For Adrian and Bernadette Mooney, the price of their Romanian gypsy baby was $6,000. It was paid to a businessman from Bucharest who helped them by-pass strict adoption laws and smuggle baby Monica out of the country. But, following a tip-off, the Mooneys were arrested at the Hungarian border and charged with kidnapping, a crime carrying a five-year jail sentence. Monica’s young gypsy parents had been unable to care for their child, but felt they were tricked into handing her over. The Romanian authorities would not believe that the Mooneys could want a gypsy child as part of their family. The Mooneys eventually escaped jail, but Monica’s mother has disappeared, and Monica herself is likely to spend the rest of her life in care.
For Adrian and Bernadette Mooney, the price of their Romanian gypsy baby was $6,000. It was paid to a businessman from Bucharest who helped them by-pass strict adoption laws and smuggle baby Monica out of the country. But, following a tip-off, the Mooneys were arrested at the Hungarian border and charged with kidnapping, a crime carrying a five-year jail sentence. Monica’s young gypsy parents had been unable to care for their child, but felt they were tricked into handing her over. The Romanian authorities would not believe that the Mooneys could want a gypsy child as part of their family. The Mooneys eventually escaped jail, but Monica’s mother has disappeared, and Monica herself is likely to spend the rest of her life in care.
