Latest Legal News from the Federal Criminal Courts in the United States

APRIL 19, 2007

SIX FORMER EMPLOYEES AT SWIFT & COMPANY MEAT PROCESSING PLANT IN CACTUS, TEXAS PLEAD GUILTY

AMARILLO, Texas - Six former employees of the Swift & Company Meat Processing Plant in Cactus, Texas, pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Amarillo, to charges stemming from the December 12, 2006 immigration enforcement action at the plant, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas.

Four of those defendants, Jesus Gutierrez-Ramos, Domingo Velasquez-Gutierrez, Manuel Castro-Pablo and Cristino Pablo-Alonzo each pled guilty to one count of fraud in connection with an immigration document. They each face a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Two of the six defendants, Juan Tecum-Tecum and Antonio Hernandez-Mejia, pled guilty to a superseding misdemeanor information charging unlawful entry by an illegal alien. The penalty for this offense is a statutory maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $5000 fine

All 53-defendants who were charged in the Northern District of Texas have pled guilty. Sentencing dates have not yet been set.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the excellent cooperative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas.