They're both doing OK, but the financial fallout of their medical maladies continues.
"I just need work," says Charles, 37. "I have to take care of my family."
So, imagine his despair when he received a letter from Comcast, which manages the Liacouras, asking him to review an enclosed copy of his consumer report (the company requires a background check on all potential hires) and let them know if anything was in error.
His heart sank. The report indicated that he'd recently been arrested multiple times on 15 charges, including forgery and writing bad checks. It also showed, accurately, that he'd been acquitted of the charges.
He soon learned that he didn't get the job. He wasn't surprised.
"If I saw that report, I wouldn't hire me, either," he says. "It doesn't matter that I was acquitted. The report just makes me look bad."
Worse, the 15 charges were incurred by someone who had stolen Charles' identity. And, Charles says, "It's keeping me from finding a job."
Citing personnel-privacy rules, Comcast wouldn't comment on Charles' job application. So who knows? His arrest record may have nothing to do with his not getting the Liacouras gig.
But, c'mon. Anything that needs as much explaining as Charles' record does could prompt any employer, not just Comcast, to err on the side of caution and skip to the next candidate instead.
Except that Charles' explanation is a good one.
In March 2006, he went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew his nondriver's ID card, only to learn that an up-to-date version already existed - created by someone using Charles' name, birth date and Social Security number. On the card, the ID thief was described as 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds.
Charles is 5-foot-11 and 170.
"I had no idea who he was," he says. "It was a shock."
