Missing woman's family pleads for her safety as cops zero in on perv BY MIKE JACCARINO in McAllen, Tex., JOE GOULD in Wallkill, N.Y., and JONATHAN LEMIRE in New York DAILY NEWS WRITERS Monday, December 8th 2008, 4:00 AM Cops want to hear from anyone who saw suspect Michael Mele driving this 2005 Infiniti SUV with temporary license plate in rear window. The devastated family of a missing 25-year-old Brooklyn woman picked up at a glitzy club by a registered sex offender - who cops suspect killed her - begged Sunday for the young beauty's safe return. "Please return my sister," cried Ivan Garza, the heartsick brother of Laura Garza, outside the family's Texas home. "I only need my sister here," he said. "That's it." An aspiring dancer who moved to New York five months ago, Laura Garza called her mother in McAllen, Tex., hours before she had her fateful encounter with suspect Michael Mele, her brother told the Daily News. She had finished her shift as a clerk at Bakers shoe store on Fifth Ave. near the Empire State Building and, excited that she did not have to work the next day, was planning to go out with co-workers. "She said, 'Mom, I have to run. Tomorrow, I'm not working,'" said Ivan Garza. Inside the one-story ranch-style home, 5 miles from the Mexican border, Garza's mother was inconsolable. " is in bad shape. She's taking medicine and is in bed," said Ivan Garza. "My sister never hurt anyone. She's a beautiful person." Investigators believe that Laura Garza met Mele, 23, at the swanky Marquee club in Chelsea after midnight on Wednesday. Surveillance cameras at the celeb-friendly hot spot captured Garza flashing her stunning smile at Mele as the pair flirted and danced for about 45 minutes. The two left together with one of Mele's friends at 4 a.m. Investigators suspect that Mele took Garza back to his condo in upstate Wallkill and killed her. Her body has not been found. Garza's brother insisted that his sister must have been taken from the club by force, saying she was not someone who would leave with a stranger. "My sister was a good girl. ... She would never have done something like this," said a choked-up Ivan Garza. "We just want this to end," he said. "Come home safe." McAllen, a city of about 130,000 people, never seemed big enough for Laura Garza, who had long spoken of being attracted to New York's bright lights, her friends said. "She wanted to live in a big city. ... She was excited to leave ," said Eddie Garza (no relation to the family), store manager at the Charlotte Russe clothing store, where Laura once worked. "It's New York - who wouldn't want to live in New York?" he said. "She wanted to study and be a professional dancer." "It's very sad," he said. State police detectives combed Mele's posh condo Sunday, dusting for fingerprints on his balcony and draining the pond and septic tank at the Regency Club apartment complex. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_missing_womans_family_pleads_for_her_saf.html

Dec 9, 2008 5:15 pm US/Eastern Sex Offender Tight-Lipped As He Faces Judge Laura Garza, A 25-Year-Old Aspiring Dancer, Missing Nearly A Week; Last Seen With Suspect Michael Mele In NYC Reporting Tony Aiello NEWBURGH, N.Y. (CBS) ― The suspect in the disappearance on a woman from a New York City nightclub is behind bars, but not charged with any new crime. CBS 2 HD has learned more about the convicted sex offender who police believe was the last person to see Laura Garza, who vanished nearly a week ago. Michael Mele was hauled before a judge Tuesday in Orange County, as investigators continued to search for the missing woman. The 23-year-old sex offender offered a terse no comment as he was hauled into court for violating his probation. Mele is lawyered up and refusing to cooperate with police. Mele's family, including his father William, a retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority police deputy chief, came and left without commenting. Mele seems to have been in a downward spiral since October when he missed an appointment with his probation officer. Then in November he failed to attend three mandatory sex offender counseling sessions. The Orange County probation commissioner refused comment when asked why Mele was still on the street. On Tuesday, New York State troopers again searched for signs of Garza along Interstate 84 and other locations. State police continue to analyze evidence taken from Mele's home and car. They're ready to build a circumstantial case since Mele won't cooperate. "Legally, he has no obligation to speak with us," Lt. Pierce Gallagher said. "I don't know if morally I can say the same thing." In Texas, the missing woman's mother and brother haven't given up hope that the 25-year-old aspiring dancer is still alive. http://wcbstv.com/local/woman.missing.clubbing.2.883595.html

