HOUSTON, Texas – A federal district court sentenced three Waste Management supervisors to prison for hiring 10 or more illegal aliens. The charges include a conspiracy to encourage and induce migrants to enter and live in the country. Feds revealed that two of the men involved in the conspiracy are Salvadoran nationals. The third is a U.S. citizen.
A jury convicted Rudy Alexander Martinez, 36, and Israel Arquimides Martinez, 44 on April 8, 2016, after a trial that lasted two weeks and about six hours of deliberation. The jury determined the two Salvadoran nationals conspired to employ and actually employed illegal aliens, according to information obtained from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials by Breitbart Texas. Also, the jury found the defendants encouraged and induced illegal aliens to enter the country without documentation and to reside in the U.S. Finally; the jury convicted the two men on charges of aggravated identity theft–a separate offense that carries a sentence of two years which runs consecutive to any other sentencing.
Ceasar Santiago Arroyo, 51, a Houston resident and U.S. citizen, pleaded guilty on March 31 to the conspiracy. He served as a district operations manager for Waste Management.
Rudy and Israel Martinez worked for Waste Management in supervisory or management capacities. Rudy served as a commercial route manager while Israel served as a lead driver in residential operations.
In 2012, the defendants and co-conspirators “fired” at least ten associates they knew to be undocumented because they failed to supply valid identification showing they were legally present in the U.S. and authorized to work. Following the “firing,” the defendants encouraged the workers to assume the identity of U.S. citizens or others who legally had the right to work. They told the illegal aliens they could return if the obtained “good papers” showing the identity of other individuals, according to court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas. The defendants re-hired the illegal aliens under the assumed names. The victims of the identity theft had no knowledge of their identities being stolen.
The conspirators entered the false information in the payroll system and issued a paycheck to the illegal workers.
Federal Judge Melinda Harmon sentenced Rudy and Israel Martinez to serve 94 and 87 months respectively. The sentence includes the mandatory 24-month sentence for the identity theft that must run consecutively to the other sentencing. The judge ordered Arroyo to spend 27 months in federal prison for his role in the conspiracy. As Rudy and Israel Martinez are Salvadoran nationals, they will face deportation following the completion of their prison term.
Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
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