Execs sentenced in illegal hiring case |
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Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:16
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SAN DIEGO (AP) - The owner of a company that once helped build a fence to keep illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican border was sentenced Wednesday to six months home confinement for hiring undocumented workers.Mel Kay, founder, chairman and president of Golden State Fence Co., was sentenced along with Michael McLaughlin, a company manager, after both previously pleaded guilty to felony charges of knowingly hiring illegal aliens.McLaughlin was also given six months home confinement by U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz. Each was ordered to log 1,040 hours of community service and spend three on probation.Kay was fined $200,000 as part of a plea agreement, and McLaughlin agreed to pay $100,000.Federal prosecutors took the rare step of seeking prison time after the men acknowledged hiring at least 10 illegal immigrants in 2004 and 2005. The charges carried a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison.However, prosecutors were unable to cite a single case in which an employer had been sent to jail for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.'Prosecution is long overdue in this area,' Moskowitz said. 'Honestly, the government's efforts have been at the border, not with the employer. Obviously the government has signaled a change with this case.'Federal authorities said they found no evidence that illegal immigrants were hired in the late 1990s while the company built 6,100 feet of the 14-mile fence near the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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15-month sentence for illegal labor use 