“When a good company like Koch, a viable company to the community providing lots of jobs and lots of taxes to the community, tries to do the right thing they get held up in governmental muckety-muck,” he said.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Fred Alverson confirmed on Thursday, Aug. 27, the case is finished.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute anyone as a result of the ICE investigation into Koch Food,” he said.
He further stated the office has declined to elaborate on the details.
Pinales said employment regulations were difficult to follow.
“You can’t discriminate against anyone,” Pinales said. “You can’t ask for anyone with a Hispanic-sounding name to provide more documentation than a non-Hispanic.”
Detroit office ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls would not comment on the case.
“Our position is that prosecutorial discretion rests with the U.S. Attorney,” he said.
The news came one day shy of the two-year anniversary of the Aug. 28, 2007 raid, where 20 of the 161 people arrested faced state charges. The 12 men and eight woman were illegal immigrants from either Guatemala, Mexico and Peru and faced charges of forgery and taking the identity of another.
According to www.forbes.com, Park Ridge, Ill.-based Koch Foods in 2008 ranked at No. 272 on the magazine’s list of largest private companies. It reported sales of $1.8 billion in 2007 and employed 14,000, according to the Web site.
The company distributes fresh and frozen poultry products internationally under the Koch Foods, Antioch Farms, Preferred Foods and Rogers Royal brand names.
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5112 or mpitman@coxohio.com.
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