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Antonio Rivera Sentenced to 60 Years in Prison for Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor, and Immigration Crimes on Long Island

Yesterday, Antonio Rivera, the former owner of the bars Sonidos de la Frontera in Lake Ronkonkoma and La Hija del Mariachi in Farmingville, New York, was sentenced to 60 years’ imprisonment for his role in a sex trafficking and forced labor ring. Rivera’s co-defendants, John Whaley and Jason Villaman, were sentenced to 25 and 30 years, respectively. The sentences were imposed by United States District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein at the United States Courthouse in Central Islip, New York. The three defendants were convicted after a four-week trial of multiple offenses, including conspiracy, sex trafficking, forced labor, alien harboring, and alien transportation.

The sentences were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Roy L. Austin, Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; James T. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New York; Edward Webber, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department; George Venizelos, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office; and Toni Weirauch, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, New York.

The government’s evidence at trial established that the defendants and others recruited, hired, and harbored in the United States scores of undocumented Latin American immigrants to work as waitresses in Rivera’s bars. The women had come to the United States from Honduras, Guatelmala, Mexico, and El Salvador. Rivera placed ads and flyers seeking waitresses in Spanish language newspapers and at local businesses frequented by Spanish-speaking immigrants. After the women agreed to work as waitresses, Rivera directed them to solicit patrons to buy them alcoholic beverages, which the women were required to consume, and eventually forced them to engage in sexual acts with the patrons in exchange for money, which Rivera kept. Several witnesses testified that Rivera and others used violence, including rapes and beatings, as well as fraud and threats of deportation to compel the victims to continue to work for him and to prevent them from reporting the illegal activity to police.

One victim testified that she was raped by a bar patron inside Sonidos during business hours in full view of patrons and employees. Another victim testified that on one occasion, she was transported by Villaman to a local hotel, where she was raped while unconscious by a bar patron and awoke to find Villaman watching the assault. A third victim testified that Rivera raped her on multiple occasions and subsequently ordered a security guard to brutally beat her. According to the victim, the security guard drove her to a deserted parking lot after work and, once there, viciously beat her. According to other testimony, Whaley, who assisted Rivera in hiring waitresses, maintaining the bars, and transporting the waitresses to and from the two bars, sexually assaulted one of the victims whom he was supposed to drive home. Testimony also revealed that Villaman acted as a security guard at Sonidos de la Frontera and assisted Rivera in illegal acts against victims, including dumping an unconscious victim on the lawn outside her home after the he and Rivera had assaulted her. Several victims testified that their wages were often taken from them under the guise of being placed into a short-term group savings scheme called the “Society” but were not returned to them as promised, which forced the victims to remain in Rivera’s employ in hopes of recouping their money.

“The defendants lured vulnerable young women to the United States with the promise of a better life and the ability to earn a living to support their families. Once here, the defendants then turned their American dream into a nightmare, subjecting them to unspeakable physical violence and emotional abuse, as well as threats of deportation, in order to line their own pockets. The lengthy sentences imposed today are fair and just punishment for the intolerable crimes that these defendants committed,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. “We will continue our efforts to ensure that the full protection of the law is provided to all our residents.” Ms. Lynch expressed her grateful appreciation to HSI, Suffolk County Police Department, FBI, and the IRS for their assistance in this case.

“These defendants preyed on some of the most vulnerable members of our society—young, undocumented women and girls seeking a better life—and brutally exploited them in a scheme driven by cruelty and greed,” stated Deputy Assistant Attorney General Austin. “Human trafficking is an affront to freedom and individual rights. The sentences handed down today affirm our commitment as a nation to bringing human traffickers to justice and restoring the rights and dignity of human trafficking victims.”

“The men sentenced today lured innocent women with dreams of good paying jobs that turned into a nightmare of forced prostitution backed by threats and violence. The victims of these heinous crimes have now begun the healing process they so justly deserve,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Hayes. “HSI agents will continue to work with the Human Trafficking Task Force and other law enforcement agencies to identify victims and to pursue the criminals who prey on them.”

“These victims and other immigrants have the rightful expectation to be protected against those that may take advantage of their vulnerability. These three predators deserve the lengthy sentences they have received for the unforgivable acts they perpetrated against their victims,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Webber. “The Suffolk County Police Department will continue to work jointly with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to curb forced labor, violence, and sex-trafficking within the county.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “The defendants have received sentences that reflect the gravity and depravity of the crimes they committed. No human being, regardless of immigration status, can be tormented the way the victims of these defendants were without the strongest possible response from our justice system. The horrific physical violence, sexual predation, and emotional torment suffered by the victims cannot be undone, but long prison terms for the defendants mean they will not be in any position to inflict such torment again.”

IRS Special Agent in Charge Weirauch stated, “IRS-Criminal Investigation is grateful that we were able to support our law enforcement partners in this important investigation and prosecution. The victims in this case endured incredible physical, emotional, and financial hardships. We sincerely hope they will be able to heal and move forward.”

The government’s case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Demetri M. Jones and Licha Nyiendo and Senior Litigation Counsel John Cotton Richmond of the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit.

