17 arrested on federal immigration charges

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06:08 PM EDT on Wednesday, August 11, 2004

By Dottie Wikan, WVEC.com

17 employees for a contractor working on a drydocked Navy ship are in court Wednesday facing charges they had false identification documents.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. McNulty said the men are illegal aliens and worked as sandblasters for Network Industries, Limited. That company is working at Metro Machine Corporation in Norfolk on the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan.

The nearly $22 million overhaul contract on USS Bataan was won by Norshipco, which leased the drydock from Metro Machine.

According to the federal indictment, one of the men was had been deported but somehow was back in the country.

All are charged with having and using a false immigration document and false representation of social security numbers. Eight also are charged with aggravated identity theft.

"These indictments are a significant step forward in our initiative to enhance the security of the ports and military assets in the Hampton Roads area," said McNulty.

The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and Naval Criminal Investigative Services.

This comes on the heels of the death of a Network Industries worker on July 29th. That man, from Texas, was working as a painter on USS Bataan. He got pinned between two pieces of equipment.

It's believed the 21-year old man was an illegal immigrant from Mexico and that's what led to the 17 arrests, 13News was told.

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