FEDERAL AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE LARGE SCALE SMUGGLING RING

Six people have been charged and arrested for their alleged involvement in an alien smuggling scheme that placed undocumented workers from Eastern Europe with employment agencies in Florida and Kentucky.  The charges come only months after an INS raid on two offices and a home in Lexington, Kentucky, and include, in addition to the smuggling charges, charges of money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and obstruction of justice. 

According to officials, the Florida business, CKM Services, supplied contract workers to the Kentucky business, International Labor Resources, a janitorial service that places workers in Kentucky, Oklahoma and North Carolina.  These companies supplied workers with fraudulent immigration documents.  The owners of International Labor Resources have not yet been charged with anything, but their homes and offices were raided. 

Since the raid, many hotel workers in the Lexington area have disappeared, leading many to believe they were working without proper authorization.  Hotel managers in the area say they did not know they had hired undocumented workers, and add that many of the workers did not know they lacked proper authorization.  They also say that use of contract services such as the two involved here is a relatively recent development, driven by the tight labor market in the area.  Many believe no hotel in the area is able to avoid use of such services these days.

It seems that Kentucky State Labor Cabinet is also conducting an investigation of International Labor Resources.