Home / Ukrainian gets life for trafficking workers in US

Ukrainian gets life for trafficking workers in US

My Fox Spokane Biz
Ukrainian gets life for trafficking workers in US
Submitted by Fox First at Ten on July 16th

By MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Ukrainian convicted of smuggling desperate villagers to the United States to work in bondage has been sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.

A prosecutor in Philadelphia says 52-year-old Omelyan Botsvynyuk's (OH'-mel-yahn bots-VIN'-yukz) human trafficking operation was "modern-day slavery."

A jury found Botsvynyuk and his brother forced crews to work long hours cleaning stores, homes and offices in Pennsylvania and other mid-Atlantic states for little or no pay. It found he used sexual and physical violence to intimidate workers.

His brother Stepan Botsvynyuk faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering when he's sentenced Tuesday. He was acquitted of extortion.

The defense argued the workers testified only to get special visas set aside for trafficking victims and to avoid returning to Ukraine.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Post new comment

  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

Comments

Most Popular Stories

FIRST ON KHQ.COM: Spokane Valley Homeowner Catches Would Be Burglar; Holds Suspect At Gunpoint Until Authorities Arrive

FIRST ON KHQ.COM: Spokane Valley Homeowner Catches Would Be Burglar; Holds Suspect At Gunpoint Until Authorities Arrive
Submitted by Fox First at Ten on June 18th
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE SPOKANE VALLEY POLICE DEPT: On Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at 9:15 a.m., Spokane Valley Sheriff's Deputies responded to a person with a weapon call near the area of 13600 E. 20th Ave. Deputies arrived on scene and found the victim homeowner detaining the suspect, later

UPDATE: Wrong-Way Crash On Hwy. 195 At Cheney Spokane Rd.

UPDATE: Wrong-Way Crash On Hwy. 195 At Cheney Spokane Rd.
Submitted by Fox First at Ten on June 18th
UPDATE: The female driver has been identified as Jennifer A. Schmidt of Spokane Valley. The male driver has been identified as Sean D. Moss. Both Schmidt and Moss were life-flighted by Medstar to Sacred Heart. The State Patrol says both vehicles were totaled and both drivers were wearing seatbelts

Education Dept. offers more time to reach goals

Education Dept. offers more time to reach goals
Submitted by Fox First at Ten on June 18th
By PHILIP ELLIOTTAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - States can ask for another year before being required to use student test results to decide whether to keep or fire teachers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told school chiefs on Tuesday. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have