Cops Find Possible Clue to Missing Woman Carpet Pieces Could Link Woman to Convicted Sex Offender, Police Say By SIDNEY WRIGHT IV Dec. 14, 2008 SHARE New York State Police are working to determine whether pieces of carpet found near a highway could hold clues to the disappearance of a Brooklyn woman who was last seen with a registered sex offender. NY police have a suspect in the disappearance of a 25-year-old aspiring dancer. State Police Lt. Pierce Gallagher said that on Saturday investigators searching for clues in the disappearance of 25-year-old Laura Garza found pieces of the carpet off the shoulder of Route 17 near Bloomingburg, N.Y. "We're trying to assess the relevance to the case at this time," Gallagher said. "That's going to take some forensic analysis that hasn't been completed at this time." Gallagher said he was not sure how long it would take to receive the test results. Investigators hope that analysis will tell them whether the carpet is linked to Michael Mele, a convicted sex offender who has been named a person of interest in Garza's disappearance. Garza was last seen leaving the Marquee, a Manhattan nightclub, together with Mele late Dec. 3. Garza was later spotted in upstate New York. According to Gallagher, the area where the carpet pieces were found is approximately 12 to 15 miles from Mele's Wallkill, N.Y., home. Police were combing the area after evidence gathered in the case suggested they search there. Despite the discovery, police are still actively searching for other clues in the case. "It's another piece of evidence. If it's something significant, it helps us, but we don't want to jump to any conclusions. We'll keep gathering evidence," Gallagher said. Mele has not been charged in connection with Garza's disappearance. He is currently being held in the Rockland County jail on a probation violation. Mele was convicted and sentenced to probation earlier this year on a forcible touching charge for inappropriately touching several women, in some cases attempting to masturbate on them. Garza, a 25-year-old aspiring dancer, moved to New York five months ago from McAllen, Texas, a city of about 130,000 people, and settled in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. "She wanted to experience the big city environment. She was really excited when she left," said Eddie Garza, who is not related to Laura Garza, but is the manager of the Charlotte Russe clothing store where she works. "She was a very hardworking girl. She had morals. She's not some girl that goes to clubs and picks up guys." http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6459966&page=1 Since his arrest, Mele has refused to speak with police. He had what appeared to be bite marks on his hand and scratch marks on his upper back and shoulders when he was booked Friday evening, police said. http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=6459966&page=2

Carpet may link sex offender to missing Texas woman Associated Press Dec. 13, 2008, 6:53PM BLOOMINGBURG, N.Y. — Police say carpet found by a suburban highway may be linked to a convicted sex offender who was the last person seen with a missing Brooklyn woman. State Police Lt. Brian Shortall said Saturday that investigators combing an area near Bloomingburg have found pieces of rug that may be from Michael Mele's apartment. The carpeting was spotted near State Route 17, about 80 miles northwest of Manhattan. The rug will be tested to determine whether it is linked to Mele, considered a "person of interest" in Laura Garza's disappearance. The 25-year-old left a Manhattan nightclub with Mele early on Dec. 3. She was last seen with him hours later near his Wallkill apartment. Garza had moved to New York from McAllen, Texas. Mele has not been charged in her disappearance, but he is being held on $100,000 bail on a probation violation charge. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6163508.html

