Thread: Va - 4 plant workers charged over deportation orders

4 plant workers charged over deportation orders



Immigration officials arrest four employees of city business

BY EMILY BATTLE


Date published: 2/10/2009

BY EMILY BATTLE


Four employees of L.B. Technologies in Fredericksburg have been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because they had been given final orders for deportation by an immigration judge.

ICE found the employees after reviewing L.B. Technologies' employment records, according to an ICE spokeswoman.

The agency obtained those records after a routine fire inspection of the building L.B. Technologies leases at 404 Willis St. caused Fredericksburg officials to shut the building down and call in the federal agency.

ICE determined there was probable cause to believe illegal immigrants were working at the business, but no arrests were made when ICE was called to the scene Jan. 29, because the roughly 50 employees found at the scene when the fire marshal arrived all fled when city police showed up.

ICE, along with the General Services Administration, the Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor's wage and hour division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms continue to investigate L.B. Technologies.

The company, which makes apparel under U.S. military contracts, is run by John P. Straiton, who was convicted in 1986 of selling faulty Yugoslavian ammunition as an American product to the government of El Salvador under a U.S. military contract.

L.B. Technologies has no business license to operate in the city, and had no occupancy permit to be in the Willis Street building.

That building remains classified as unsafe, which means no one can enter without a permit from the city building official. Building Official Steve Smallwood has permitted Straiton to enter the building, but nobody else.

Business cannot resume at that location until Straiton gets permits and inspections for a number of alterations that were made to the building.

Smallwood said Straiton had not begun the permitting process as of yesterday.

Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009 ... 009/444818

ICE determined there was probable cause to believe illegal immigrants were working at the business, but no arrests were made when ICE was called to the scene Jan. 29, because the roughly 50 employees found at the scene when the fire marshal arrived all fled when city police showed up.

It would be interesting to know how many people are employed there. If they ALL ran ( which it sounds like) there should be NO way the owner isn't charged! He had a FEDERAL contract.

The company, which makes apparel under U.S. military contracts, is run by John P. Straiton, who was convicted in 1986 of selling faulty Yugoslavian ammunition as an American product to the government of El Salvador under a U.S. military contract.

. He's proven himself to be scum.