector that are accused of manslaughter.  I’ve learned a lot.  I’ve learned so much.  Probably things I never need to know. 

Lonce:  Tell me some of the things you’ve learned.

Cara:  Oh, my gosh.  I know all the terminology that prostitutes use.  Not that I will ever need to know that.  They have their own language.  Walking the street is called “walking the track”.  Their pimp is called their “folks”.  They have their own rules.

Lonce:  What kind of rules?

Cara:  The rules of their households are very similar to those of the old Mormons, with the wives.  It blows me away.  They have the “folks”.  Or their “daddy”.  And there may be up to 16 or 20 girls.  And it’s him and then it’s all of them. 

Lonce:  And “the daddy” doles them out to all the clients.

Cara:  You’re right. 

Lonce:  Okay.

Cara:  I’ve been in holding cells with people who have been accused of murder for hire.  Vehicular manslaughter.  DUI manslaughter.  It’s not a place where I would want anybody here.  Not even my worst enemy would I want them here. 

Lonce:  I understand. 

Cara:  The decisions…you don’t make decisions.  You eat when you’re told to eat.  You get up when you’re told to get up.  You move when you’re told to move. You make no decisions. 

Lonce:  Do you feel there’s a possibility you could get out of here on December 15th?

Cara:  I am praying to God I do…

Lonce:  Is there anything else you’d like to say to the industry?  Like…hey, I didn’t know about this… or I did know about that… Or, I was so in love with my husband…

Cara:  That’s it.  That’s exactly it:  just what you just said.  I was in love with my husband.  Those that know me know, I didn’t do this.  I am not capable.  That’s just not in me.  I didn’t have a clue about it.  I didn’t have a clue. 

Lonce:  Alright.

Cara:  It makes me sound like an idiot that I wouldn’t know.  Hector didn’t even live with me until September of 2005.  We didn’t have joint checking accounts.  And he never deposited money into my account.  And I bought my home on my own.  In my name only. 

Lonce: So the house is yours?  You’re alone on the Title?

Cara:  Yes.

Lonce: And you left your husband for Hector.

Cara:  I did. 

Cara explains that she had a very long friendship with Hector before anything between them ever became intimate as a sexually-oriented romantic relationship.  They got close when they were working at Sedgwick CMS in Riverside, around 2002.  Before that, she met Hector in 1986 at CDS of California in Pomona.  That was where and when she first started in the claims business. 

Cara:  Hector was at CDS with me.  Hector was at Continental with me.  Hector was at Sedgwick with me.   At Matrix.  Hector was the one who talked me into going there.  I should never have gone there…  Horrible place…

Cara’s hopes are now completely focused on getting released from jail on December 15th 2009.  She does not believe she will go to trial.   She has been told by her lawyer that there will be a settlement conference on that day, although on the Court calendar what is officially set for December 15th is the Preliminary Hearing for her case with her three co-defendants.  This Preliminary Hearing has been rescheduled three times.  Maybe four.  I'm losing count. 

Cara:  I don’t have anything to hide.   I really don’t.  I know this now: if I had had the money to hire a private attorney, I would have been out of here already.  That I know for a fact.  Not that my attorney is not good, he is.  But he just doesn’t have time. 

I have not even spoken to my attorney in here.  I only speak to him when I can in court.  And my money that I had saved was well spent to taking care of my kids. 

Ashley… she was unemployed when I got arrested.  She is working now, bless her heart.  But she was unemployed going to school.  I was putting her through school.  Now, she can’t go to school any more. 

Lonce:  Well, you only have 11 more days, rather 13 more days until December 15th.

Cara:  If this doesn’t resolve on the 15th, I’m going to lose my mind.  I’m going to lose my fricken mind. 

Readers may write to writer Lonce LaMon at lonce@adjustercom.com