11-16-05 -- Martinez, Xochil Nectalina Rosales -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

Human Smuggling Ring "Enforcer" Pleads Guilty; Admits Young Honduran Women Forced to Work in N.J. Bars

NEWARK - An "enforcer" of the rules of discipline imposed upon young Honduran women smuggled into the U.S. and forced to work at three Hudson County bars pleaded guilty today to her role in the human trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Xochil Nectalina Rosales Martinez, 29, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano to one count of conspiracy to force the Honduran women to work at the bars in Union City to pay back smuggling fees of $10,000 to $20,000. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Pisano scheduled sentencing for March 7. Martinez remains in jail, where she has been since her arrest last April.

During her guilty plea, Martinez implicated the ringleaders and others involved in the human trafficking ring. Among other things, Martinez said her co-conspirators, upon discovering that one of the Honduran women had become pregnant, ordered that the 21-year-old woman ingest an abortion-inducing drug. Martinez said that the woman gave birth to a live baby girl the next day - Jan. 10, 2005 - in a toilet at an apartment on 68th Street in Union City - one of three apartments where the smuggled women were forced to live.

Following the birth, the co-conspirators planned how to dispose of the infant's body and coverup the fact that the woman had given birth, according to Martinez. An ambulance eventually arrived at the house, but by the time the baby reached the hospital, she had died.

"These are despicable, inhumane acts, and as we learned from this guilty plea, the motive for such cruelty was greed," said Christie. "These were young woman tricked into believing they were coming to America for a better life. Instead, they found forced servitude and, incredibly, even forced abortions."

Martinez, a cousin of others involved in the ring, told Judge Pisano that she herself was smuggled into the United States via a safehouse in Houston and started out just as the other girls who she would later force to abide by the house rules. Martinez said she was told that her smuggling fee was $15,000 and was required to pay $500 a week toward that amount.

Martinez has agreed as part of her guilty plea to testify against others in the case, including the suspected ringleader Luisa Medrano, 50, of Cliffside Park, a naturalized U.S. citizen and native of El Salvador, who owns the bars where the young women were put to work: El Paisano Bar and Nightclub, at 509 22nd St., Union City, El Puerto de la Union I, at 6710 Bergenline Ave., Guttenberg, and El Puerto de la Union II, at 3806 Bergenline Ave., Union City. Medrano also owned the three apartment buildings where the women were housed: 509 22nd Street and 2604 New York Avenue, both in Union City, and 75 68th Street in Guttenberg.

Martinez was indicted earlier and separately from 10 other people, including Martinez, who were indicted on July 21 (See addendum to this news release for information on each of the individuals and their alleged roles in the ring). All are alleged members of the smuggling ring that operated in the United States and Honduras to bring undocumented Honduran women - some as young as 14 - into the U.S. Once here, often on the pretense of getting decent jobs in restaurants, they were forced work off the staggering smuggling debt in Medrano's bars and were subject to physical and emotional abuse, according to the Indictment and today's guilty plea.

The 31-count Indictment against the 10 individuals describes, among other abuses, young victims being raped while smuggled to the United States; victims sometimes far younger than 21 forced to continually drink alcohol and dance with male customers at the bars to raise money to pay human smuggling fees of between $10,000 and $20,000; victims being beaten if they were not compliant; victims forced to work in the bars up to seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.; threats of deportation or harm to them and their families in Honduras if they did not comply with the ring's demands.

At the plea hearing today, Martinez recalled a meeting among the ringleaders and "enforcers" in front of some of the smuggled women. At the meeting, she said, one of the co-conspirators said that if "any of these bitches get out of line, you should beat them."

While Martinez faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison, under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, she faces a probable range of between 51 and 63 months in prison. However, Judge Pisano is not bound by the guidelines and can impose a sentence above or below that range.

