RUTH (AP) — A judge has accepted a guilty plea in an investigation of illegal labor at dairies in Michigan's Thumb region.
Madeline Burke pleaded guilty to hiring people without verifying that they were eligible to work in the U.S. The government says the workers were in the U.S. illegally.
Burke and her husband are natives of Ireland. They operate two dairies near the tip of the Thumb. Burke has agreed to pay a fine of $187,500, which adds up to $1,500 per illegal worker.
Federal Judge Thomas Ludington accepted her guilty plea late last month.
Charges still are pending against her husband, Denis Burke.
He's accusing prosecutors of selectively targeting immigrant farmers.
Dutch immigrants John and Anja Verhaar were prosecuted in 2010. The government denies any discrimination.
- Posted July 11, 2017
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Woman pleads guilty in probe of illegal labor at dairy farms
headlines Macomb
headlines National
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Judge accused of using ‘game or jail’ tactic, asserting abuse victims get ‘Super Bowl’ neurochemicals
- Prosecutor gets suspension for invading jury’s ‘inner sanctum’
- Lateral hiring bounced back in 2024, especially for associates in BigLaw, new NALP report says
- Refugee ban can’t be enforced against those who received conditional approval, 9th Circuit says
- ABA, more than 50 bar associations condemn ‘government actions that seek to twist the scales of justice’
