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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
May 6, 2008
OWNER OF MEXICAN RESTAURANTS PLEADS GUILTY TO KNOWINGLY HIRING ILLEGAL ALIENS
TOPEKA, KAN. – The owner of Mexican restaurants in Junction City, Manhattan and Topeka pleaded guilty Monday to knowingly employing illegal aliens.
Santiago Palomino Hernandez, 43, Manhattan, Kan., part owner of El Cazador, Inc., admitted that in August 2007 he hired Francisco Urista-Galvan and Jose Lazaro Gutierrez-Vasquez as restaurant workers, even though he knew they were in the United States illegally.
Palomino-Hernandez’s company owned three El Cazador restaurants: 1029 S. Washington in Junction City, Kan., 3003 Anderson in Manhattan, Kan. and 1220 SW 29th Street in Topeka. Information about the violation came to light as part of another investigation.
The defendant’s brother, Luis Palomino-Hernandez, 48, also is charged in the case. He is currently a fugitive.
Sentencing is set for Aug. 4, 2008. Palomino-Hernandez faces a maximum penalty of six months in federal prison and a fine up to $3,000. U. S. Attorney Eric Melgren commended Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough for their work on the case.
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