Thread: Restaurant Owner Accused of Hiring Illegal Aliens

Restaurant owner accused of hiring illegal aliens

BY: DAVE AMBROSE - South County News
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 2:45 PM CDT

A co-owner of Toni’s Family Restaurant in Mount Clare has been charged in federal court of hiring illegal aliens.

Besim Tabaku, 34, who owns the restaurant with his wife Gentiana Tabaku, 30, was charged Friday with “knowingly hiring aliens who entered the United States unlawfully’ in a complaint in U.S. District Court in Springfield.

Tabaku was scheduled to make an initial appearance in court on Tuesday, according to Sharon Paul, spokesperson for the federal court. She said the government now has 30 days in which to secure an indictment from a federal grant jury, provided Tabaku does not waive the indictment.

If convicted, Tabaku could face up to six months in prison and a fine of $3,000 for each alien he is alleged to have hired, she said.

The criminal complaint follows two raids conducted at the restaurant by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials this year.

An affidavit filed in support of the complaint by Stephen J. Westover, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), indicates officials began investigating Tabaku and the restaurant in February after a former employee of the restaurant contacted ICE and alleged her former employer “regularly and habitually employs illegal aliens.â€

This same situation is occurring at one local restaurant, only the suspected illegal aliens are driven to the restaurant by van. The wages are determined to be around $3.00 an hour and yet ICE has not raided the restaurant or gone after the employers who hire these workers. One new ICE agent to the area said that they enjoyed eating at the restaurant.

Romans 5:8

Alot of the restaurants on Hollywood Beach in Florida hire illegals as well. One had 3 that lived in a small apartment owned by the owner. They are currently in jail for raping a woman on the beach and will be deported after they finish their sentences. The illegals mostly consist of Central Americans, Mexicans and Russians. What I find odd was that some Canadians would work at one place illegally while here for the winter. ICE always managed to find them and deport them but yet others are still here. This is what one of the restaurant owner's brother has told me on numerous occasions.
The grossest part is that some of the illegal employees sleep on the beach so they don't have to worry about transportation to the job. I have spoken to the police officers who patrol the beach about it as well as the health department. This has got to stop.

If they do that just think of not haveing the sanitary conditions they have, well, they dont have any.Turn them into the health dept.

I report this kind of stuff all the time. It really bothers me. I also look at who works in the place and if you can't see it or see who comes out of the kitchen besides the servers, then I will not eat there. I have seen such disguisting stuff involving illegals and that handle food that I am extremely selective over where I eat.

Originally Posted by swatchick

Alot of the restaurants on Hollywood Beach in Florida hire illegals as well. One had 3 that lived in a small apartment owned by the owner. They are currently in jail for raping a woman on the beach and will be deported after they finish their sentences. The illegals mostly consist of Central Americans, Mexicans and Russians. What I find odd was that some Canadians would work at one place illegally while here for the winter. ICE always managed to find them and deport them but yet others are still here. This is what one of the restaurant owner's brother has told me on numerous occasions.
The grossest part is that some of the illegal employees sleep on the beach so they don't have to worry about transportation to the job. I have spoken to the police officers who patrol the beach about it as well as the health department. This has got to stop.

I agree. They are using the ocean for everything.

Now that construction jobs are gone and so is the demand for day laborers, many are seeking employment in restaurants and bakeries. There was even an article about that in the Sun-Sentinnel last month. The one person they spoke to happens to be a retired police officers who owns a bakery. He came here from Cuba as a child so as soon as they found out, he kept get bombarded with illegals looking for work. He does not hire them. I have heard the same from others as well. They come and give their sob stories to them thinking they will hire them but many do not as they do not want any problems.
The only upside to this economy is that many illegals are going back as they can no longer find employment. In fact many are now going up to police officers in non sanctuary cities telling police that they are here illegally and want to go back home. The only reason they do that is so they don't have to pay for the trip back.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

yet ICE has not raided the restaurant or gone after the employers who hire these workers. One new ICE agent to the area said that they enjoyed eating at the restaurant.

Hi there GeorgiaPeach.

I just wanted to throw my two cents' into this one...while I don't doubt that you spoke to an agent who said the above, I would suggest that the fact that agents might like to eat at the restaurant probably isn't somehow preventing a raid and/or action against the restaurant that they might otherwise take.

These sorts of cases take a LOT of time and manpower to develop and pull together, and to be perfectly honest ICE is vastly understaffed in comparison to the VAST number of worksite immigration/illegal employment violations happening in our communities. So, basically, it comes down to triage, where you have to pick and work the "strongest" cases (read as, those with the best inside sources and/or those most likely to end up in successful prosecution). It's the same situation as that I've seen mentioned in other threads on your boards here, where ICE tends to target illegals with criminal convictions as opposed to just rounding up every illegal out there...I talk to ICE agents about this all the time, and believe me, it's not that ICE agents wouldn't LOVE to do it all, because they would, but when you have a limited amount of manpower and a wide geographical area to cover, a sort of triage has to kick in.

Also, the bit about not wanting to raid/investigate particular places you like to eat is a longstanding insider joke with ICE agents...

Welcome Joe Citizen to alipac. I find something you said incongruent:

I don't doubt that you spoke to an agent who said the above,

Yet YOU say:

Also, the bit about not wanting to raid/investigate particular places you like to eat is a longstanding insider joke with ICE agents...

Why would you question GP speaking to an ICE agent. I have personally spoken to an ICE agent in the Enforcement Department in San Fransico. If you can, she can, I can.

Your other point is well taken. They are overwhelmed, no doubt. We need to be able to support them. In fact, when I spoke with officer Meyer, I asked about SF sanctuary policy and he said, "that will NOT stop us from doing our job."

So we do have dedicated men and women doing their best and need even more help and roadblocks removed that Congress just tried to pull on removing funds from workplace enforcement.

Welcome to ALIPAC JoeCitizen and thank you for the input.

W