Ex-owner of Mandarin House court no-show
Ko federal fugitive after skipping out on conspiracy sentencing
By Jamie Satterfield
Posted May 27, 2010 at midnight

The former owner of a popular West Knoxville Chinese restaurant who has since admitted to staffing the business with illegal immigrants is now a federal fugitive.

Peter Ko, 51, was set to be sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to a conspiracy - along with his sister Tao C. Lui - to recruit, house and employ illegal immigrants at the Mandarin House restaurant on Gleason Drive.

"The defendant is not here, your honor," his defense attorney, Charles Torres, announced instead.

"Mr. Torres, have you had any contact with the defendant?" U.S. District Judge Thomas Phillips asked.

"No, your honor," Torres responded, adding that Ko knew he faced sentencing Wednesday.

Phillips then issued a bench warrant for Ko, who had been free on bond since his indictment last year.

Torres wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Ko had forfeited ownership interest in both the Gleason Drive restaurant and a house on Teaberry Lane where his illegal employees were housed. They were relocated to Kentucky pending a decision on punishment.

Ko had faced no more than 18 months in prison and likely would have argued for probation, especially since Lui won a probationary sentence in the case last month.

A Korean immigrant, Ko was a well-respected businessman in Knoxville and had launched both the West Knoxville buffet-style restaurant and a similar venture in Halls. He also partnered in the operation of a Japanese restaurant in West Knoxville and a theater in Sevierville that featured Chinese acrobats.

It's not clear from court records what ownership role Ko had in the Halls Mandarin House restaurant at the time of his indictment. The conspiracy case was limited to the Gleason Drive business.

Torres described Ko as the married father of two teenage girls whose finances tanked as a result of the indictment. Lui, who became co-owner of the West Knoxville eatery after her husband drowned, remains in Knoxville, where she is raising two young children alone, Torres wrote.

For now, Ko's fate remains in limbo. Phillips ordered his bond status revoked, and authorities could add charges for his failure to appear Wednesday.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until he's apprehended," Phillips said.


http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/may/2 ... t-no-show/