2 farm-labor contractor foremen accused of fraud

UNION-TRIBUNE

7:25 a.m. June 6, 2008

Two foremen for an Imperial Valley farm-labor contractor were charged yesterday in federal court in El Centro with fraudulently misusing Social Security numbers in order to employ undocumented workers.

Carlos Ramos Galdamez, 49, and Jouanni Francisco Perez Tinoco, 31, employees of Boss 4 Packing in Heber, were arrested Wednesday. Ramos, a legal U.S. resident from El Salvador, was arrested near his home in Brawley; Perez, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, was arrested while working in the fields.

In addition, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 32 undocumented workers on administrative immigration violations at various locations in the Brawley area. One worker was underage and turned over to relatives; of the others, 12 are being held as material witnesses in an ongoing criminal investigation, and the rest were repatriated.

The two foremen face felony charges. It is the second time in less than a month that a company foreman has run afoul of the law. On May 9, foreman Francisco Zapot Palacios was arrested at his home and later indicted on charges of harboring illegal immigrants.

Yesterday, an employee who answered the phone at Boss 4 Packing said the company has retained an attorney but is not commenting on the investigation. –L.B.

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