Ohio lawmaker wants to bring Arizona-style immigration law north (Cleveland, Ohio - July 16, 2010)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The immigration issues roiling Arizona came to Cleveland on Friday, stoking passionate discussion, and probably not for the last time.

A forum at the City Club of Cleveland introduced State Rep. Courtney Combs, a downstate Republican who is calling for an Arizona-like crackdown on illegal immigrants in Ohio.

Combs declared illegal immigration a national menace and said states must step in where federal authorities are slow to tread...

[Full Article]

Crackdown On Business Owners Reflects Change In Immigration Enforcement (Cleveland, Ohio - March 8, 2010)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The owner of eight Casa Fiesta Mexican restaurants across northern Ohio pleaded guilty last month to harboring illegal immigrants and filing false tax returns.

Ramon Ornelas of Norwalk probably faces at least one year in prison when sentenced later this year. It's a stiff penalty for a crime that in the past typically resulted in just a fine.

The conviction of Ornelas, 42, is symptomatic of a broader crackdown by federal officials on businesses that hire undocumented workers...

Ex Public Safety Director Guzman's Blind Eye to Fraud is Unconscionable (Cleveland, Ohio - February 6, 2010)

At the very least, 'former state Public Safety Director Henry Guzman was lax in not implementing new rules on vehicle registrations. At worst, his failures opened the door to dangerous fraud by allowing thousands of motor vehicle registrations to go to people -- many of them undocumented aliens -- who did not provide a driver's license number, state ID card number or Social Security number, as Ohio law requires...

Urge Congress to Reject Latest Amnesty Bill for Illegal Immigrants (Cleveland, Ohio - February 2, 2010)

By Other Voices

February 02, 2010, 4:05AM

Congress will try once again to rush through the same amnesty bill, introduced by the infamous Sen. Harry Reid. This bill will, again, attempt to dupe the American people into believing it is all about border and employment enforcement.

Do not be misled. It is more about securing amnesty. There are about 15 million Americans out of work, plus 1 million more who have given up looking for jobs. Why should 8 million illegal aliens hold jobs in this country?

Every month, about 125,000 foreigners enter the United States with temporary visas or as legal immigrants. Americans should not have to compete with these numbers. How many will take the time to write, telling their representatives and senators to reject this bill and introduce one that will enforce our immigration laws, secure our borders and protect Americans from the impact of illegal immigrants and the monumental number of legal immigrants entering the country?

Jean Brehm, Euclid

A National Campaign for Immigration Reform Heats Up in Ohio (Cleveland, Ohio - December 22, 2009)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- With health-care reform nearing reality, some Ohio activists think the Buckeye State and America are ready for another big, important, emotionally charged debate.

They are calling for immigration law reform. They aim to re-launch a crusade that failed twice in recent years but that candidate Barack Obama promised to make a national priority...

18 Indicted in Fake Driver's License Scheme That Involved Parma Bureau
(Cleveland, Ohio - November 24, 2009)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Federal prosecutors indicted eighteen people Monday for conspiracy to traffic in fake driver's licenses and identification cards...

Three Accused of Selling Fake Drivers Licenses to Ukranian Immmigrants Out of Parma License Bureau (Cleveland, Ohio - October 29, 2009)

For four years a corrupt clerk at the Parma driver's license bureau passed out licenses to illegal Ukrainian and Uzbeki immigrants, FBI agents said Thursday.

Pocketing $1,500 to $3,000 each time Sonya Hilaszek of Cleveland gave out the licenses to 300 to 500 people with little or no supporting paperwork, according to charges filed in U.S. District Court...

Honduran sentenced in rape (Cleveland, Ohio - Cleveland.com / Ohio Crime News)

A 25-year-old illegal alien from Honduras was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to raping a woman this spring inside a Cleveland bar. Elvis Torres, who authorities said had been administratively deported from the United States twice, pleaded guilty in July to two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping after he raped a 28-year-old woman inside a bar in the 3800 block of Denison Avenue in April. The rape was captured on a video camera inside the bar. Prosecutors said Torres came to the Cleveland area after he met a woman while he lived in Florida. He was a carpenter and worked other odd jobs. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell also sentenced Torres to be classified as a Tier III sex offender with lifetime reporting requirements. He was sent to the Lorain Correctional Facility and will be formally deported to Honduras when he is released.

