Crew leader sentenced for harboring undocumented workers

Posted: October 28, 2013 - 8:43pm
The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A former crew leader has been sentenced to time served after pleading guilty to harboring undocumented workers who were employees of a framing company in Spring Hill.

According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom on Wednesday, Edino Pacheco will be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

Pacheco, also known as Dennis Erickson Portillo, 30, has been in custody since he was arrested April 1. In his plea, he admitted that owners and managers of Advantage Framing Systems, Inc., in Spring Hill, knowingly employed undocumented workers. Advantage devised a method to reimburse undocumented workers by making crew leaders responsible to pay undocumented workers in their crews. Pacheco served as a crew leader and cashed checks issued to him from Advantage Framing to pay crew members for their framing work.

Advantage Framing issued checks to more than 32 crews for compensation for framing work. During the conspiracy, the total amount of checks written to various framing crews was approximately $4.6 million.

Co-defendants include:

■ James Humbert, owner of Advantage Framing, who pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing Jan. 17.

■ Kimberly Humbert, co-owner of Advantage Framing, who pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing Jan. 17.

■ Charles Stevens II, co-owner of Advantage Framing, who pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing Dec. 3.

■ Jose Ramon Caro-Corral, a crew leader, who is awaiting trial.

■ Angel Arguello-Plata, a crew leader, who pleaded guilty, and is awaiting sentencing.

■ Jorge Uriel Delgado-Ovalle, a crew leader, who is awaiting trial.

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