ilbegone
03-23-2011, 07:22 AM
Some worthy cut and paste...
ICE attorney gets lengthy sentence in bribery case
March 21, 2011
By IMRAN GHORI
A senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney convicted of taking almost a half-million dollars in bribes from immigrants seeking helping with their residency was sentenced Monday to more than 17 years in federal prison.
Peter Kallas, 40, of Rancho Cucamonga, was arrested by FBI agents in June 2008 at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino near Highland. Video surveillance cameras at the casino caught him taking a $20,000 bribe from an immigrant, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.
The video was shown to the jury during a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last April where Kallas was convicted of three-dozen felony counts, including conspiracy, bribery and obstruction of justice.
Judge Terry Hatter sentenced Kallas to 212 months in prison and ordered him to pay $296,865 in restitution.
"Mr. Kallas has received one of the longest sentences ever seen in a public corruption case," stated U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. in the news release.
According to prosecutors, Kallas collected $425,854 from undocumented immigrants over a five-year period.
Kallas set up shell companies to petition for employment visas on behalf of clients, got rid of ICE case files for some of them and in one instance used his position as an ICE attorney to ask a judge to dismiss proceedings against one immigrant, prosecutors said.
His wife, Maria Kallas, 41, was also arrested in 2008 and accused of being part of the scheme. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering in November 2009 and is scheduled to be sentenced May 2.
Peter Kallas has been on unpaid leave since January 2007 and will be fired now that his conviction and sentencing has been finalized, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for ICE.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_nice22.208bd53f2.html
ICE attorney gets lengthy sentence in bribery case
March 21, 2011
By IMRAN GHORI
A senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney convicted of taking almost a half-million dollars in bribes from immigrants seeking helping with their residency was sentenced Monday to more than 17 years in federal prison.
Peter Kallas, 40, of Rancho Cucamonga, was arrested by FBI agents in June 2008 at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino near Highland. Video surveillance cameras at the casino caught him taking a $20,000 bribe from an immigrant, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.
The video was shown to the jury during a three-week trial in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last April where Kallas was convicted of three-dozen felony counts, including conspiracy, bribery and obstruction of justice.
Judge Terry Hatter sentenced Kallas to 212 months in prison and ordered him to pay $296,865 in restitution.
"Mr. Kallas has received one of the longest sentences ever seen in a public corruption case," stated U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. in the news release.
According to prosecutors, Kallas collected $425,854 from undocumented immigrants over a five-year period.
Kallas set up shell companies to petition for employment visas on behalf of clients, got rid of ICE case files for some of them and in one instance used his position as an ICE attorney to ask a judge to dismiss proceedings against one immigrant, prosecutors said.
His wife, Maria Kallas, 41, was also arrested in 2008 and accused of being part of the scheme. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering in November 2009 and is scheduled to be sentenced May 2.
Peter Kallas has been on unpaid leave since January 2007 and will be fired now that his conviction and sentencing has been finalized, said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for ICE.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_nice22.208bd53f2.html