Posted on 11/17/2011 10:32:31 AM PST by raccoonradio
Federal immigration agents assisted by police conducted raids at several restaurants Wednesday, including one in Portland.
PORTLAND — Federal agents detained at least four people in a sweep of Asian restaurants Wednesday as part of a multi-year, multi-state investigation allegedly involving money laundering, illegal financial activities and the harboring, hiring and transporting of illegal aliens.
United States attorneys filed a complaint in the United State District Court in Portland on Wednesday accusing the "Zhang Operation" — which owns restaurants in Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island — of operating "safe houses" where they stored Asian and Hispanic illegal aliens.
The Cumberland County Jail confirmed Wednesday night that federal agents brought in four “immigrants," but the names, addresses and charges filed against the four individuals were not available, nor would officials say where the four were taken into custody.
The jail said that type of information would have to come from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, which declined to comment through a spokesman. He referred questions to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Clark also declined comment.
Federal immigration agents assisted by police conducted raids at several restaurants Wednesday, including one in Portland.
Westbrook police Capt. Tom Roth said his department provided officers to assist immigration agents with an "operation" in that city, but declined to be more specific.
An employee at Kon Asian Bistro on Brighton Avenue in Portland, one place where vehicles from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were seen, said the restaurant would be open for dinner Wednesday night and wouldn't say whether immigration agents had been at the restaurant or made arrests there.
According to media reports, ICE agents were also seen Wednesday at the New China Super Buffet restaurant in Lewiston, at a home in Brewer and at two other restaurants, the Twin Super Buffet in Brewer and the Super China Buffet in Waterville.
According to the complaint, the agency would like to seize 278 Elm Street, a "safe house" in Brewer where the Zhang Operation stored the illegal aliens. The complaint described the house as "squalid" and "deplorable."
The owner of the house, Ai Hui Lu, is the wife of Zi Zhang. The couple own numerous Chinese restaurants throughout New England, the complaint said.
Since February 2006, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have investigated the Zhang Operation. The complaint accuses the Zhang Operation of working their illegal aliens as much as 70 hours per week without overtime or benefits.
The operation also did not withhold income taxes from the employees, and it didn't maintain required employees records. Lastly, it falsified income and business documents, the complaint said.
On Sept. 21, federal immigration agents raided three Mexican restaurants, Fajita Grill in Westbrook and Cancun restaurants in Waterville in Biddeford. Agents arrested eight workers from Mexico and Guatemala, as well as Guillermo Fuentes, owner of Fajita Grill, and his brother Hector Fuentes, owner of the other two restaurants.
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Take note:
>>a "safe house" in Brewer where the Zhang Operation stored the illegal aliens. The complaint described the house as "squalid" and "deplorable."...The complaint accuses the Zhang Operation of working their illegal aliens as much as 70 hours per week without overtime or benefits...The operation also did not withhold income taxes from the employees, and it didn't maintain required employees records.
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I like Chinese, I like Chinese
Their food is guaranteed to please
A 14, a 7, a 9, and light cheese (ding!)
--Eric Idle/Monty Python
I really expected this sting to involve a search for domesticated animals in the kitchen ingredients.
You never do see too many cats or dogs roaming around Chinatown :)
They were also investigating a seemingly inordinate number of missing cats in the area...
Someone in my town was registered to vote at the address of a local Chinese restaurant.
Big woo, they found 4 illegals after how many months and man hours? It’s no wonder they can’t find any in a Mexican protest parade or hanging out at Home Depot parking lot.
Money laundering is why Chinese buffet restaurants can charge so little to eat. There is no way they can stay in business otherwise.
A large percentage of those working in chinese businesses are here illegally. I was suprised to learn just how many of the Chinese here are not supposed to be here.
And the confiscated all the Egg Foo Yung and Lo Mein for Good Measure! That will show them....Now to go raid one of those Inian Owned Corner Stores for some Tall Boys...LOL
The owners of my local Chinese restaurant are good people. They have Chinese language bibles and Christian childrens books sitting in a corner of their restaurant. They sponsor bible studies for the local Chinese community. They had to leave China in order to practice their faith.
A few; as it mentioned (and I remember reading about it):
>>On Sept. 21, federal immigration agents raided three Mexican restaurants, Fajita Grill in Westbrook and Cancun restaurants in Waterville in Biddeford. Agents arrested eight workers from Mexico and Guatemala, as well as Guillermo Fuentes, owner of Fajita Grill, and his brother Hector Fuentes, owner of the other two restaurants.
Ha! By the way National Lampoon’s True Facts section used to have a thing called “Missing Letters” (funny signs). One sign they showed technically wasn’t a case of missing letters, it was really the name of the place:
FU KING Chinese Restaurant
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