11 Held in Immigrant Smuggling Operation

Federal authorities arrested 11 women and men Thursday on suspicion of running a sophisticated human-smuggling operation that funneled hundreds of people from Ukraine into the United States and forced some into prostitution.

For at least the past two years, men, women and children were recruited in the capital city of Kiev, provided with valid Mexican visas and flown to Mexico, where they were transported to a villa just south of Tijuana, authorities said.

From there, “the merchandise”--as one alleged ringleader described the immigrants--was guided across the United States border by foot, car, train or boat and taken by members of the organization to Los Angeles, according to a 110-page affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

Some immigrants paid as much as $7,000 to get to Los Angeles, and paid even more to travel to other cities, including New York, Detroit and Cleveland.

Many were young women who came with the understanding that they would become models, escorts or even prostitutes.

Authorities said that once in Los Angeles, some women were forced to work as prostitutes for six months or more to pay off their travel fees and living expenses. Often, women were sold to pimps and madams, according to the affidavit, filed by FBI Special Agent Raymond M. Pitesky.

Other immigrants came to the United States to escape harsh living conditions in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic now suffering from political turmoil and economic hardship.

“They’re really struggling over there, and they just want to come here for the good life in the United States,” Patrick A. Patterson, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said at a news conference to announce the arrests.

“Unfortunately,” Patterson added, “they’re victimized by these unscrupulous people who take advantage of them.”

Assistant U.S. Atty. Dan Saunders estimated the number of paying customers at 300 to 2,000 in recent years.

The 11 suspects under arrest were charged with conspiracy to smuggle, transport and harbor illegal immigrants. The law calls for sentences of up to three years in prison per smuggled immigrant, authorities said. Three other alleged members of the group were being sought late Thursday.

Among those arrested were a man and woman believed to be the leaders of the organization, who oversaw dozens of lower-level conspirators in Ukraine, Mexico and the United States.

Tetyana “Tanya” Komisaruk, 49, of North Hills is accused in a federal complaint of heading the immigrant smuggling operation.

Serge Mezheritsky, 35, of Los Angeles is accused of being a top aide to Komisaruk, who is also suspected of “importing” Ukrainian women for the purpose of prostitution.

Several of Komisaruk’s family members also were arrested and charged with participating in the alleged smuggling operation, including her husband, Valeriy; daughters Nataliya Korolova and Lorina Latysheva, and son-in-law Oleksandr Latyshev.

Representatives of several federal law enforcement agencies said Thursday that the operation was one of the most audacious, complex and lucrative examples of a growing trend: the smuggling of humans into the United States, often without regard to their safety and well-being.

“The human cost exacted by the smuggling trade is staggering and continues to climb,” said Thomas Schiltgen, director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Los Angeles. He said such smuggling operations have grown rapidly into “a global multibillion-dollar problem.”

The arrests culminated a 14-month investigation by the FBI, INS and Border Patrol. It began when border guards began noticing a large number of Ukrainians trying to enter the United States without the proper paperwork, Patterson said.

The FBI was contacted, and agents from all three agencies used cellular phone wiretaps, confidential informants and surveillance to develop a detailed picture of the organization.

Nataliya Astakhova’s journey from Kiev to Los Angeles was a typical one, according to interviews that FBI agents conducted with her and many other Ukrainians who were caught as they tried to enter the United States.

In April 1999, Astakhova was asked by a recruiter if she wanted to go to the United States. She was told to arrange a trip to Mexico through the “Svit Tour” travel agency in Kiev, paying $2,600 for a “full smuggling package,” Astakhova told authorities.

This is what happened, according to Astakhova’s statement to the FBI:

Astakhova was told to meet Tetyana Komisaruk in Mexico and pay her an additional $2,000 to smuggle her into the United States. On April 19, Astakhova and five other Ukrainians flew from Kiev to Amsterdam and then to Mexico City, where they were taken to La Paz in Baja California, where Komisaruk and Mezheritsky met them at the Perla Hotel.

After collecting her smuggling fee from the six Ukrainians, Komisaruk bought bus tickets for everyone and put them on a bus to Ensenada, where they were met by Komisaruk’s daughter Natasha.

Komisaruk told Astakhova that “she had been living in the United States and successfully smuggling Ukrainians into the United States for many years.”

The group was taken to a villa in Ensenada, where they joined other Ukrainians, and were told to stay inside at all times so as not to draw attention. Komisaruk coached the Ukrainians on how to look and act like U.S. citizens--how to say “United States citizen,” for instance, without a Russian accent.

Once they were deemed acceptable candidates, they were given “American” clothes, contact phone numbers in the United States and driven to the U.S. border crossing at the San Ysidro port of entry. There, an “unidentified male guide” led them on foot through the pedestrian border crossing lanes.

Other Ukrainians were smuggled into the United States through the hills in San Diego’s east county area, the affidavit said. Some of the women destined to be prostitutes were treated better; six were transported from Rosarito to San Diego aboard a yacht last summer, the affidavit said.

Komisaruk is portrayed in the FBI documents as a gruff field general, using colorful language and threats to make sure “the fools,” as she called the Ukrainians, were met--and watched--each step of the way.

Komisaruk was particularly concerned that women headed for alleged prostitution rings--”the broads” and “the whores,” she called them--were kept under close watch, according to transcripts of wiretaps cited in the affidavit.

In one conversation, Komisaruk warned an alleged accomplice that the “merchandise” could easily run away, and suggested that he “maybe . . . tie them up with chains.”

Komisaruk and Mezheritsky could not be reached for comment.

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Smuggling Suspects

Those arrested Thursday were:

* Tetyana “Tanya” Komisaruk, a 49-year-old North Hills resident, who is accused of operating the illegal immigrant smuggling operation.

* Serge Mezheritsky, 35, who is accused of managing the smuggling operation, possibly for the purpose of prostitution.

* Alexander “Sasha” Algart, 36, who is accused of transporting illegal immigrants to various hotels in the Los Angeles area.

* Enrique Carlos, a 33-year-old Lakewood resident who is accused of facilitating the transportation of Ukrainian nationals across the U.S.-Mexico border.

* Valeriy Komisaruk, the 39-year-old husband of Tetyana, who is accused of preparing the illegal immigrants for entry into the United States.

* Nataliya “Natasha” Korolova, Tetyana’s 30-year-old daughter, who is accused of being in charge of the villa in Mexico that was used as the staging point for the illegal immigrants.

* Lorina Latysheva, the 24-year-old daughter of Tetyana, who is accused of coordinating the transportation of the illegal immigrants in Los Angeles.

* Oleksandr Latyshev, the 28-year-old son-in-law of Tetyana, who is accused of making the travel arrangements for the illegal immigrants while in Los Angeles.

* Yury Sarnoff, a 42-year-old resident of North Hollywood, who is accused of facilitating arrangements between the organization and its representatives in Ukraine.

* Alexander Tkabladze, a 49-year-old resident of West Hollywood, who is charged with conspiring to launder the illicit proceeds of the organization.

* Alexander Vankovn, a 40-year-old attorney in Los Angeles, who is accused of providing fraudulent identification documents for some of the illegal immigrants.

The following individuals were not in custody as of late Thursday:

* Grigoriy “Grisha” Chernov, 49, who is accused of transporting boats to Mexico to carry illegal immigrants.

* Mykhaylo “Misha” Ivanovich Lyga, accused of helping transport illegal immigrants arriving by boat at the marina in San Diego to the train station.

* Gordey Vinitsky, a 41-year-old resident of West Hollywood, who is accused of purchasing Ukrainian women for prostitution purposes from Tetyana.