A Mexican national has pleaded guilty in federal court at Phoenix to charges of harboring illegal aliens for financial gain.

Angel Mendoza-Romero, 40, is accused of operating an alien smuggling business from a private home in Phoenix last December. Police said he held at least two illegal aliens hostage, threatened them if their families did not pay a ransom and assaulted them.

Mendoza-Romero will be sentenced May 4 by U.S. District Court Judge James Teilborg. He faces a maxiumum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

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