Massachusetts: Plea Deal in Raid Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 4, 2008
National Briefing New England
The owner of a New Bedford leather-goods factory that was raided last year by immigration agents has pleaded guilty to harboring and concealing illegal immigrants.
The owner of Michael Bianco Inc., Francesco Insolia, was charged with conspiring to induce illegal immigrants to live in the United States and conspiring to hire illegal immigrants.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Insolia agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of harboring and concealing immigrants. The company also pleaded guilty to 18 counts of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants from early 2004 to late 2006. It has agreed to pay a fine of about $1.5 million and pay about $460,000 in restitution for overtime owed to employees.
Mr. Insolia faces 12 to 18 months in prison and has agreed to pay a fine of $30,000. In March 2007, the federal authorities arrested 361 workers at the company.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/us/04brfs-003.html
