Pair faces illegal alien smuggling charges
By Ed Treleven

Motel operators in Wisconsin Dells and the Kenosha area were charged with smuggling illegal aliens into the U.S. from Guatemala to work at the motels in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Siddhartha "Sam" Shah, 51, of Pleasant Prairie, and Jignesh "Mark" Jagaria, 36, of Wisconsin Dells, were arrested on Monday and appeared in U.S. District Court in Madison on Tuesday, where they were released pending trial.

According to state records, Shah is the registered agent for Singapori Hospitality, which owns the Super 8 motel in Wisconsin Dells motel, and for Best American Hospitality Inc., which owns the Super 8 motel in Pleasant Prairie.

Shah is charged with conspiracy to smuggle illegal aliens into the U.S. and harbor them at his motels from July 2005 to May 2007. According to the indictment, Shah paid and conspired with others to smuggle the illegal workers from Guatemala to Wisconsin, where they worked at Shah's motels.

Shah and Jagaria are charged with harboring a smuggled worker at the Wisconsin Dells motel, while Jagaria is charged with helping that worker elude immigration authorities.

In June 2006, according to the indictment, Shah arranged a $6,500 bond to free the worker, who had been caught and detained in Texas after crossing the U.S. border, then tried to hide his involvement in obtaining the bond. He also allegedly arranged for an unidentified person to fill out paperwork and pay the bond so the worker could be released.

Shah arranged for that worker to then be brought from Texas to Wisconsin Dells. He also took steps to hide the worker from law enforcement officers in Wisconsin Dells, the indictment alleges.

In September 2006, Shah gave the smuggled worker a job cleaning rooms at the Wisconsin Dells Super 8, and living quarters in a storeroom.

Shah is also charged with witness tampering for allegedly telling a former employee to lie to federal investigators about the circumstances surrounding the posting of bond for the smuggled worker, according to the indictment

http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/185567