Thread: Leader of Document Fraud Ring Extradited from Mexico

Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
July 14, 2010 United States Attorney's Office
Northern District of Illinois
Contact: (312) 353-5300

Alleged Leader of Little Village Identification Document Fraud Ring Extradited from Mexico to Face Racketeering and Murder Conspiracy Charges in Chicago

CHICAGO—An alleged leader of a counterfeit identification document business that operated in Chicago’s Little Village Community has been extradited from Mexico to face federal charges here, including racketeering conspiracy and murder-related offenses, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced today.

The defendant, Manuel Leija-Sanchez, 43, was arraigned Monday in U.S. District Court on eight counts, including racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States, money laundering, bulk cash smuggling, and alien smuggling. He pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody without bond. A status hearing was scheduled for Aug. 26 before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. Leija-Sanchez was arrested in Mexico in October 2007 and remained in custody in Mexico until Mexican authorities surrendered him to U.S. law enforcement agents last Friday.

The charges are part of Operation Paper Tiger, an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that, in April 2007, resulted in charges against 24 defendants and dismantled an alleged fraudulent document ring that operated in and around the Little Village Discount Mall and generated nearly $3 million in annual profits.

Manuel Leija-Sanchez allegedly operated the bustling fraudulent document business since 1993 with his brothers, Julio Leija-Sanchez and Pedro Leija-Sanchez. The Mexico-based Leija-Sanchez organization was supervised by an overall leader living in Chicago, and the leadership position rotated among the three Leija-Sanchez brothers, according to an October 2007 indictment. The leader in Chicago and others allegedly ordered violent acts against competitors, rivals and others.

“We are grateful to the Mexican authorities for extraditing Mr. Leija-Sanchez to the United States to face these serious charges,â€

The father of a Chicago Alderman was implicated in this operation.

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May 29, 2007 (WLS) -- The father of a Chicago alderman has been charged in connection with a raid in the Little Village neighborhood last month. Elias Munoz owns a photo studio that was allegedly used to produce phony identification. Munoz is the father of 22nd Ward Alderman Ricardo Munoz.

ABC7 has learned from a source close to the Munoz family that Elias Munoz will fight the charges maintaining that he only sold photos and had nothing to do with any conspiracy to make fake IDs. But the feds claim the 22nd Ward alderman's father was a major player and target of Operation Paper Tiger.

Federal agents allege that a ring of fake ID sellers that operated for at least 3 1/2 years in the parking lot of a Little Village strip mall routinely sent their customers -- sometimes over 100 a day -- to Nuevo Foto Munoz, 3105 W. 26th St., to fill out forms and have their pictures taken for $10 each. At another location, the counterfeiters used the snapshots to make bogus Social Security cards, green cards and driver's licenses.

The government claims it has affidavits from informants and undercover agents that will link Elias Munoz to the ring, 13 members of which were arrested in an April 24 raid on the mall. On that day, Elias's son, 22nd Ward Alderman Ricky Munoz, led complaints about how the raid was conducted.

"To have officers walking around with machine guns, it looked like a militarized zone," Munoz said last month.

Tuesday, prosecutors alleged that during their search of the photo shop they found 717 blank State of Illinois ID cards, 228 blank so-called US identification cards and 900 blank green USA/Illinois ID cards.

But ABC7 has learned the blanks are not counterfeit official forms and that other photo shops in Little Village sell similar unofficial IDs to undocumented immigrants and have done so for years.

By telephone Tuesday night, Alderman Ricky Munoz told ABC7 that on the advice of his father's lawyer he could not comment on the case, at least not yet.

Munoz is mentioned frequently as a possible candidate for the congressional seat now held by Luis Guiterrez, who says he not run for re-election in 2008.

Elias Munoz will appear in federal court Wednesday morning.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=5350284

The Justice Department praised the significant assistance provided by the Government of Mexico and Mexican law enforcement partners.



What is there to praise. They had warrants for his arrest and Mexico after three years turned him over. End of story. Praise? More ass kissing by the Whitehouse.