Damian Rowe, a Jamaican National Due do to be Deported, Arrested on Weapons Charges (Cleveland, Ohio - August 28, 2009)
A Jamaican man awaiting deportation was arrested this week with a fully loaded AK-47 assault rifle and pistol, Cleveland police said...

Detroit Psychiatrist Gave Fake Citizenship Waivers to Ohio Residents
Psychiatrist Gets 10 Months, Gave Fake Citizenship Waivers to 492
(August 18, 2009)
DETROIT - A West Bloomfield psychiatrist was sentenced to 10 months in prison today for conspiring to commit naturalization fraud, admitting he falsified diagnoses to help people gain U.S. citizenship without passing the English proficiency portions of naturalization exams...

Alleged Head of Latin King Drug Ring in Cleveland is an Illegal Dominican National (August 13, 2009 - Cleveland, Ohio)

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News Release For Release: August 13, 2009				U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Northern District of Ohio William J. Edwards United States Attorney Joseph M. Pinjuh Assistant U.S. Atto rney (216)622-3771
William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, C. Frank Figliuzzi, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Division of the FBI, Michael McGrath, Chief, Cleveland Division of Police, and Robert Reid, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a 106-count, 34 defendant indictment charging: Vincente Benitez, aka Luis Angel Robles, age 46; Adriana Ventura, aka Candy, age 33; Jesse Butler, aka Jayson Butler, age 36; Melvin Torres, aka Ervin Torres, age 34; Jerry English, age 26; Jose Sierra, aka Chaca, age 46; Juan Barrientos, aka Maestro, age 29; Malcolm Ross, aka Tony Montana, age 46; Manuel Ortega, aka Manny, age 30; Efren Vega, aka El Diablo, age 41; Jorge Canales, aka Maggie, age 44; Juan Rivera, aka Vitin, age 3 2; Antoine Studgions, age 27; Luis Gomez, age 29; Richard Rodriguez, aka Chicha, age 36, Cleveland, Ohio; Antonio Powell, age 33; Jose Rivera, Jr., aka Chu, age 26; Steven Nagy, age 43; David Essenberg, aka David Essenburg, age 44; Misty Payne, age 32; Lisa Chambers, age 35; Rodolfo DeJesus, aka Rudy, age 45; Richard Buxo, aka Richie, age 22; Pedro Rodriguez, aka Pete, age 37; Jose Roberto, aka Putin, age 36; Lisandra Rivera, age 39; Austin Cooper, aka Billy, age 48; Miguel Torres, aka Mikey, age 43; Samantha Dameron, age 28; Johana Sanchez, aga 31; and Eliezer Morales, age 24, all from Cleveland, Ohio; and Jermaine Jones, aka Jay, age 35, South Euclid, Ohio; Daniel Gallagher, age 27, North Olmsted, Ohio; and Randy Lee Cooper, age 39, Brook Park, Ohio; with violations of the federal narcotics and wire fraud laws. Count 1 of the indictment charges 32 of the 34 defendants (excluding Sanchez and Morales) with conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute at least one or more kilograms of heroin, at least five or more kilograms of cocaine and at least 50 or more grams of cocaine base (crack). Counts 2-4 and 6 of the indictment charge Torres with the distribution of various amounts of heroin and cocaine. Count 5 of the indictment charges Torres and Butler with the distribution of cocaine. Count 7 of the indictment charges Torres and Gomez with the distribution of heroin and cocaine. Count 8 o f the indictment charges Benitez with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Counts 9-103 of the indictment charge each defendant individually with the use of a communication facility (a telephone) to facilitate a drug trafficking offense. Counts 104 and 105 of the indictment charge Ventura and Benitez with traveling in interstate commerce (to New York City) to facilitate the conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine. Count 106 of the indictment charges Torres, Sanchez and Morales with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal records, if any, the defendants’ roles in the offenses and the unique characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases they will be less than the maximum. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Pinjuh following a one year investigation code named “Operation Royal Flush.” The investigation included several Title III wire taps on the cellular telephones of Melvin Torres, Jesse Butler and Vincente Benitez. During the Title III portion of the investigation, 16,428 illegal drug calls were intercepted on the various phone lines. The investigation initially targeted local members of the Lat in Kings Gang responsible for drug trafficking on Cleveland’s near west-side, but ultimately uncovered a large scale, multi-person conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine which extended from Cleveland to New York to the Dominican Republic and crossed all racial and ethnic boundaries. The investigation revealed that Benitez, an illegal Dominican national residing in Cleveland, and his common-law wife, Adriana Ventura, would arrange for large quantities of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine to be brought to Cleveland, Ohio, from the New York City area on a weekly basis. Thereafter, Benitez and Ventura would sell the drugs to Butler, English, Sierra, Barrientos, Ross, Ortega and others in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. Additionally, Butler would purchase heroin and cocaine from Vega, another local distributor, when Benitez was unavailable. Butler would also sell amounts of cocaine and heroin to Torres and Canales. Torres, a suspected Latin King Gang member, would also purchase quantities of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine from local dealers including Vega, Juan Rivera, Studgions, Gomez, Gallagher, Jones, Chambers and Austin Cooper when his main suppliers were unavailable. Thereafter, Torres would sell amounts of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine on nearly an hourly basis everyday to other members of the conspiracy, including various members of the Latin Kings Gang, and others known and unknown all over the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. During the investigation, thousands of dollars worth of heroin and cocaine were purchased or seized from Torres, Butler, Gomez and Benitez. The investigation also revealed that Torres, along with his girlfriend, Johana Sanchez, an employee of CheckSmart, and Eliezer Morales, also an employee of CheckSmart, and others engaged in a conspiracy to defraud CheckSmart by processing fraudulent loans. The investigation revealed that Torres would recruit individuals with poor credit to open bank accounts with minimal balances at Cleveland area banks and then bring these individuals to the CheckSmart Store located on 4263 Fulton Road, Cleveland, Ohio, for the purpose of obtaining loans. Torres would instruct these individuals to deal only with Sanchez or Morales once inside the store. Torres would call Sanchez or Morales to advise them of the identity of the individual entering the store to obtain the loan. Sanchez or Morales would process the fraudulent loans, normally in the amount of $600.00, for these individuals knowing that the amount of the loan would never be re-paid to CheckSmart. After obtaining the loan proceeds, the individual that applied for the loan would split the loan proceeds with Torres, Sanchez and Morales. The investigation was conducted by agents and task force officers of the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force (NOLETF). The NOLETF is a long standing multi-agency task force comprised of investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), Drug Enforcement Administration=2 0(DEA), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Cleveland Division of Police, Cleveland Heights Police Department (CHPD), Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), Euclid Police Department (EPD), Lake County Narcotics Agency, Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Police Department, Willoughby Hills Police Department and Shaker Heights Police Department (SHPD). The NOLETF is also one of the initial Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiatives. The HIDTA Program supports and helps coordinate numerous Ohio drug task forces in their efforts to eliminate, or reduce drug-trafficking in the State of Ohio. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. #####

