S.A. eateries targeted on illegal workers

by Guillermo Contreras - Express-News Web Posted: 09/16/2010 6:26 CDT

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In a rare criminal worksite enforcement case, a San Antonio restaurant company, its owner and four managers have been indicted on charges they conspired to hire illegal immigrants.
A phone tip by a fired employee in fall 2008 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement brought a probe of Salsalito Cantina Inc., which has eateries in the 11700 block of Bandera Road and in the 14500 block of Nacogdoches Road, according to federal court affidavits.

After a two-year investigation, ICE agents and prosecutors convinced a federal grand jury Wednesday to indict the firm and its owner, Hossein Bagheri, 50; human resources manager Sylvia Luna, 33; general manager Humberto Gonzalez, 40; and kitchen manager Angel Sotelo, 44.

The eight-count indictment alleges they conspired to induce people to enter the United States illegally, hired them, completed fraudulent work verification documents and harbored and hid them.

The indictment alleges Bagheri instructed an employee to act as a lookout in the event of an inspection by law enforcement; that Sotelo instructed a job applicant to obtain false documents in order to gain employment with the company; and that Gonzalez and Luna both signed I-9 work verification forms attesting they had examined employment documents presented by job applicants when no such documents had been produced.

After serving two search warrants at the restaurants in summer 2009, agents detained and deported 20 undocumented workers.

“In my book, this is an egregious situation,â€