Two more arrests in McDonald's case
by KTAR.com (March 30th, 2010 @ 12:16pm)
PHOENIX -- Two more suspects have been arrested in an ongoing investigation into alleged identity theft and forgery charges at McDonald's restaurants in the Valley.
Arley Lopez, 30, and Jose Prado, 37, were arrested Monday night at 510 S. Extension in Mesa, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies believe that Lopez was a store manager at 1460 W. Southern in Mesa and that Prado is a general manager for McDonald's, according to investigators. Both have been employed by McDonald's since 1999.
The arrests followed raids last Friday at four separate McDonald's restaurants and a Paradise Valley home of the owner of some McDonald's franchises. During the raids, deputies arrested 21 illegal immigrants on identity theft and forgery charges. They said they were looking for 30 more.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has stated that illegal immigrant investigations will increase in the future because nearly 900 sworn deputies are in the process of receiving training on enforcement of immigration laws.
"We will continue to hit the illegal immigration problem on all fronts," Arpaio said.
Despite claims from open borders activists and critics that many illegals arrested are not violent criminals, Arpaio said his jail currently houses nearly 100 illegal aliens on charges of murder and other violent crimes.
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MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ – Two more suspects were arrested Monday night in connection to a raid targeting illegal immigration at four Valley McDonald’s and one home last Friday.
Twenty-one McDonald's workers have already been arrested and now authorities were still seeking 28 other employees as part of their investigation.
Deputies armed with search warrants raided McDonald’s restaurants in Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa Friday morning.
MCSO said Tuesday the two new arrests include Arley Lopez and Jose Prado.
They were reportedly arrested in Mesa.
The McDonald’s locations include:
• McDonald’s 1516 North Hayden Road, Scottsdale
• McDonald’s 3218 South McClintock, Tempe
• McDonald’s 2130 West Southern, Mesa
• McDonald’s 1460 West Southern, Mesa
Sheriff's deputies believe that Lopez was a store manager at the 1460 West Southern location in Mesa and Prado is a general manager for the company and that both have been employed by McDonalds since 1999.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said information developed by his deputies indicated that over 50 employees working at the businesses may have been using falsified or stolen identities for the purposes of gaining employment.
Arpaio said it will take more time to determine whether any of them are illegal immigrants as officials suspect.
Deputies also searched a mansion in Paradise Valley. The mansion is owned by Richard Coulston, who owns the restaurants. Coulston was not arrested.
McDonald's Corp. referred comment to Coulston's company, R&L Management. In a statement, the company says people shouldn't jump to conclusions without all the facts.
"The company has trained its managers and hiring personnel regarding proper hiring procedures," Pace said. "It does not permit the hiring of employees without completing those procedures ... Any individuals unable to meet the legal requirements for establishing authorization to work are not hired."
Pace said the company was cooperating with the sheriff's office.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Friday afternoon that McDonald's employees had been prepped on what to do if they were raided.
Arpaio also said most employees' records were not kept at the store, but at the Coulston's lawyer's office.
Arpaio said deputies were tipped off in November to the McDonald's they raided by a caller to their illegal immigration hot line, and the tipster alleged several employees bragged about being illegal immigrants.
Deputies used government databases to identify 51 workers who appear to be illegal workers, and were looking for the outstanding suspects.
County officials said if any of the workers turns out to be an illegal immigrant, it could be their fourth civil case under the employer sanctions law, which penalizes employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The law, which is more than two years old, carries license suspensions and revocations for those who knowingly make illegal hires and is designed to reduce the economic incentive for immigrants to cross the border.
http://www.abc15.com/content/news/no...RPn3z-gmw.cspx