Thread: Letter From DA John Morganelli USA/PAC

Us Securing America PAC

Dear Friends:
Today I announced the first of its kind criminal charges. I have charged the Right Way Construction Company of Palmer Township, Pennsylvania with state criminal charges of Obstruction of Justice , Hindering Apprehension and Conspiracy for hiring, aiding , and abetting and harboring illegal aliens. This will be a test case in some respects, as to the authority of state prosecutors to charge state criminal offenses for violations of federal law. I believe that I am on solid legal ground. I will seek the maximum fine against this company under Pa. law.
When the federal government refuses to act, state prosecutors must do so to protect their communities from foreign criminals. I will continue to see to it that Northampton County, Pennsylvania does not become a safe haven for foreign criminals.
DA John Morganelli

http://www.usapac.us/

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/ ... 3418.story

October 3, 2006 - 2:40 PM EDT
Northampton County’s top prosecutor accuses Palmer company of hiring illegals

Cheap labor could cost a Palmer Township construction company thousands of dollars if Northampton County's district attorney gets his way.

John M. Morganelli today filed criminal charges against Right Way Construction Co., 1308 Van Buren Road. He says the company hired illegal immigrants as what he termed "cheap labor." The company is charged with obstructing administration of law, hindering apprehension or prosecution and conspiracy.

Morganelli said each of the misdemeanors carries a maximum fine of $5,000, which he said he'll seek. "No one's going to jail," Morganelli said. "We need to hit them financially. The whole incentive here is cheap labor." Company owner Salvatore Sacco, 60, is listed in the criminal complaint and will answer the charges, Morganelli said.

Calls to the company went unanswered. A woman who answered the phone at Sacco's home, 216 Hunter St. in the township, said Sacco was unavailable.

Morganelli in the past several years has arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants who used fraudulent documents to get jobs. Today marked the first time he charged a company for allegedly hiring the illegals.

He said that's because instead of accepting fake identification, Sacco's company paid the illegals "under the table" and failed to file required paperwork.

-- reporting by Tyra Braden, The Morning Call

DA John Morganelli ......WTG

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/modules.php?name=N ... e&sid=1555

This is GREAT news!!! What a boost

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/ ... easton-hed

October 4, 2006
DA claims firm hired illegal workers
Northampton County official files charges against Palmer company, seeks fine.
By Tyra Braden Of The Morning Call

A discount work force could cost a Palmer Township construction company thousands of dollars if Northampton County's district attorney gets his way.

John M. Morganelli on Tuesday filed criminal charges against Right Way Construction Co., 1308 Van Buren Road. He claims the company knowingly hired three illegal immigrants as what he termed ''cheap labor.'' The company is charged with obstructing administration of law, hindering apprehension or prosecution and conspiracy.

Morganelli said each of the three misdemeanors carries a maximum fine of $5,000, which he will seek. ''No one's going to jail,'' Morganelli said. ''We need to hit them financially. The whole incentive here is cheap labor.''

Company owner Salvatore Sacco, 60, is listed in the criminal complaint and will answer the charges, which will be sent by summons, Morganelli said.

Calls to the company went unanswered. A woman who answered the phone at Sacco's home in the township, said Sacco was unavailable.

Morganelli in the past several years has arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants who used fraudulent documents to get jobs. Tuesday marked the first time he charged a company for allegedly hiring the illegal immigrants. He said that's because instead of accepting fake identification, Sacco's company paid the three men ''under the table'' and failed to file required paperwork.

''Today, I once again am putting employers on notice that future actions will not only be directed against individuals utilizing fraudulent documents but will also be directed against employers pursuant to the state crimes code,'' Morganelli said.

A tipster, Morganelli said, called his office and complained about Right Way.

''It's not my intention to harass these businesses,'' Morganelli said. ''My intention is just to enforce the law. I'm hoping the message gets out there: Don't do this.''

The criminal complaint and affidavit of probable cause give the following account.

County Detective Robert Miklich on March 7 talked to Sacco at a construction site on Crest Road in Palmer as Sacco stood with three men. Sacco told Miklich the men, Fermin Garcia, Marcelo Garcia and Gerardo Lopez, all of 25 S. Sixth St., Easton, did not work for him and had just been dropped off at the site. Miklich said all three workers were in the country illegally and ''Sacco required no documents for employment, paid them cash and knew that all of them were illegally in the United States.''

One of the workers had money and a bank envelope with the notations ''44 hours @ 8 = 352 minus 150 =202.'' He explained to Miklich that Sacco had paid him $8 per hour for 44 hours of work and that Sacco had previously lent him $150 to buy boots and a jacket. The loan was subtracted from the wages.

Township officials told Miklich that Right Way reported only two employees for the first quarter of 2006. Both Garcias and Lopez were not among them. Likewise, workers' compensation insurance did not list the three men as employees. During an interview May 17, Sacco ''admitted to knowingly hiring'' the illegal immigrants, the affidavit said.

On Tuesday, Miklich said he did not arrest the three workers but seized all the fraudulent documentation they had. He also said he went to their home and took fake documents from the seven or eight other illegal immigrants who were living there. Miklich said he believes legitimate construction workers in this area are paid about $12 an hour.

tyra.braden@mcall.com

610-253-5751

Fantastic!