The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
A contractor who hired illegal immigrants to dig ditches for a Verizon Communications project was sentenced Friday to 14 months in prison.
Robert Buttery Sr., 53, of Fauquier County pleaded guilty to hiring, housing and transporting undocumented workers for his company, B&B Cable. He was caught after a state trooper stopped a van on Interstate 264 last summer and discovered 14 of his workers in the back.
U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman denied a request from Buttery's attorney to spare his client jail time.
The lawyer, George Yates of Virginia Beach, pleaded with the judge to take a political stand.
"Mr. Buttery is a small potato," Yates said. "There are millions of Americans committing crimes by hiring illegal aliens and we turn the other way."
"I don't quite understand where you're coming from," Friedman said.
"I'm just asking the court to put this in context," Yates said, noting there are an estimated 20 million illegal immigrants working in the country.
"Depending on who gets elected, it may very well be legal to hire these people," Yates continued. "John McCain doesn't want to send them back. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama don't want to send them back."
"My job is to follow the law," Friedman interrupted, adding that he cannot be concerned with political matters.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Metcalfe argued that Buttery could have faced a substantial amount of time in prison had the government decided to indict him on money laundering and tax evasion charges.
Metcalfe said the Buttery operation grossed $1.8 million in about four years of employing illegal immigrants. I n that time, the company paid no Social Security or Medicare taxes, he said.
The government is seeking $250,000 in restitution, but Yates told the court that Buttery is broke.
Buttery's company hired dozens of illegal immigrants to dig ditches for Verizon's fiber-optic lines. Workers were paid $100 per day for a 12-hour shift minus $60 a week for housing and utilities, according to court records. Some said they were put up in a house off Oceana Boulevard in Virginia Beach.
B&B was hired by Ivy H. Smith Inc., a Greensboro, N.C.-based company that was a subcontractor for Fiber Technology Construction Inc., of Canton, Ga., that held a contract with Verizon. Neither company has been accused of any wrongdoing.
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com
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Let's Be fair
I think this sentence is unfair. Instead of going after verizon, a nationwide company, let's go after the little guys. Sure they may have employeed illegals but why not hold the main company responsible. If the Buttery's are getting time shouldn't the message be sent to the parent company, the ones who are ultimately responsible for the work and the profits. I'd like to see some true justice here. Verizon should be fined and held criminally responsible for allowing the illegals to be hired in the first place. And then let the buck be passed to the consumer who will in the end have to pay huge bills to receive and keep their service. All I'm saying is hold everyone equally responsible.
Cheap Labor & Or Immigrants
Hiring undocumented workers is not that cheap ,if you get 14 months in jail as a result of the business relationship. Also concerning immigrants & cheap labor, for the most part here, in the construction industry, if they have a social security number & or green card, they usually get what everyone else does, and possibly may deserve, & get more than some others. They could be green & from Mars for all I care, as long as they are documented to work from the Government, & I have a way to communicate with them. I would prefer paying someone for their ability, & results. Unfortunately, the minimum wage laws prohibit one from following that rule entirely. lol
Think about it
How many of Americans want to pay over 200 dollars for cable each month? The contractors do what they have to do. I would like you to list tem americanos that would do this kinda work on a regular basics. Everyone wants to complain about prices but nobody wants to do the work. If you do not do cheap labor your government will just send the work to europe, which they have done. Check it out for yourself. All the contractor was doing was trying to support his family. The courts don't even report the correct facts, none of the men were underpaid. If you'd like to read the court transcripts they are open to the public. Think about a 500 month internet bill next time you want to complain about hiring illegals.
ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS
HEAVY Fines and Felony Jail Time is the only way to stop the ILLEGAL EMPLOYERS!!! Why stop at the subcontractor? Go after the organization above!!!
Enforcing our Immigration Laws and Securing National Borders are not partisan, divisive, or polarizing issues! In current polls vast majority of United States Citizens want our Immigration Laws Enforced and our National Borders Secured. Politicians without their own or their Elitist Political "Contributor’s" self serving agenda support their citizens and not their Elitist "Contributors".
Hard Working Incompetence
Give me a break! Hard working? Yeah, they work real hard at cutting your phone line, like they did to my mother-in-law. Then I go out there to tell them what they just did, and none of them can speak a word of English. We called Verizon and Verizon did everything to blow us off. If it hadn't been for her cell phone she would have been completely cut off, and she didn't get her phone back until a month later. Talk about incompetence. Miss Utilities had already come out and marked where her phone lines were located with orange chalk. I suppose the Mexicans thought that meant where they could dig.
East Coast vs West Coast
It's nice to see the state doing it's part to inforce the law. Hey Cali, what have you done for the taxpayers lately? And Verizon, you have culpability in this as well. Just because you hire subs for the grunt work, you should insure they are adhearing to the law.
Well, ..
..its a start! But its way too late. The damage has already been done to this country. Extreme measures will be needed in the coming years to stop an additional 50 million from working in the midwest in the Lazaro Kansas City corridor. But hey, at least the judge made a stand!
A Contractor In Trouble? Rally to His Defense!!! lol
I noticed that the country of origin is not mentioned. If the "immigrants" were Mexicans, then he must be heartbroken with the aspect of loosing his crew. Overall, the Mexicans seem to me to be the hardest working crews I have ever seen in the field, often doing quality work in an expeditious manner. Very few of them seem to be on drugs or crack like more than a few of the young American natives, who disappear after they get the paycheck, sometimes never to return, sometimes in a few days looking like something the "cat drug in", fully expecting to keep their job.. I hope that the Mexicans do what they need to do , to be here legally, so that contractors can get a decent crew without breaking the law. Learning Spanish is a small price to pay, for what you get in return, for the most part. "se habla" contractorva
New Lawyer?
It seems an awfully foolish argument for a good attorney to argue..."Hey, everybody else is doing it, so why should I get punished?" Seems like it would have been better to throw himself on the mercy of the court, take full responsibility, admit he was wrong, and maybe get a lighter sentence.
What Part of Illegal do You Not Understand?????
Excellent Ruling. A Good sSart. Now, if only we can send a few more to the Slammer these Clowns will think twice before supporting an Illegal Enterprise.