De Pere buffet owner charged with harboring illegals
By Mike Hoeft • mhoeft@greenbaypressgazette.com • August 7, 2008


Yu Tian Li, a De Pere restaurant owner whose wife was killed inside their De Pere home in 2004, has been charged in federal court with harboring illegal immigrants.


A grand jury for U.S. District Court returned an indictment on Tuesday alleging Li knowingly hired three illegal immigrants to work for him at the restaurant and housed them in his home. He also faces two counts of possessing a firearm by a prohibited person.

Li, 44, previously was convicted of misdemeanor battery for injuring a female co-worker in August 2006. The woman complained of a back injury and headaches after Li shoved her into a wall during a dispute at his home.

U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic said the investigation started when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents received a call from state corrections officials concerning a juvenile employed at Li’s restaurant, China King Buffet, 310 N. Wisconsin St., De Pere.

During a visit to Li’s home, immigration agents discovered at least three illegal immigrants living at the home. Two were from China and one was from Mexico. The criminal complaint also alleged that Li knowingly hired the illegal immigrants to work for him.

If convicted, Li faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of three counts of harboring and two counts of possessing a firearm.

Jie Chen, now 37, a former employee at the restaurant, was convicted in 2006 of first-degree intentional homicide and burglary for the Oct. 22, 2004, murder of Susan Gong, who co-owned China King Buffet. It was De Pere's first murder in 27 years.


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