2nd defendant gets plea deal from attorney general in Sun Drywall case

By Jonathan Clark
Herald/Review
BISBEE — The second of three people indicted on state charges for allegedly supplying illegal Mexican workers at a Sierra Vista drywall firm with false paperwork has entered into a plea deal with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

As part of her agreement, Dora Cano-Moreno, 43, pleaded guilty Monday in Cochise County Superior Court to one count of forgery, a Class 4 felony. Judge Charles Irwin can impose a punishment ranging from probation to a maximum 3 3/4 years in prison when he sentences her on July 9.

Andrea Esquer, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Terry Goddard, said that Cano-Moreno will be deported from the U.S. once she completes her prison term, or if she is sentenced to probation.

Cano-Moreno is a Mexican national who was living illegally in Sierra Vista at the time of her arrest, Esquer said.

Cano-Moreno and a co-defendant, Francisco Mendivil-Villa, 43, were arrested March 9 after more than 200 federal agents supported by local police and a Blackhawk helicopter fanned out across Sierra Vista, raiding the offices of Sun Dywall and Stucco, Inc., as well as several construction sites and local residences.

In addition to Mendivil-Villa and Cano-Moreno, eight Sun Drywall employees, including the firm’s president Ivan T. Hardt, were arrested on federal charges for allegedly conspiring to hire and harbor illegal immigrants.

The cases of Hardt and his co-defendants are pending at U.S. District Court in Tucson.

Cano-Moreno, Mendivil-Villa and a third co-defendant were indicted by a Cochise County grand jury March 15 on state charges that they conspired to supply Sun Drywall’s illegal workers with fake IDs.

The third co-defendant has not been located or arrested, Esquer said.

Cano-Moreno was initially indicted on three counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy and one count of trafficking in the identity of another person. All but the one forgery charge, which alleged that Cano-Moreno possessed a phony social security card, were dropped as part of the plea deal.

A press release issued by Goddard’s office following her arrest said Cano-Moreno could have been sentenced to up to 12 years if convicted on all five charges.

Mendivil-Villa pleaded guilty in May to one conspiracy charge and one forgery charge as part of a separate plea deal. In exchange for his plea, he will be sentenced on June 18 to a term of probation, which includes 180 days in the county jail. He was initially indicted on 12 counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy and four counts of trafficking in the identity of another person — charges that could have resulted in a 23-year prison sentence.

Mendivil-Villa, a Mexican national, will be deported once he completes his jail term, Esquer said.

HERALD/REVIEW reporter Jonathan Clark can be reached at 515-4693.


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