El Centro Alien Guard Charged in Immigration Document Plot
A guard at the federal alien detention center in El Centro sold immigration documents to illegal aliens facing deportation, according to an indictment made public Wednesday.
The federal indictment charges Donnie Lazzarotto, a six-year veteran of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, with six felony counts in the alleged cash-for-papers scheme.
Lazzarotto allegedly sold documents to two Honduran nationals that gave them temporary legal status in the United States, according to Ralph Paige, regional director of the INS Office of Professional Responsibility in San Diego.
A suspicious Border Patrol agent uncovered the alleged scheme by questioning one of the aliens, Paige said. The INS then set up a sting in which an undercover agent attempted to purchase documents from Lazzarotto, he said.
The documents cost the aliens $200, Paige said. The Hondurans will be deported unless they qualify for amnesty under the new immigration law.
A federal grand jury in San Diego indicted Lazzarotto last week, but the charges remained secret until he was arrested Tuesday. He was freed on $25,000 bond Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Irma Gonzalez.
Lazzarotto, a resident of the Imperial County town of Westmoreland, was placed on paid leave.
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