dl425's Blog

 May 7, 2008

BANGOR, Maine—An El Salvador native who became a U.S. citizen in 2006 and started a floor cleaning business in Bangor has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for harboring and employing illegal aliens.

Manuel Antonio Cornejo, who waived indictment and pleaded guilty in January, is believed to be the first Maine employer to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor for hiring undocumented workers.

Cornejo, 30, of Lewiston, also was sentenced Tuesday to three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.

Prosecutors said Cornejo, owner of M.C. Cleaning LLC, employed at least 11 illegal aliens and also provided housing for them, often at his home.

His company was hired as a subcontractor by a Danvers, Mass., firm to clean the floors of eight Hannaford supermarkets in Greater Bangor, Bucksport and Belfast.

His employment of illegals came to light when Social Security numbers sent by Cornejo to Hannaford Bros. Co. headquarters in Scarborough failed to match the corresponding names of the workers when the Social Security Administration ran a check of them.

Cornejo faced a maximum sentence of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000 for harboring illegal aliens and six months in prison and a fine of up to $3,000 for each of the 11 undocumented workers he employed.

Judge John Woodcock told Cornejo that he added a day onto the prosecution's recommended one-year sentence to allow him to earn good time and return to his wife and 2-year-old daughter in less than a year.

"It is time to remind you that obeying the laws of this country is a primary duty of U.S. citizens," Woodcock told the defendant. "This country gave you its prized possession -- citizenship -- and you paid the United States back by breaking its laws."

Two of Cornejo's ex-employees also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with their illegal entry into the country and were expected to be deported after being sentenced to time already served in jail.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com