Former U.S. immigration attorney sentenced for taking more than $400,000 in bribes to help illegal immigrants.

Sam Allen

March 21, 2011, 2:50 pm

A former federal immigration attorney from Rancho Cucamonga was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison for accepting more than $400,000 in bribes in exchange for helping illegal immigrants remain in the United States.

Constantine Peter Kallas, 40, was convicted last year of three dozen felony counts, including bribery, obstruction of justice, fraud, identity theft and tax evasion.

The former assistant chief council with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operated a far-reaching scheme in which he falsely represented himself to immigrants as a judge, illegally claimed worker's compensation benefits and misappropriated the identities of others, prosecutors said.

In a sentencing memorandum filed in court, prosecutors described the case as “an epic display of a public official’s greed.â€