2 Labor employees, 6 others arrested

Two employees of the Department of Labor and six other persons were arrested Tuesday for alleged involvement in bribery and a conspiracy to forge documents submitted at Labor.

Defendants Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero and Janel Alepuyo are both employees at Labor’s Application Processing Section.

The six other defendants are Teresita J. Deleon Guerrero, Nelia D. Lozano, Angelito Santos, Anita A. Camacho, Arnel B. Panieza, and Emilia A. Panieza.

All defendants were taken to Superior Court associate judge David Wiseman yesterday afternoon for a bail hearing.

According to the allegations, Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero and his wife Teresita Deleon Guerrero, Alepuyo, Santos, Lozano, Angel’s School of Dance Inc., and ALT International Corp. were involved in bribery for immigration gain, exploitation of a position of authority, document fraud, conspiracy to commit document fraud, unlawful employment of aliens, and conspiracy to commit unlawful employment of aliens.

Immigration Investigator Erwin Flores of the Attorney General’s Office’s Investigation Unit stated in his report that a “cooperating defendant” informed him in an interview on March 17, 2008, that Lozano would use a fake notary signature stamp and affix false notarial signature stamps onto documents to support an alien worker’s application to Labor and Division of Immigration for the issuance of entry permits.

Flores said the source disclosed that Lozano provides services to ALT International Corp. by affixing unauthorized notarial signature stamps on nonresident workers’ applications submitted to Labor and Immigration.

The source also allegedly revealed that Lozano had also provided service to Angel’s International School of Dance by affixing unauthorized and fraudulent notarial signature stamps onto work certifications that were submitted to Labor in support of entry permit applications.

The source had stated that Teresita Deleon Guerrero and Santos knew of the false job certifications that were submitted to Labor and Immigration.

Quoting the source, Flores said that Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero, a Labor employee, would flag any discrepancies in nonresident workers applications that were prepared by ALT before submitting the documents to Labor and Immigration to make sure that they pass muster.

Flores said the source also stated that Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero knew beforehand that the alien workers applications processed and prepared by ALT contained false “job certifications.”

The source apparently told Flores that she paid Alepuyo, a Labor processing employee, for entry permits of nonresident workers processed by ALT.

Flores said that Commerce records indicate that ALT International Corp. is authorized to conduct businesses that include document handling.

The investigator said that Teresita Deleon Guerrero is president/secretary of ALT. Santos is the manager of Angel’s International School of Dance Inc.

Flores said the source informed him that Santos employs numerous alien workers through a sponsorship scheme where Santos would receive money in exchange for his company sponsoring individuals as workers.

Flores said that during a search warrant, he seized a recording where defendant Arnel Panieza admitted paying Santos $1,500 for a work permit.

The documents did not mention anything about the specific involvement of Camacho and Panieza in the alleged conspiracy.