Defendants:

Antonio Rivera
Age: 38
Residence: Patchogue, New York

John Whaley
Age: 33
Residence: Bellport, New York

Jason Villaman
Age: 34
Residence: Brentwood, New York

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Former Country Club Hills Police Chief, Regina Evans, Charged with Hiding Business Income and $500,000 from State Grant in False Tax Returns

Regina Evans and her husband, Ronald Evans, the former police chief and the former inspector general, respectively, of suburban Country Club Hills, were each charged today with three counts of filing false federal income tax returns for allegedly failing to report all of their income during calendar years 2007-09. They were charged in a felony information filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Regina Evans’ attorney has authorized the government to disclose that she will be pleading guilty to the tax charges after the government files a request to transfer the case against her to the Central District of Illinois in Springfield for disposition. Regina Evans, 50, who was Country Club Hills police chief from 2009 to 2011, and Ronald Evans, 46, are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Springfield on June 18.

The defendants were charged with failing to report all of their income in 2009, when they allegedly converted to personal income more than $500,000 of a $1.25 million state grant. They also allegedly failed to report all of their income in 2007, 2008, and 2009 from Prime Time Limousine, a Chicago transportation and security services company that they jointly owned and operated.

According to the charging document, Regina Evans founded and ran an organization called We Are Our Brother’s Keeper that, in 2009, received a $1.25 million employment opportunities grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to provide pre-apprenticeship educational and vocational training for people employed in building trades, such as bricklayers and electricians. The couple allegedly used more than $500,000 for non-grant-related personal purposes, making that money personal income.

On their federal income tax return for 2009, the couple stated that Prime Time’s gross receipts were approximately $150,000, knowing that its gross receipts totaled more than $201,297. They also allegedly stated that they did not have any other income, knowing that they had converted at least $500,000 in grant money.

In 2007, the defendants allegedly filed a false tax return by reporting Prime Time’s gross receipts were approximately $205,290, when the business actually had gross receipts totaling more than $360,649, and they allegedly filed a false 2008 tax return stating Prime Time’s gross receipts were approximately $150,630, when it actually had gross receipts of more than $291,414.

The charges were announced today by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and James C. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation participated in the investigation.

Filing a false federal income tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, a defendant convicted of tax offenses faces mandatory costs of prosecution and remains civilly liable to the government for any and all back taxes, as well as a potential civil fraud penalty of up to 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest. If convicted, the court must determine a reasonable sentence to be imposed under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Hammerman.

The public is reminded that an information contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Troubled Teen Takes School Hostage at Gunpoint in Michael Hassan's "Crash and Burn"

Crash and Burn is a powerful, emotional knockout by author Michael Hassan about the complicated relationship between a profoundly-troubled teenager who takes his school hostage at gunpoint and the profoundly untroubled student who stops him in a novel that Daniel Kraus of Booklist has called "Sprawling, messy, vulgar, sexy, irreverent, violent, bighearted, harrowing" and "quite simply, a great American novel."

On April 21, 2008, Steven "Crash" Crashinsky saved over a thousand people when he stopped his classmate David Burnett from taking their high school hostage armed with assault weapons and high powered explosives. You likely already know what came after for Crash: the nationwide notoriety, the college recruitment, and, of course, the book deal. What you might not know is what came before: a story of two teens whose lives have been inextricably linked since grade school, who were destined, some say, to meet that day in the teachers' lounge of Meadows High. And what you definitely don't know are the words that Burn whispered to Crash right as the siege was ending, a secret that Crash has never revealed.

Until now.

Michael Hassan's shattering novel is a tale of first love and first hate, the story of two high school seniors and the morning that changed their lives forever. It's a portrait of the modern American teenage male, in all his brash, disillusioned, oversexed, schizophrenic, drunk, nihilistic, hopeful, ADD-diagnosed glory. According to Liz Kossnar of Bookreporter.com, "Dealing with the expectations of heroism, ADD, broken families and just getting by during adolescence, this story is not only timely but a necessary read."

And in her review, Karen Coats called Crash and Burn "a must-read for teens and adults alike who want to understand the lack of empathy that permeates contemporary culture." A powerful summer read for teens and adults alike. Find out why teenagers across the country are hiding it from their parents.

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Vienna Pub Names Panini Sammiches After Mafia Bosses and Victims of Mobster Slayings #PoorTaste

Italy has complained to Austrian authorities about a Vienna pub selling Panini named after Mafia bosses as well as other sandwiches that make light of Italians slain by Sicilian mobsters.

The foreign ministry said on Saturday that Italy's charge d'affaires in Vienna 'intervened to sensitise' local authorities, including the city of Vienna and the finance ministry.

Italy said news of the menu with its 'poor taste' upset Italians in Vienna and public opinion in Italy.

Naming a sandwich for Giovanni Falcone, a prosecutor killed by a Mafia bombing in 1992 and saying on the menu Falcone was 'grilled' like a wurstel highly offended his memory and is 'unacceptable,' the ministry said.

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