These charges are the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency and the DMV Office of Investigations. Silva is facing federal criminal charges and most of his workforce could be deported to Brazil.

Glenio Silva, 38, of Fremont, California, is accused of having staffed two restaurants in northern California – Monterey Pizza, in San Francisco and Pizza House, in Hayward – with unauthorized workers from Brazil, paying them in cash to conceal their illegal employment and avoid paying payroll taxes.

"Last week's enforcement action is part of ICE's continued effort to investigate employers who facilitate the hiring of undocumented workers," said Charles DeMore, special agent in charge of the ICE office of investigations in San Francisco.

"ICE will use every tool at its disposal to target businesses that exploit an illegal workforce to turn a profit."

In addition to the charges against Silva, four of the Brazilian national workers illegally employed by the restaurants are being charged with federal identity theft. The workers allegedly assumed the names of U.S. citizens and used that information to obtain identification documents from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

George Valverde, Director of the California State Department of Motor Vehicles said, "The security of our customers' identities and personal information is of paramount importance to the DMV. By working with our law enforcement partners, the Department helps apprehend and fully prosecute any persons who threaten that security."

Two of those workers using the names were arrested during the operation. The remaining two workers charged with identity theft are still being sought.

The Brazilian restaurateur was arrested late Friday, June 15, 2007 at one of the two restaurants he operates, Monterey Pizza in San Francisco. Criminal search and arrest warrants were also executed at a second establishment Silva runs in Hayward called the Pizza House.

Silva made his initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco on Monday, June 18, 2007 and was released on a US$ 75,000 unsecured bond. He and his wife were ordered to surrender their passports. Mr. Silva's next scheduled appearance is at 9:30 am, on July 11, 2007, for a Preliminary Hearing before Chief Magistrate Judge James Larson.

The maximum statutory penalty for harboring illegal aliens, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) is five years and a fine of US$ 250,000. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence.

Denise Marie Barton is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Wilson Wong. The prosecution is the result of a four month investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency and officers from the DMV Office of Investigations.

"What they did is not right," Silva told reporters earlier this week. "This is going to change many people's lives." He described how armed agents invaded one of this restaurants at 6:30 pm, last Friday.

Silva, who has been living in the US for about 18 years, used to be a pizza deliveryman himself. He opened Monterey Pizza, a decade ago. The Hayward pizza parlor started in 2004. The father of two small children, he says he doesn't know what's coming next.

More than 17,500 Brazilians have been deported from the US since 2003, according to ICE data. Most of them seem to have arrived on business or vacation visas overstaying them.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations in New England; and Steven Mocsary, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement Office of Professional Responsibility for the Eastern Region, announced that José Neto, 40, formerly of 33 Blaine Street in Allston, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Morris E. Lasker to five years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.

In addition, a multifamily residence in Allston where Neto previously resided has been ordered forfeited to the United States. Upon completion of his term of imprisonment, Neto faces deportation to his native Brazil.

On May 10, 2006, a trial jury convicted Neto of knowingly harboring illegal aliens. Prior to the trial, on April 3, 2006, Neto had pled guilty to charges of bribing an immigration official, inducing illegal aliens to remain in the country and having a pattern or practice of knowingly employing illegal aliens. The sentence imposed by the court reflects both Neto's trial conviction and guilty plea.

Neto was among approximately 700 suspected foreign nationals who were directed to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of an investigation into the fraudulent sale of identity records.

When Neto reported to the ICE office, he offered to pay the interviewing agent a bribe to assist Neto and his wife with their immigration status. The ICE agent, operating undercover, arranged to meet Neto at a nearby mall.

Neto paid the agent US$ 20,000 in cash for Green Cards (i.e. documentation for legal permanent residency) for himself and his wife.

In subsequent meetings, between October 2004 and March 2005, Neto paid the undercover ICE agent more than US$ 147,000 in additional bribes, mostly for Green Cards but some to obtain the release of individuals from ICE custody.

At the time of Neto's arrest, ICE Agents interviewed over 50 employees of a company that Neto operated, Spectro Cleaning Services, all of whom were identified by ICE as unauthorized aliens.

Evidence presented during the three-day trial proved that, between 2003 and 2005, Neto knowingly harbored illegal aliens from Brazil in an apartment he leased in Agawam and in a house he owned in Allston. Neto also employed some of the individuals he harbored and offered to sell others identification documents.

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Levenson in Sullivan's Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.