Former Miss Bolivia accused of hiring illegal immigrants deported from U.S. under plea deal


© AP
2007-08-30 20:06:00 -

MESA, Arizona (AP) - An Arizona socialite and former Miss Bolivia accused of hiring illegal immigrants has been told to leave the United States and not return for at least 10 years, according to a media report.
Sonia Falcone is resettling her family in China, where her husband lives, the Scottsdale Tribune reported.

Pierre Falcone gained international attention for alleged involvement in an arms trafficking deal to Angola with the son of former French President Francois Mitterand.

Some of Falcone's supporters allege said she was targeted by federal authorities because of her husband. He served time in a French prison but has never been charged or convicted, according to media reports.
Sonia Falcone told the newspaper she has accepted her fate.

If I stop and think about it, I could cry. I am human, she said. She said she was looking forward to the family's reunion with her husband in Beijing.

Falcone hired a couple to work as her driver and house manager, the couple's son to run errands and another woman to work as a nanny, according to court documents.

Agents arrested the four illegal immigrants in 2006, four years after they were hired

The original indictments against Falcone charged her with lying on a citizenship application and engaging in marriage fraud to obtain immigration paperwork.

Convictions on those felony charges would have been punishable by prison time, plus deportation, authorities said, but they the felony charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Falcone has lived with her three children, all U.S. citizens, in an estate built for $10.5 million in 2001.

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