KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Two men who owned roofing companies in Missouri and Kansas have been charged with hiring illegal aliens, in some cases arranging for deported workers to be smuggled back into the United States, federal prosecutors said.
A 15-count indictment, handed up May 29 but not unsealed until arrests were made Monday, names the two owners, four companies and seven Mexican men suspected of working in the U.S. illegally.
U.S. Attorney John Wood said prosecutors believe the roofing companies utilized "a business model that relied upon hiring illegal aliens."
"In fact, the indictment alleges that when his workers were arrested and deported, the business owner helped pay to have them smuggled back into the country a few days later so he could put them right back to work," Wood said.
The case centers on Tony Evans, 48, of Stilwell, Kan., and Luis Hernandez-Bautista, 33, of Kansas City, Mo., a Mexican citizen who was arrested in 2001 as an illegal immigrant but is now a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
Posted by Richard at June 20, 2007