Thread: Ariz. Employer Pleads Guilty to Hiring Illegal Aliens

Ariz. Employer Pleads Guilty to Hiring Illegal Immigrants

Updated: Friday, 28 Oct 2011, 2:33 PM MST
Published : Friday, 28 Oct 2011, 2:33 PM MST
JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — A southern Arizona contractor pleaded guilty in Tucson on Friday to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, the first case in the state in which authorities pursued criminal charges instead of just fines.

Ivan Hardt, president and owner of Sun Dry Wall & Stucco Inc. of Sierra Vista, faces up to six months in jail for misdemeanor illegal hiring.

Hardt also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants, but his lawyer said that conviction will be dropped if he pays the government $450,000.

That figure consists of $225,000 to cover proceeds that the company received during the time the illegal immigrants were employed there and another $225,000 to settle a civil dispute with the government over its payment to its legal and illegal workers.

Hardt's attorney, Michael Piccarreta, said his client plans to pay the full amount. Piccarreta said the violations occurred when Arizona's construction boom was still in effect and employers such as Hardt had trouble finding enough workers to cover all the work.

"He accepts full responsibility for that," Piccarreta said.

Hardt's company also pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and agreed to enact procedures meant to guard against future illegal hiring.

The U.S. Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case, had no immediate comment early Friday afternoon.

The March 2007 bust of Hardt's business represented a new approach by federal authorities in Arizona that focused on criminal cases against company officials. Some violators viewed the previous strategy of seeking only civil penalties as the cost of doing business.

Now, people who hire illegal immigrants could face jail time, which authorities hope will be a stronger deterrent.

Authorities alleged that Sun Dry Wall & Stucco underreported its number of employees to federal inspectors and that some workers were found to have fraudulent work documents.

They also said the company's management was constantly on the lookout for undercover immigration agents and that the firm's president and one of its foremen used two-way radios to communicate about the whereabouts of immigration agents. If officers were coming, supervisors would move the illegal workers to another site, or tell them to hide.

Of the eight people from Sun Drywall and Stucco who were charged in the case, six have pleaded guilty.

Office manager Carol Hill was sentenced to two months in jail and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens and knowingly hiring at least 10 illegal aliens. Her plea deal said she knew those employees were illegal immigrants when she hired them.

Jose A. Gutierrez Tapia, the foreman in charge of stucco crews, pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring at least 10 illegal aliens and was sentenced to two months in jail and three years of supervised release.

Three other company employees pleaded guilty to conspiracy to knowingly hire hiring and employing illegal aliens. Two of those three were sentenced to three years of probation, while the third was sentenced to time served and 60 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring.

Hardt is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 26.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/ju ... 10-28-2011

Hardt also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants, but his lawyer said that conviction will be dropped if he pays the government $450,000.

Seems hiring those illegals wasn't such a good deal after all.

Firm guilty of employing illegal aliens

Posted: Saturday, October 29, 2011 4:04 pm
By the Sierra Vista Herald | 0 comments

The president of the Sun Drywall and Stucco construction company in Sierra Vista pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens for profit and unlawful employment of aliens on Friday in federal court in Tucson, and he is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 26.

Ivan T. Hardt, 44, will pay $225,000 in restitution to the Department of Labor for overtime back wages owed under the Fair Labor Standards Act and $225,000 in administrative forfeiture to Immigration and Customs Enforcement pursuant to a plea agreement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sun Drywall, through Hardt, also pleaded guilty to unlawful employment of aliens. As part of the terms of the sentence under the plea deal, Sun Drywall cannot knowingly hire, recruit or employ aliens who are without legal authorization to work within the U.S., is required to maintain Employment Verification Forms for each employee, and agreed to waive a three-day notice requirement with regard to inspection of employee files.

“Working with our partners at the Department of Labor and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, we will continue to hold employers who participate in illegal practices accountable,â€