http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impr ... abla=miami

Men accused of abusing deaf migrants extradited

The pair, who are themselves deaf, forced migrants to sell trinkets on the subway in New York.

June 01, 2005

Two men accused of exploiting deaf Mexican immigrants in New York have been extradited to the United States more than seven years after their arrest, the Attorney General's Office (PGR) announced Tuesday.

José Paoletti Moreda and his son Renato Paoletti Lemus both deaf are accused of controlling and abusing dozens of other deaf Mexicans who worked under their control at two New York City apartments.

The PGR said in a news release that they were turned over to the FBI on a flight to New York City. They had been held at a prison in Mexico City since 1997, fighting extradition.

U.S. officials say the Paolettis were among the ringleaders in an operation that lured scores of deaf Mexicans into the United States with promises of a better life and then forced them to peddle trinkets on subways.

THREATS OF VIOLENCE

Authorities said threats of violence had kept the immigrants trapped in servitude, often working long hours seven days a week, while the Paolettis and others pocketed the profits.

The PGR said the smuggled workers were sent to sell merchandise at airports, on streets and in subway stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C., as well as New York.

It said the Paolettis kept the workers' passports.

Eighteen other Mexicans were sentenced for crimes including criminal conspiracy, immigrant smuggling and enslavement in the operation.

Fifty-seven of their victims were freed in 1997 when police raided houses in the New York borough of Queens. Most were taken to city shelters for job training, tutored lessons and health care, while others returned to Mexico.

One of the ringleaders, Adriana Paoletti Lemus, was sentenced in 1998 to 14 years, and her mother, Delia, to five years.

José Paoletti is believed to be about 66 now and his son 41.