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Forced Labor: More Charges For Woburn Restaurateurs Accused Of Smuggling In Workers
A father and son, along with an alleged accomplice in Brazil, are accused of smuggling people into the United States for thousands of dollars and forcing them to work at their Woburn restaurants to pay off their debts, authorities said.
Jesse James Moraes, 65, and Hugo Giovanni Moraes, 43, of Woburn, were charged in a superseding indictment with forced labor conspiracy, the US Attorney for Massachusetts announced on Tuesday, April 4.
The two were charged with several other crimes in October after immigration agents raided their Main Street restaurants, Taste of Brazil—Tudo …
Ex-Mass Officer Who Admitted To Bank Fraud, Gun Charges Gets Year Behind Bars: Feds
A former Tyngsborough police officer who admitted to hiding millions of dollars in cash from a Chinese backer to secure a bank loan and violating the National Firearms Act was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday, March 22, authorities said.
Daniel Whitman, 39, of Salisbury, will spend a year and a day in prison and must pay a $20,000 fine, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. Police arrested Whitman in January 2021, and he copped to charges in October.
Whitman, who owns Hitman Firearms, in Tynsborough created Freedom Alley Shooting Sports to build a build a larg…
Ex-Haitian Mayor Living In Mass Lied About His Violent Past To Move To US: Feds
The former mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, who lost a civil lawsuit this week for alleged human rights abuses — including murder and torture, is now facing charges he lied on his immigration papers when he moved to Malden, federal authorities said.
Jean Morose Viliena, 50, was charged on Wednesday, March 22, with three counts of visa fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Viliena served as mayor of Les Irois from 2006 until 2010 and is accused of using violence to exert his political will, the prosecutor said.
A court in Boston ruled against Viliena on Tuesd…
'Horrific' Forced Labor: Boston Pizzeria Chain Owner Threatened Illegal Workers, Feds Allege
Police arrested a Westwood pizzeria owner on Thursday, March 16, and charged him with using violence and fear of deportation to intimidate an employee who was in the country illegally to work for him for years, federal authorities said.
Stavros Papantoniadis, a/k/a “Steve Papantoniadis,” 47, of Westwood, is charged with a single count of forced labor and is being held pending a bail hearing set for Monday morning, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Papantoniadis owns and operates Stash’s Pizza in Dorchester and Roslindale. He previously had pizzerias in Norwood, Norwel…
