Posted on 10/03/2008 3:52:12 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
Deal helps avoid criminal charges in probe involving illegal immigrants
A national waste disposal company has avoided federal criminal charges in Houston after agreeing to pay $3 million in fines and cooperate with an investigation of illegal immigrants hired by a local subsidiary.
Republic Services Inc., with 13,000 employees and operations in 21 states, agreed Wednesday to pay the U.S. government $1 million and another $2 million to the city of Houston. The agreement involves criminal wrongdoing at the firm's Houston subsidiary, Republic Waste Services of Texas, located at 2010 Wilson Road.
Republic Waste had a contract with Houston from 2000 to 2007 to collect city garbage.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents began a criminal investigation following a KTRK (Channel 13) broadcast in November 2005 that reported undocumented workers at the Wilson Road facility.
A federal search warrant was executed in January 2007, and ICE agents detained 28 illegal immigrants hired by Republic Waste and another 24 working for a temporary employment agency.
''This agreement and payments illustrate that large corporations will be held accountable for the illegal actions of subordinate managers employed by subsidiaries in regards to the hiring and employment of illegal aliens," said Bob Rutt, special agent in charge of ICE criminal investigations in Houston.
-Snip-
An ICE audit of the facility showed 25 percent of the work force between 2002 and 2005 was undocumented. The Social Security Administration sent Republic Waste letters from 2002 to 2006 that many workers had provided Social Security numbers that did not match legitimate accounts.
Staff writer Carolyn Feibel contributed to this report.
james.pinkerton@chron.com
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
PING
Just a another business seeking to make noney on the same side of the law that Al Capone’s business sought to make money.
They would still be hiring illegals with stolen social security numbers if the local tv station hadn’t pushed the government to investigate. It’s becoming glaringly obvious there’s more and more illegals in Texas every day. I travel between Austin and Dallas and stopping in for fast food or pick up something in a department store or grocery store is a visit to Mexico. The employees can hardly speak a word of English so asking them for anything is impossible. Store signs, product labels and menus are becoming more Spanish than English. Frankly, I haven’t seen any mass exodus of illegals who fear the fence (do we have a fence?).
I thought we were the sanctuary city of the world?
3 Million Dollars, Just the Cost of doing Business. No Problem.
$3 million is not that much to a company with over ten thousand employees that operates in 21 states. The fines have to be so crippling that businesses are afraid to hire these people.
ping
We are going to soon be seeing Americans doing jobs that they supposedly won’t do. After high school graduation, just before heading off to college, I had a garbage job from the city. Yep, it was on the back of a trash truck. It was indeed very hard work and very smelly work, but I needed the money and did it. That is what Americans will do.
Additional note. I met one of the great characters ever during that job. His nickname was Dirty Red. He drove a rusty old Buick from the era of Broaddrick Crawford and Highway Patrol. I once saw him eat some cake out of a garbage can. The week before I started the job, he had fallen off the truck while going around a corner and got really scraped up. Without washing his hands and after scratching at some of his bloody sores, I watched him eat donuts during a coffee break. He was a classic.
When I was a teenager, I picked fruit one summer...
Golly gosh...silly me...
that’s a job Americans wont do...
No, people should go to jail.
Stealing candy bars in most towns will buy you some time in the County house. No reason why adults in charge of corporations who know very well they are breaking laws shouldn't get even harsher treatment than some kid.
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