"2 factory managers plead guilty in immigration raid" by Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff | October 25, 2008
Two managers of a New Bedford leather-goods factory that was raided last year in a controversial crackdown on illegal immigration pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges that they employed illegal workers.
Neither manager at the former Michael Bianco Inc. factory would have to serve time in prison if a federal judge approves tentative plea deals.
NO PRISON TIME for LAW-BREAKING MANAGERS?
Dilia Costa, 56, a production manager at the factory, where workers sewed backpacks for the military, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Boston to a felony charge of harboring illegal immigrants and a misdemeanor charge of employing illegal immigrants in 2005 and 2006.
They COULDN'T EVEN HIRE American for THAT?
Yeah, SUPPORT the TROOPS!!!!
Gloria Melo, 42, a contracts specialist, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of knowingly allowing an illegal alien to work there in 2006. Both had faced conspiracy charges that carried penalties of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted at trial.
But under a plea agreement that must be approved by District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock, Costa would serve two years of probation - the first six months in home confinement - and pay a $2,000 fine. Melo would pay a $500 fine. The two are to be sentenced in January.
Neither of their lawyers would comment. Conspiracy charges are pending against Francesco Insolia, the former president of the company. Agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the factory on March 6, 2007, and detained 361 workers on charges that they were illegal immigrants.
The arrests drew criticism from immigrant advocates and politicians, including New Bedford's mayor and both US senators from Massachusetts. The politicians complained that families were torn apart in the raid, and families were not given quick access to social service representatives.
How come our politicians look after illegals concerns more than they care about constituents?
In November, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit called the raid "ham-handed" and callous. Nonetheless, the court upheld a ruling by a federal district court judge dismissing a civil lawsuit on behalf of the immigrants. In March, 61 of the former Bianco workers were still in the United States, the immigration agency said in response to a Globe request under the Freedom of Information Act. --more--"
