AZ man to be sentenced in illegal hiring case

NECN.com
March 29, 2012
TUCSON, Ariz.

A southern Arizona contractor who pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring illegal immigrants is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday in Tucson.

Ivan Hardt, owner of Sun Dry Wall & Stucco Inc. of Sierra Vista, faces up to six months in jail for the misdemeanor conviction.

He also pleaded guilty last year to a felony charge of conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants, but sentencing on the felony conviction is set for Oct. 29.


The 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 will face jail time, which authorities hope will be a stronger deterrent.

AZ man to be sentenced in illegal hiring case