TORONTO – What could have been a dream wedding in the Dominican Republic with 40 family members and friends has turned into a prison nightmare for Nick Miele and his bride, Stacey, of Stoney Creek, Ont.
“Our whole family here is in a constant daze,” Stacey Miele told Global News’ The Morning Show by phone from Punta Cana on Tuesday. “We wake up every morning thinking that this can’t be real, this can’t be happening.”
The family claims that during the May 27 wedding reception, two unidentified men crashed the festivities and started a fight.
“My husband actually saved me, I was underneath these two men when they were fighting, they bashed me into a buffet and if he hadn’t helped me…I had the wind knocked out of me and I was scared for my life,” she said.
Miele said when security arrived, she and her husband believed they were being protected and escorted back to their room. Instead, security took them to police officers who didn’t speak English.
“Before we knew it, they were taking my husband and my cousin from our arms, and throwing them into the back of a police truck,” she said.
Miele believes her husband was targeted because he had blood on his shorts, which she said was from the two men who were fighting.
Nearly three weeks later, Nick and 18-year-old cousin Ben Costantini, are still in jail.
Miele said the men were charged with physical aggression, “However they are in a prison with mass murderers and drug smugglers, so it really is extreme.”
She added that the reason they are not bringing them out on bail is because it can take up to three months to have bail granted, which would mean it would take longer to have the case put before a judge.
“Our lawyer wants to have this put before a judge as soon as possible to have the case thrown out… We’re hopeful that this case will be thrown out this week as we have four third-party witnesses that all support our case that we were not the ones who injured this man.”
Miele said the family contacted the Canadian embassy the first day of the ordeal, and have been in contact since. While the embassy initially provided a list of lawyers, they said they were not responsible for the integrity of any of the recommendations.
“For the last 15 to 16 days, they can’t provide us with any help. We continue to get stories saying that they cannot interfere with the Dominican legal process, and to contact the lawyer,” she said. Miele believes the embassy has the power to check on the two young men in prison to see that they’re being treated fairly, and also to provide the family with a free trial.
“However, they told us this a week after we had a trial in a court where no one from our side was allowed to testify, so in my eyes, they aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing,” said Miele.
Global News reporter Cindy Pom contacted Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), who said, “Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information, and are in ongoing contact with the family.”
DFAIT then referred Global News to a statement on their website, which reads: “Consular services cannot seek preferential treatment for you or try to exempt you from the due process of local law.”
Spokesperson Barbara Harvey sent another statement Tuesday afternoon, adding that consular services are being provided to the two Canadian citizens who were arrested in the Dominican Republic, as well as to a “third Canadian citizen who was injured in the altercation.” The Miele family said the third Canadian was not part of their wedding party.
The new bride describes visits to the prison with her mother-in-law three or four times a week, and said she plans to stay until she can bring them home to Canada.
“The boys inside—their mental state is deteriorating. We try to give them hope—however, they are losing their strength, they are losing their faith, they are losing their health. It’s a complete nightmare.”
With files from Global News reporter Cindy Pom
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