Posted on 04/25/2007 5:31:23 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
(CBS) CHICAGO -- Federal officials say when they raided a strip mall in the Little Village neighborhood on Tuesday, they were stopping a fraudulent ID ring in which competitors stood to be murdered.
The fake ID ring that operated from the Little Village Discount Mall at 26th Street and Albany Avenue took in $2 million to $3 million a year, and has become "competitive and violent," federal prosecutors said.
As CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, the government says workers who peddled phony IDs were smuggled in from Mexico and required to pay the organization $140 for each set of phony IDs they typically sold for $2,300.
"These documents are not only used by individuals that want to possess them to get a job; these are also used by criminal organizations, they are also utilized by potential terrorists,” said Elissa Brown of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The government said a basement apartment in a Southwest Side in the 5000 block of south Campbell building was the organization's primary office.
Tuesday they seized blank fake documents and the equipment used to make 50 to 1,000 fakes a day.
Twelve people were taken into custody on Tuesday. Among them was Julio Leija-Sanchez, who was the alleged Chicago cell leader of the fake ID ring. Meanwhile, among those charged but not located was Gerardo Salazar-Rodriguez, a fugitive believed to be in Mexico. Both are accused of conspiring to kill two fledgling competitors, federal prosecutors said.
Leija-Sanchez and Salazar-Rodriguez allegedly discussed the execution of one competitor, known only as "Montes" earlier this month, in which it would have been made to look like a robbery. They also allegedly discussed killing another competitor, "Bruno," in a scenario in which he would have been kidnapped and dismembered, prosecutors said.
Leija-Sanchez was charged with conspiracy to commit murder outside the United States. He and 21 co-defendants were also charged with participating in a 3-1/2 year conspiracy to illegally produce IDs and other documents. Ten of those charged are fugitives, and four are believed to be in Mexico, federal prosecutors said.
The federal complaint alleged that the organization originated in Mexico and is produces false documents in Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago and other U.S. cities. Julio Leija-Sanchez took over the Chicago operation after his brother, Manuel Leija-Sanchez, 40, was deported, prosecutors said.
Manuel Leija-Sanchez still has control of the organization from Mexico, prosecutors said.
The fake ID ring has already turned deadly, federal prosecutors said. One of four former members who stole equipment from the organization to set up shop in Indiana was killed, they said.
It was Julio Leija-Sanchez, the government charges, who paid $3,000 to have competitors killed.
"Someone was in fact murdered in Mexico and then there were steps being taken to murder at least one other person,” said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.
A 100-page document unsealed Wednesday includes details of conversations overheard between the killer and Julio Leija-Sanchez.
"The person who did the killing relayed back on the wiretap what had happened, how many times he shot the person -- 15 shots,” Fitzgerald said.
When the government overheard incredibly gruesome details of another planned killing earlier this month, they took steps to make the arrests Tuesday.
Search warrants were executed at four locations, including Nuevo Foto Munoz, a photo shop at the Discount Mall.
As part of a 2006 series, the 2 Investigators went to Nuevo Foto Munoz last year as part of a series of reports on the fake ID ring. As part of the investigation, an ID peddler took an undercover CBS 2 producer to a photography shop to have a picture taken for her fake documents.
She then turned around and paid him a $100 cash deposit inside the photo shop. A few hours later she got a fake Social Security card and Michigan driver's license from the ID peddler.
The photography shop is owned by Elias Munoz, who speaks English but insisted on answering CBS 2's questions in Spanish.
When asked if he was part of the illegal operation, he responded, "No I'm not part of anything. I'm a photographer; that's it."
Munoz is the father of 22nd Ward Alderman Ricardo Munoz who told CBS 2 Tuesday that the feds did not arrest his father, but did search the studio.
"They found nothing, they took some cameras and he will probably get them back in a week after they see that on the film there are just pictures,” Ald. Munoz said.
On Tuesday, Manuel Leija-Sanchez's stepdaughter told CBS 2 she was helping the feds in their continuing investigation.
"At this time other people, other members of the family have stepped in," said Suad Leija-Sanchez.
