OTTAWA — The manager of El Mezcal Restaurant in Ottawa has been charged with harboring immigrant workers who were unlawfully in the United States. Alex Sanchez, Jr., 33, has been named in a nine-count federal indictment, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today. Sanchez, is charged with four counts of harboring undocumented aliens for financial gain and five counts of encouraging undocumented aliens to reside in the United States for financial gain. The crimes are alleged to have occurred at various times from Sept. 7, 2011, to June 14. The indictment alleges the investigation began in June 2011 when the Department of Homeland Security received information that El Mezcal was not completing I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms as required, Grissom said. A DHS agent reviewed the restaurant’s reports and found the restaurant did not have I-9 forms for 14 employees, he said. On Nov. 29, 2011, DHS served a final order on Sanchez requiring him to cease violations and pay a fine. However, the indictment accuses Sanchez of continuing to employ people he knew were in the country illegally despite the November 2011 fine and order. The indictment accuses him of providing housing for undocumented employees of the El Mezcal Restaurant in Ottawa and other restaurants affiliated with Tequila, Inc., which owned the Ottawa restaurant, paying workers in cash. The government is seeking to seize the property. The restaurant was closed in June following a raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Friday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m.
