03-22-05 -- Rackley, Otis -- Sentencing -- News Release

Former Immigration Agent Gets 90 Months in Prison for Taking Bribes in Alien Smuggling Scheme

NEWARK - A special operation inspector with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service) was sentenced today to 90 months in prison for his leading role in a visa fraud and bribery scheme to help illegal aliens gain entry to the country, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Otis Rackley, 41, of Blakeslee, Pa. (formerly of Perth Amboy), would have been eligible for a significantly lower sentence, in accordance with his plea agreement, but failed to appear to answer questions of the U.S. Probation Department in preparation of a pre-sentencing report. Citing that, U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh took away credit Rackley would have otherwise received for acceptance of responsibility.

Under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Rackley faced a probable sentencing range of between 57 and 71 months. The plea agreement anticipated that Rackley would adequately fulfill his requirements to accept responsibility, according to Scott Resnik, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case.

Rackley pleaded guilty on June 30, 2004 to one count of receiving bribes as a public official. He admitted accepting bribes in exchange for providing illegal aliens with immigration documents and passport stamps and smuggling Indian nationals into the United States through Newark Liberty International and Baltimore International airports.

At his guilty plea, Rackley admitted that he received cash payments from an alien smuggler, known to him as "Meena," in exchange for escorting her alien clients past the immigration check-point at the Newark and Baltimore airports. Rackley further admitted that in return for cash, he would supply illegal aliens with employment authorization cards and a variety of passport stamps to enable them to fraudulently live and work in the United States.

At his guilty plea, Rackley was not required to admit accepting any specific amounts of cash. However, in a guilty plea from co-conspirator Chetna Pandya, she said that she passed on in excess of $1 million in bribes to Rackley in exchange for him assisting in the smuggling of approximately 100 illegal aliens into the United States and for providing fraudulently procured immigration documents to hundreds of other illegal aliens already present in this country. Judge Cavanaugh also said today that Rackley had not adequately explained what had happened to all of the money.

Pandya is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Cavanaugh on Thursday morning, as is Terrance Walden, a former customs inspector who pleaded guilty to assisting Rackley in his scheme.

Christie credited Special Agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility, under the direction of acting Special Agent in Charge Lee Wattenbarger; and Office of Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Kyle Hutchins; and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge William E. Wess, with developing the case against Rackley and others.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Resnik of the U.S. Attorney's Office Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.

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Defense Counsel: Anthony Fusco, Jr. Passaic