http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008 ... 181594.txt

Friday, March 7, 2008 4:18 PM CST
Appeals court uphold immigration convictions

By JEFF REINITZ, Courier Staff Writer
VINTON --- A federal appeals court has upheld the convictions of the owners of The Gallery Restaurant.

A jury had convicted Nicole Tipton and Sadik Seferi in 2006 of hiring and harboring illegal aliens who worked at Tipton's restaurant.

Seferi was sentenced to 30 months in prison, and Tipton had to serve 27 months.

The two appealed their convictions saying there was insufficient evidence, and Tipton challenged her sentence.

But in a decision filed Thursday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions and Tipton's punishment.

According to court records, agents with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided The Gallery and an apartment complex used by restaurant workers in March 2006.

Authorities found six undocumented aliens had worked at The Gallery since September 2005. They had been paid cash at below minimum wage.

The workers had been hired at a truck stop without applications, and the employers didn't withhold taxes or unemployment insurance from their pay, records state.

Tipton allegedly provided an apartment for the undocumented workers and paid the rent and utilities, records state.

One of the workers was only about 14 years old, and another was 17, according to court records.

Tipton, 26, is currently serving time at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Ky. Seferi is at the Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minn.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.