VENTURA : Holiday Inn Supervisor Fined for False Papers

One month after an audit by the U.S. Border Patrol uncovered 62 illegal aliens working at the Holiday Inn in Ventura, a manager at the hotel has been targeted for falsifying his own paperwork.

Patricio Partida, 31, who has supervised the hotel’s banquet service for three years, is being fined $1,000 for claiming U.S. citizenship on an employment eligibility form. He is actually a citizen of Mexico.

Shawn Atkisson, general manager of the Holiday Inn, said the hotel was unaware of Partida’s status.

“He’s probably one of the best managers we have at this point and we’re very, very surprised,” he said. “It’s very disturbing to us and we feel very sorry for him.”

Atkisson said Partida will be terminated according to company policy.

In another case, Workforce Systems, an 8-year-old Ventura jobs placement agency, was notified Tuesday that it faces a $3,000 fine for failing to complete employment eligibility forms on nine employees. The company also was cited for failing to complete the documentation within three days of when an employee began working.

The fines stem from a November audit, Molloy said.

Larry Holloway, a co-owner of the company, said he plans to contest the fine. His wife, Cindy, said the company employs 500 to 600 workers, placing them in general labor, technical and secretarial jobs.

The fines are being assessed under a 1990 law that allows for penalties against anyone who uses, manufactures or accepts false paperwork to satisfy requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act.