Company executives arrested for hiring illegal immigrants

[GaryC 7]

Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD - --

Executives at a Beardstown cleaning company were arrested Wednesday on federal charges that they hired illegal immigrants by arranging for them to steal the identities of U.S. citizens.

Federal immigration agents arrested Gerardo Dominguez-Chacon, the plant manager for Quality Service Integrity Inc. and Maria del Pilar Marroquin de Ramirez, the QSI personnel administrator. The charges against the two Beardstown residents include aggravated identity theft.

Authorities also have filed charges against 25 other employees at QSI, a contractor that cleans a Cargill meat-processing plant, and have arrested 11 of them.

"This was a very important case to our office. It was a very good amount of individuals that we arrested for immigration violations," said Lindsay Murphy, assistant special agent-in-charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Officials claim Dominquez-Chacon had access to several assumed identities which he provided to new employees. Authorities also accused him of providing information to illegal immigrants regarding how to obtain false identification documents, including social security numbers of U.S. citizens.

It was not immediately clear whether anyone arrested Wednesday had attorneys. A message left at QSI's headquarters in Chattanooga, Tenn. was not immediately returned.

Officials said they also have taken 49 illegal immigrants into custody. Most of QSI's work force turned out to be illegal, they said.

About 100 QSI cleaning employees worked at the Cargill Meat Solutions plant, which can process up to 18,000 hogs a day, said Cargill spokesman Mark Klein. Klein said the Wayzata, Minn.-based agribusiness powerhouse cooperated with immigration officials and is serious about following hiring laws for its 2,200 workers at the plant.

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/n...elleville_state

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It's a start.

Illegal entry into the US and identity theft? Serious criminals ruining peoples lives.

[GaryC 7]

It's a start.

Illegal entry into the US and identity theft? Serious criminals ruining peoples lives.

I am watching the story on Fox right now. The company apparently were running an identity theft ring and give the ID's to the illegals. They are going to hang them out to dry.

[notrepetiteashley 0]

Yuck. I hate it when people steal identities...illegal immigrants or otherwise. How scary.

[Addie_Goodvibes 0]

This is great to see enforcement on those who enable ilegal activity.

I am sure most of us on VJ have seen Dateline NBC's

To Catch a Predator,

Well the past 2 weeks they have been doing a show to Catch an ID Thief

It is amazing the lengths individuals will go to to steal & Use Stolen ID's

I hope those employers who were arrested get prosecuted to the Fullest exent of the law.

Edited April 5, 2007 by Addie_Goodvibes

[Ban Hammer 13,427]

to sound like daniel..........hang 'em by the nads!

[almaty 19]

know the site well..knew it had illegals as everyone in town knew there..i worked private practice in mt sterling for a short while....allot of ees were usa citizens and complained they were being low-balled on wages due to the company saying..you do not like it ..we got 50 people waitng for your job..

[keltic 1]

this is exactly what needs to be happening all across the country... should have been going on all along... all those folks who had their identities stolen or couldnt get jobs should never have been victims in the first place... and wouldnt if the govt would have just been enforcing the law...

hopefully this will set an example for others to follow