Prosecutors say the fake ID ring recruits illegal immigrants to come to Chicago and sell fake IDs on street corners in Little Village, including Green Cards, driver's licenses from several states, and other documentation. Most members of the organization were of Mexican descent, but customers from around the world did business with them, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also allege the organization is involved in smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States from Mexico.
Conspiracy to produce fraudulent identification documents carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000. But Julio Leija-Sanchez could face life in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.
Ten defendants are still fugitives.
Activists Protest Arrest Tactics As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, the raid drew heated protests in the Little Village neighborhood on Tuesday, and those demonstrations continued outside the Dirksen Federal Building downtown on Wednesday.
But U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the arrests were a matter of national security.
The protesters complained about the use of SWAT teams and machine guns, and the sealing off of the discount mall. Fitzgerald said it was done for the safety of those nearby and the agents working on the case, because the people allegedly involved in the fake ID ring are dangerous.
He emphasized that he focus of the arrest was the fake ID ring rather than immigrants in general.
But many said they are offended by the display of force and the number of officers who conducted the operation in a shopping mall in the middle of the afternoon.
“This could've easily turned into a very explosive, deadly situation with the kinds of weapons on the street, with the number of troopers, enforcement officers,” said Dr. Juan Andrade of the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute.
Some protesters said the saw the arrests as an attack on the community. Many people complained that others who had nothing to do with counterfeiting were also arrested.
“They kind of targeted a whole bunch of people in a very large space and then kind of checked everybody for immigration status,” said civil rights attorney Chris Bergin. “That's not an American ideal.”
"We ask you to be with all of the families who've been agitated by this act of aggression in our community," an activist said during a protest on Tuesday.
They took issue with the show of force, and they way they said they were treated.
"They came out here and they had these big guns and they were looking for people under cars and in the stores," said witness Jesus Figueroa.
The local alderman also took issue with the methods used in the raid.
"It's a show of force. We believe it was done to intimidate this community. We can’t see it any other way," said Ald. George Cardenas (12th). "The number of people involved in this operation is just overwhelming."
Witnesses say up to 200 agents stormed the mall, locking it down and asking everyone inside and in the parking lot for IDs.
"(They were) selling illegal papers to immigrants so we can work, basically. That’s all we buy them for, is to work," said Little Village resident Luz Nolasco. "But apparently that’s against the law and God forbid we help America!"
A release said, "Their actions are clear – (to) disrespect our community and children and to intimidate us."
As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, the site of the operation looked like a ghost shopping mall Wednesday. Merchants say people are still terrified, especially those who witnessed the raids.
“And when they came in, looking to see if perhaps some of them had hidden inside here, that caused more panic; that caused more fear, with those machine guns walking around,” said merchant Rosanna Jimenez.
“This was not an effort to send any message to anyone other than those people who traffic and counterfeit documents, who make a living by exposing the vulnerability of our country,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald says he understands people's frustration, but agents have to go where crimes are being committed.
“We can't just say we're not going to arrest people ever in a shopping mall and we're not going to arrest people ever in the public streets if they're carrying out crimes in the public streets,” Fitzgerald said.
Immigration activists say the operation was an effort to intimidate people the week before an immigration rally planned for May 1.
But federal officials say the investigation into the counterfeiting ring started long ago and has nothing to do with the immigration debate.
Jorge’s guests.
more jobs Americans won’t perform...........
Even more supporting evidence of the bush legacy.......
Now we have even lobbies for criminals - some go by such names as “immigration activists” or even “humanitarian groups.” Many of those speaking out for illegal aliens more than likely have links to terrorists or drug dealer.
Yes, selling illegal papers would be against the law in most jurisdictions.
A release said, "Their actions are clear – (to) disrespect our community and children and to intimidate us."
Not unless you are buying or selling illegal papes.
to pay the organization $140 for each set of phony IDs they typically sold for $2,300
The most interesting thing is who is snitching on these well known open operations. Who is pushing the Feds to target one ID ring and not another?
There is a tendency for the price to go up on things that are scarce. There is a tendency for the price to go up when the demand increases.
As enforcement against employers increases, the demand will increase for those who never before bothered with any kind of ID. As some suppliers are put out of business, the product becomes more scarce.
massive amount of fake IDs = massive voter fraud..........they are not just for workers, but, also, for illegal voting.........
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