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  1. #1
    Senior Member American-ized's Avatar
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    AR-4 enter guilty pleas of harboring illegals, forfeit $1.9M

    4 enter guilty pleas of harboring illegals, forfeit $1.9M

    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)
    November 3, 2009 Tuesday
    NORTHWEST ARKANSAS
    BY ADAM WALLWORTH

    The owners of a chicken-catching business have pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens and forfeited $1.9 million in cash and property, rather than awaiting formal charges.

    Alma residents Leoncio Amador-Villanueva, 42; Jose Manuel Amador-Villanueva, 39; and Kelle Stubbs-Amador, 32; and Juan Amador-Villanueva, 43, of Batesville; each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor, transport and employ illegal aliens, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in Fort Smith.

    Leoncio Amador-Villanueva pleaded guilty Oct. 27, while the others entered their pleas Thursday.

    Leoncio Amador-Villanueva and his brother, Juan Amador-Villanueva, also pleaded guilty to money laundering for using the proceeds made off the work of illegal aliens, said Chris Plumlee, assistant U.S. attorney.

    Plumlee said sentencing will not occur for at least 60 days.

    Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Internal Revenue Service built the case, working with several local police departments, Plumlee said. The forfeiture was among the largest his office has seen, he said.

    "It's not that common to find that many unencumbered assets or that much money in the bank," Plumlee said.

    During the investigation, 18 illegal aliens were arrested, though Plumlee did not know whether they had been deported. The company employed up to 50 people who were paid to catch chickens and put them in crates to be loaded on trucks, he said.

    The company, operating as Amador Poultry Contracting and J&A Loading, contracted for larger poultry producers. Neither the producers nor farmers face any charges, Plumlee said.

    "We don't think they were aware of it," he said.

    The workers were paid in cash, and some were provided transportation and housing, he said. Workers were paid $2 per 1,000 chickens caught, court records show.

    The conspiracy charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years and $250,000 fine, Plumlee said. The money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $500,000 fine.

    It's not unusual for a person to plead guilty before a grand jury can be called, said Bill James, attorney for Leoncio Amador-Villanueva.

    "The reality is, oftentimes before everybody gets in the heat of battle, everything gets worked out," James said.

    James said his client pleaded guilty primarily out of concern for his wife. He pleaded guilty to the additional charge of money laundering to ensure that she would not, he said.

    James declined to discuss specifics about the case, such as whether his client knew the immigration status of the employees. He said the government was fair in its negotiations.

    "Obviously, you never like to have to plead to anything, but under the circumstance they were fair to us," he said. All of the defendants are free on bond, court records show.

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  2. #2
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    The owners of a chicken-catching business have pleaded guilty to harboring illegal aliens and forfeited $1.9 million in cash and property, rather than awaiting formal charges.
    I'm in the wrong line of work!

    The company, operating as Amador Poultry Contracting and J&A Loading, contracted for larger poultry producers. Neither the producers nor farmers face any charges, Plumlee said.

    "We don't think they were aware of it," he said.
    Yea right! I bet they weren't asking too many questions either.
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