Owner of janitorial service pleads guilty

PROVIDENCE—A janitorial contractor whose workers were arrested during immigration raids at Rhode Island courthouses pleaded guilty Wednesday to repeatedly hiring workers who were in the country illegally.

Vincent D’Elia, 56, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to the misdemeanor charge. He owned Falcon Maintenance Co. in Johnston, one of two companies whose workers were arrested during the courthouse raids in July.

Prosecutors said 18 of the 23 janitors D’Elia employed to clean courthouses were undocumented.

D’Elia admitted he ignored more than one warning from other employees that illegal immigrants were working for him.

D’Elia is scheduled to be sentenced March 27. He faces six months in prison and a $3,000 fine for each illegal worker he employed.  He also is responsbile for all back taxes owed on salaries and years of penalties, which the IRS will eventually determine.

D’Elia did not answer reporters’ questions outside the courthouse.

Federal prosecutors would not comment on the investigation into Tri-State Enterprises of North Providence, another company that was under contract to clean state courthouses.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.