http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01817.html

N.Y. Woman Convicted of Human Smuggling

The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 22, 2005; 5:42 PM

NEW YORK -- A woman was convicted Wednesday of using her Chinatown storefront to orchestrate human-smuggling schemes, including a treacherous voyage in 1993 that ended in the deaths of 10 Chinese immigrants.

Cheng Chui Ping, 56, was convicted in federal court in Manhattan, one week after the jury began deliberations.

Ping allegedly became a multimillionaire by smuggling thousands of immigrants who endured perilous journeys aboard dilapidated cargo ships such as the Golden Venture, which ran aground in June 1993 off Rockaway Beach in the borough of Queens. Ten immigrants died trying to swim 200 yards to shore.

Prosecutors said Ping also hired a vicious street gang to hold illegal immigrants hostage in safehouses while collecting smuggling fees up to $40,000 a person.

She was convicted of conspiracy, money laundering and other charges. The jury acquitted her on a second count of money laundering. Jurors failed to reach a verdict on a charge of hostage taking.

Defense attorneys argued that the case was built on the false accusations of unsavory cooperating witnesses, including a convicted killer who once was the street gang boss.