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The ADVANCE, December 1, 2021/Page 3A
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE — Members of Boy Scout Troop #939, their parents and Scout
Master Kim Stephens pay close attention during the November 9 session of the Lyons
City Council. The Scouts attended the session to learn about city government as part
of their efforts to earn a merit badge.
Boy Scouts Get First-Hand
Experience in Civic Duties
Charges
continued from page 1A
who will attempt to exploit
these willing workers for
their own obscene profits/’
Estes said. “Thanks to out
standing work from our
law enforcement partners,
Operation Blooming On
ion frees more than 100 in
dividuals from the shackles
of modern-day slavery and
will hold accountable those
who put them in chains.”
OCDETF Director
Adam W. Cohen noted,
“OCDETF maximized the
expertise of multiple law
enforcement agencies and
leveraged analytical and
coordination support from
OCDETF s International
Organized Crime Intel
ligence and Operations
Center to target an inter
national criminal organiza
tion engaged in human traf
ficking and visa fraud.”
He added, “The U.S.
Attorney’s Office’s leader
ship of this multiagency
law enforcement effort po
sitions us to disrupt and
dismantle the operations of
transnational criminal net
works that pose the greatest
threat to our communities
and to the Nation.”
As described in the
indictment, investigators
from Homeland Security
Investigations, the U.S.
Department of Labor, U.S.
Department of State’s Dip
lomatic Security Service,
the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, and the FBI began
investigating the Patricio
transnational criminal or
ganization in November
2018.
The indictment alleges
that in or before 2015, the
conspirators and their as
sociates “engaged in mail
fraud, international forced
labor trafficking, and mon
eylaundering, among other
crimes,” fraudulently using
the H-2A work visa pro
gram to smuggle foreign
nationals from Mexico,
Guatemala, and Honduras
into the United States un
der the pretext of serving as
agricultural workers.
The activities took
place within the Southern,
Middle, and Northern Dis
tricts of Georgia; the Mid
dle District of Florida; the
Southern District of Texas;
and Mexico, Guatemala,
Honduras, and elsewhere.
The conspirators required
the workers to pay unlaw
ful fees for transportation,
food, and housing while
illegally withholding their
travel and identification
documents, and subjected
the workers “to perform
physically demanding work
for little or no pay, housing
them in crowded, unsani
tary, and degrading living
conditions, and by threat
ening them with deporta
tion and violence.”
Exploitation of the
workers included being
required to dig onions
with their bare hands, be
ing paid 20 cents for each
bucket harvested, and be
ing threatened with guns
and violence to keep them
in line. The workers were
held in cramped, unsani
tary quarters and fenced
work camps with little or
no food, limited plumbing
and without safe water.
The conspirators are
accused of raping, kidnap
ping and threatening or at
tempting to kill some of the
workers or their families,
and in many cases sold or
traded the workers to other
conspirators. At least two of
the workers died as a result
of workplace conditions.
The conspirators are al
leged to have reaped more
than $200 million from
the illegal scheme, launder
ing the funds through cash
purchases of land, homes,
vehicles, and businesses;
through cash purchases of
cashier’s checks; and by
funneling millions of dol
lars through a casino.
As the continuing in
vestigation into the con
spiracy moved forward in
late 2019, the indictment
alleges that three of the
conspirators attempted to
intimidate and persuade a
witness to lie to a federal
grand jury and deny any
knowledge of the illegal ac
tivities of the Patricio orga
nization.
More than 200 law
enforcement officers and
federal agents from around
the United States convened
in the Southern District of
Georgia to execute more
than 20 federal search war
rants at target locations.
Those indicted in USA
v. Patricio et al. and their
charges include:
Maria Leticia Patri
cio, 70, of Nichols, charged
with Conspiracy to Com
mit Mail Fraud; two counts
of Mail Fraud; Conspiracy
to Engage in Forced Labor;
and Conspiracy to Commit
Money Laundering;
Daniel Mendoza, 40,
of Ruskin, Florida, charged
with Conspiracy to Com
mit Mail Fraud; Conspiracy
Please see Charges page
9A
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Lyons City Coun
cil welcomed Boy Scout
Troop 939, their parents,
and Scout Master Kim
Stephens to its Novem
ber meeting as the Scouts
gained experience in civ
ic situations for a merit
badge.
During the Novem
ber 9 session, Mayor Wil
lis NeSmith thanked the
young men for attending
the meeting and com
mended Stephens for his
work with local youth. “I
know your children have
grown up and are no lon
ger in programs like these,
and yet, you still choose to
spend your time mentor
ing our area’s youth,” he
said. “Thank you for all you
do for these boys and for
the city.”
Stephens informed
the Council that the Scout
Troop plans on complet
ing their service project by
helping to beautify the city
park during Christmas va
cation.
Action Items
The variance on an
ordinance to allow James
Smalley to park his semi
truck on his property at his
home in a R-l residential
zone was unanimously de
nied by the Council mem
bers. The measure was sent
to the City Council by the
Zoning Board, which did
not reach a decision on a
recommendation for the
variance.
A new ordinance to
prohibit trucks from trav
eling portions of Bulldog
Road and South Victory
Drive was first read at the
November 9 meeting. A
vote on this ordinance
will be taken at the regular
December meeting of the
Council on December 7.
According to this proposed
legislation, South Victory
Drive would be closed to
through truck traffic from
Georgia Highway 280
to U.S. Highway 1, and
no through truck traffic
would be allowed on Bull
dog Road from Georgia
Highway 280 until past the
Toombs County Middle
School.
Council members also
unanimously approved the
annual longevity payments
for FY21. These payments
are given as supplement
to full-time City employ
ees who have been loyal to
their employer for several
years.
S MMO KM. Solution ’ page 10A
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