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6 Relatives Accused Of Enslaving Immigrant Workers

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The Associated Press

Published: January 19, 2008

MIAMI - Six family members were indicted on charges of enslaving Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants and forcing them to perform farm labor, federal authorities said Thursday.

Cesar and Geovanni Navarrete beat, threatened and locked workers in trucks to force them to work in the fields, according to the 17-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Tampa.

The Navarretes were farm crew leaders who brought the workers to pick produce.

They also were charged with underpaying the workers, forcing them into debt and physically threatening them if the workers left their jobs before paying off the debts.

The two Navarretes and four relatives were additionally charged with harboring illegal immigrants for private gain, and several face charges related to re-entering the country after being deported.

If convicted, Geovanni and Cesar Navarrete, the alleged ringleaders, could face maximum sentences of more than 200 years in prison. The defendants are scheduled to enter pleas Wednesday.

Messages left for lawyers representing all but one of the defendants were not immediately returned.
Tampa attorney Mark O'Brian, who is representing defendant Villhina Navarrete, said the case is "overblown."

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