United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

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

Seventeen former employees of the Swift & Company Meat Processing Plant in Cactus, Texas, pled guilty yesterday and today 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.

A total of sixteen defendants pled guilty to felony charges. Three of those defendants, Jose Ceballos-Ceballos, Isaias Gamarro-Hernandez, and Santos Pablo-Perez, pled guilty to superseding informations charging false representation of a Social Security Number. They each face a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Thirteen of those felony defendants, Maria De Los Angeles Garcia-Martinez, Maria Esmeralda Rodriguez-Gomez, Laura Zuniga De-Pena, Martin Rallos-Gutierrez, Salvador Zaragoza-Flores, Gabino Miranda-Ortega, Pedro Alonso-Perez, Juan De La Cruz-Tino, Gumercindo Cac-Coj, Gaspar Tomas-Larios, Juan Chan-Siguar, Marcos Juarez-Chich and Juan Aguilar 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.

One of the defendants, Macario Castro-Perez, 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.

Sentencing dates have not yet been set. Seventeen cases remain pending against other defendants.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the excellent cooperative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 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.

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