Two Plea Guilty to the Unlawful Employment of Aliens

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that JOHNNIE SANTANGELO, III, age 29, of Tangipahoa Parish, and OBER FARFAN BRAVO, age 34, an undocumented alien living in Tangipahoa Parish, pled guilty today to a one-count Bill of Information charging them with  a pattern and practice of unlawfully employing aliens.

According to court documents, SANTANGELO and BRAVO knowingly and unlawfully engaged in a pattern and practice of hiring aliens for employment, knowing that said aliens were unauthorized to work in the United States.

SANTANGELO and BRAVO each face a maximum term of six months incarceration and/or a fine of $3,000 for each unauthorized alien or twice the gross loss to any person.  U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey set sentencing for March 17, 2015.   

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Homeland Security Investigations in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorney David Haller is in charge of the prosecution.