SWAT Raids Drug Gang in Cleveland With Ties to Chicago-based Latin Kings (Cleveland, Ohio - August 13, 2009)
CLEVELAND -- Pre-dawn raids by several SWAT teams Thursday disrupted a major Cleveland drug ring with ties to a national criminal gang, local law enforcement officials said...

(Cleveland, Ohio - June 15, 2009)




Posted by Sun News June 15, 2009 09:02AM

SPEEDING, I-480: A Cleveland woman was arrested June 5 for speeding on I-480 West. She was also found to be driving with a suspended license. Two passengers in her vehicle were found to be illegal aliens. Immigration officials were notified.

U.S. Marshals Seek Illegal Immigrant Kenneth Morgan
CLEVELAND — Marshals are asking for help to locate 37-year-old fugitive Kenneth Morgan, who is wanted by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office and the federal immigration agency...

Drug Bust: Cops Confiscate More than 1,000 Pounds of Pot, Arrest Illegal Immigrants

Cleveland, OH - A massive drug bust involving illegal aliens over the weekend.

19 Action News Reporter Ed Gallek has learned Cleveland Police scored a major drug bust on the city's near Eastside on Sunday.

Six people behind bars after a raid at a building used for offices and storage on South Miles Road just inside Warrensville Heights near the Cleveland border.

Police not talking but multiple sources say investigators seized 1,000-3,000 pounds of pot.

Also seized - $300,000-$500,000 in cash.

The suspects are illegal immigrants believed to be tied to a violent Latin American gang.