ICE Senior Lawyer Arrested for Alleged Bribe-Taking
A senior lawyer at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his wife have been arrested by federal agents in California for allegedly taking a $20,000 bribe and other payments from immigrants seeking to remain in America. In exchange, the two allegedly provided documents, at least some of which were falsified, to both legal and illegal immigrants, according to news reports.
ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Peter Kallas, 38, and his wife, Maria, 39, have been arrested on charges of suspicion of conspiracy, bribery, making false statements and making a false statement in an immigration application, reports the Associated Press. Some $950,000 more than Constantine Kallas earned at the Department of Homeland Security has been deposited into his bank account since 2000, according to a search warrant.
The two “used a pair of companies they had set up to file employment petitions with federal authorities for 45 illegal immigrants and two legal permanent residents,” reports KNBC, a Los Angeles affiliate.
The case is being pursued in federal district court in Santa Ana, Calif.
