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Fight leads police to human trafficking scheme

Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

May 4, 2006 - A Greyhound Station Security guard broke up a fight and uncovered a high-priced human trafficking scheme in the process. The fight involved an illegal immigrant trying to get away after he was smuggled into Indiana. Prosecutors say he's one of several undocumented workers forced to pay big money to cross the border.

"It scared me a lot once I found out what happened," said Heather Cooper, who fears a little less now that her three neighbors are in jail.

They're charged in an unbelievable human trafficking scheme involving illegal immigrants. Cooper lives in the Green Tree Apartments in southern Marion County.

"There were lots of people coming and going. I just thought they were friends or something," she said.

Investigators believe Rolando Marcial-Hernandez, Jose DeJesus Palacios and Sergio Felix-Martinez smuggled at least 22 immigrants into Indiana.

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi announced felony charges against the trio outside their apartment. Brizzi says the men confined 22 people, ordering them to pay at least a $1,500 transport fee.

"That price went up. First it was $1,500, then once they had them and basically had them captive," Brizzi said.

People who live in the same building heard lots of noise from the apartment. Prosecutors learned the suspects restricted the immigrants' every move.

"They were not allowed to shower. They were not allowed to do laundry. They all slept in one area and were allowed one egg per day," Brizzi said.

"You would hear the noise, the running up and down the stairs, the slamming the doors and people arguing," Cooper said.

A neighbor helped one of the men escape by purchasing a Greyhound Bus ticket to Pennsylvania. The human trafficking scheme came to light when the trio attacked their escapee at the bus station. That led authorities back to the apartment, but the remaining illegal immigrants fled.

"There is reason to believe this is not a one-time thing," said Brizzi.

The prosecutor's office intends to hold the trio accountable for smuggling and confining people desperate to make Indiana home at any cost.

In a separate case, another Indiana man is also in trouble with the law for hiring illegal immigrants to work in several midwest states. Thursday morning, a Fargo, North Dakota judge ordered a mental health evaluation for 28-year-old Robert Porcisanu. He's charged with money laundering, making false statements plus conspiring to harbor and transport illegals. Prosecutors say Porcisanu ran a stucco business in Franklin and transported employees to construction sites in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. If convicted, he faces 40 years in prison.