Despite indictment, all of the remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is the result of a continuing investigation by agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, SAC in Newark, under Special Agent in Charge Kyle Hutchins and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell, the Guttenberg Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Nicholas Lordo; ICE Honduras Attache Luis M. Figueroa, ICE Investigator Alba R. Mejia, the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Honduras and the Special Investigation Police in Honduras.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deborah J. Gannett and Camelia M. Valdes of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey, with assistance from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, under the direction of Acting Assistant Attorney General Bradley J. Schlozman.

Individuals can report other cases of human trafficking or slavery to the Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force complaint line, at 1-888-428-7581. Additional information about the Task Force can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/wetf.html.

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Charged in the Superseding Indictment are:

The Ringleader

Luisa Medrano, 50, of Cliffside Park, a naturalized U.S. citizen and native of El Salvador, charged with one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor, eight counts of forced labor, one count of alien smuggling and eight counts of harboring illegal aliens. Medrano owns the bars where the girls were put to work: El Paisano Bar and Nightclub, at 509 22nd St., Union City, El Puerto de la Union I, at 6710 Bergenline Ave., Guttenberg, and El Puerto de la Union II, at 3806 Bergenline Ave., Union City. Medrano also owned the three apartment buildings at 509 22nd Street and 2604 New York Avenue, both in Union City, and 75 68th Street in Guttenberg.

The "Recruiters"

These defendants located pretty, young females from villages near Olanchito, Honduras, telling them they would be working in a restaurant in New Jersey. They allegedly handled them off to the smugglers. Those defendants are each charged in this Indictment as follows:

• Lourdes Rosales Martinez, 33, of Tejeras, Honduras, in custody in Honduras, charged with one count of conspiracy to commit forced labor; two counts of alien smuggling.

• Zenia Zunilda Martinez, 56, of Tejeras, Honduras, in custody in Honduras, charged with one count of conspiracy; four counts of alien smuggling.

• Nancy Floridalma Rosales Martinez, 34, of Olanchito, Honduras, in custody in Honduras, charged with one count of conspiracy; four counts of forced labor; 10 counts of alien smuggling, and four counts of harboring illegal aliens.

The Smugglers or "Coyotes"

• Jose Arnaldo Isuala-Meza, 23, of Sonaguera, Honduras (among others not named in the Indictment). The alleged lead "coyote," he smuggled groups of Honduran girls to the U.S.-Mexico border. While traveling with the girls, Isuala-Meza allegedly raped some of them, and, in at least one instance, left a 14-year-old alone in the Mexican desert, when she scratched him and fought while she was being raped. Isuala-Meza is being sought in Honduras. He is charged with one count of conspiracy and seven counts of alien smuggling.

• Elsa Consuelo Isuala-Meza, 44, of Houston, Texas (Jose Isuala's sister), met some of the girls in Houston and arranged for their transportation to the New York area. An arrest warrant is outstanding for Isuala-Meza; she is charged with one count of conspiracy; seven counts of alien smuggling and two counts of harboring illegal aliens.

The "Enforcers"

These defendants imposed the rules and work on the victims, collected smuggling fees and were responsible for much of the abuse as described in the Indictment.

• Noris Elvira Rosales Martinez, 29, of Union City, arrested in February 2005 in Tennessee, remains in custody. She is charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of forced labor, seven counts of alien smuggling and 10 counts of harboring illegal aliens.

• Ana Luz Rosales Martinez, 37, of Union City, arrested in January 2005 in New Jersey, remains in custody. She is charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy, nine counts of forced labor and seven counts of harboring illegal aliens.

• Jose Dimas Magana, 40, of Union City, arrested in February 2005 in Pennsylvania, remains in custody. He is charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of forced labor, four counts of alien smuggling and 10 counts of harboring illegal aliens.

• Rosalba Ortiz, 34, of Union City, arrested today. Ortiz is charged in the Indictment with one count of conspiracy, six counts of forced labor and four counts of harboring illegal aliens.

Charges and Penalties

Count One: Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor Offenses, which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Counts Two through Eleven: Forced Labor, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Counts 12 through Twenty-One: Alien Smuggling, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Counts 22 through Thirty-One: Harboring Illegal Aliens, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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