20 Days ... And No Sign Of Missing NYC Woman Laura Garza, 25, Has Not Been Seen Since Dec. 3 In Chelsea Family Makes Emotional Plea To Public For Assistance Reporting Mary Calvi MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. (CBS) ― Nearly three weeks ago 25-year-old Laura Garza went missing after police said she left a Manhattan night club with a convicted sex offender. Now, with apparently few leads and the person of interest in the case not talking, Garza's family is making a desperate appeal. The Garza family, here from Texas, is begging for help. Their sister has been missing now for almost 20 days. They say it has been torture not knowing what happened to Laura. Garza, who recently moved here from Texas, was last seen with registered sex offender Michael Mele. "We need your help to find Laura," said her brother, Ivan, who had a birthday on Monday."The only gift I need is my sister here. Maybe for Christmas day." The family has joined police in the search of woods in the Middletown area for any clue that may lead them to their sister. "We're not tired. Weather is not a problem. We are out there," Nicholas Garza said. For now, Mele is being held on a probation violation. Laura Garza left Chelsea nightclub, The Marquee, with Mele early on Dec. 3. The couple drove in his luxury SUV to Orange County and Garza vanished. John Varela of the Emergency Rights Foundation begged the public on Monday to come forward if anyone knows anything about the young woman's disappearance. Mele has not spoken to investigators about Laura Garza's whereabouts. A $3,500 reward has been offered for any information that will help lead them to Laura. http://wcbstv.com/local/missing.nyc.woman.2.893092.html

Police: Stolen credit, debit cards not Garza's; Mele hit with three new charges By OLIVER MACKSON Times Herald-Record December 31, 2008 Special Report: The Search for Laura Garza GOSHEN — State police now confirm that a stolen credit card and stolen debit card found in the possession of Town of Wallkill sex offender Michael Mele did not belong to missing Brooklynite Laura Garza. The cards were reported stolen by two separate individuals, police said, but were not connected to Garza. On Wednesday morning, prosecutors hit Mele, who is a “person of interest” in Garza’s disappearance, with three fresh felonies. The charges were contained in two separate indictments that were unsealed by acting Orange County Court Judge Andrew Bivona. One indictment charges Mele, 23, with two felony counts of fourth-degree possession of stolen property. The indictment indicates that authorities found a stolen credit card and stolen debit card in Mele’s apartment or in his possession on Dec. 6. Dec. 6 was one day after Mele surrendered to police on charges that he violated the terms of his probation for misdemeanor sex offenses in Rockland County. The second indictment charges Mele with failing to tell the state Department of Criminal Justice Services that he changed his address from his parents’ home in the Town of Newburgh to an apartment at the Regency Club in Wallkill. The second indictment accuses Mele of blowing off a 10-day deadline to report his address change after he moved into his new apartment on or about July 1. Mele said nothing as he stood next to one of his lawyers, Craig Brown, during Wednesday's brief arraignment. Bivona set bail at $100,000 and $300,000 bond for each indictment. Combined with the probation violation charges, Mele is now facing a total of $300,000 bail or $900,000 bond, but even if he’s able to post that, he still would continue to be held in the Orange County Jail while awaiting extradition proceedings to face another sex charge in Paramus, N.J. Police have been combing the region for clues about Garza’s disappearance. In recent days, they searched I-84 and a secluded pond that was familiar with in the Town of New Windsor. http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081231/NEWS/81231019

Sex offender avoids court confrontation with missing woman's family By Rob Ryser The Journal News • January 13, 2009 GOSHEN - A 23-year-old suspect in the disappearance of a Brooklyn woman and an admitted sex offender skipped a confrontation with the woman's family in Orange County Court today, according to a report. Convicted sex offender Michael Mele, who picked up 25-year-old Laura Garza in Manhattan on Dec. 3 and drove her to his Wallkill home, has been held on a probation-violation charge while police and the woman's family hope for a break in finding her. Mele was due in county court this morning to answer three felony charges unrelated to Garza's disappearance, but he waived his right to be there, the Times Herald-Record reported. Instead, his attorney discussed charges with prosecutors. In addition to a charge that he did not inform the state Department of Criminal Justice Services that he changed his address, Mele is accused of having a stolen credit card and a stolen debit card. He was put on probation after admitting to sex offenses in Rockland's Palisades Center parking lot in 2007 and 2006. He is being held on $300,000 bail. Mele is also wanted in Paramus, N.J., where authorities said a DNA match linked him to a sex offense outside the Paramus Park mall in 2005. The owner of two Quiznos Subs shops, Mele has not paid rent on one in Middletown since November, according to the landlord. Mele was also due in Middletown City Court today on an eviction proceeding but that matter was adjourned, the court said. A pretrial hearing was set for April 1 in Orange County Court. http://lohud.com/article/20090113/NEWS03/901130399/1019