Springdale : 2 in immigration raid at firm plead guilty
Posted on Saturday, October 21, 2006
Two brothers from Mexico pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a July 19 raid of their Springdale construction business.
Alejandro Arevalo-Mendez, 29, and Rodrigo Arevalo-Mendez, 33, pleaded guilty in U. S. District Court in Fayetteville on Friday. They will be sentenced later.
Both men were being held in the Washington County jail without bail on Friday.
The two were among 27 people arrested in the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at Arevalo Framing Associates, a Springdale construction firm. Customs officials said 24 of those arrested agreed to be deported.
The company made $ 1. 8 million in 2005 using an illegal work force, immigration officials claim.
Alejandro Arevalo-Mendez pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of bringing in and harboring aliens by transport and aiding and abetting.
The government dropped four other charges against him in lieu of the plea agreement.
As part of his plea agreement, Alejandro Arevalo-Mendez agreed to give up ownership of the vehicles and personal property seized in the raid of his Springdale apartment.
The government agreed to turn over a $ 20, 000 check for payment of work his company did before the raid, court records said.
Rodrigo Arevalo-Mendez pleaded guilty Friday to identity fraud by use of a birthday. The government dropped three other charges against him in lieu of the plea agreement.
Immigration agents began investigating Alejandro Arevalo-Mendez in December after police stopped Rodrigo Arevalo-Mendez in Crawford County. Rodrigo Arevalo-Mendez had illegal aliens and a pound of cocaine in the car, the affidavit said.
During their investigation, immigration agents watched as Alejandro Arevalo-Mendez drove employees to and from job sites in a van and watched him pay employees in cash, court records show.
When agents searched Rodrigo Arevalo-Mendez’s home in Lowell, they found he had an Arkansas driver’s license in someone else’s name, court records show. Immigration officials are still looking for Hugo Penna-Mata, an employee of Alejandro Arevalo-Mendez who faces federal charges related to the case.
To contact this reporter: sfitzgerald@arkansasonline. com
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