Contractor pleads guilty to immigration charges

Published on May 1, 2009

A business owner highly rated on Angie’s List has pleaded guilty to criminal immigration and money laundering charges.

Last September, Angie’s List Magazine reported in its September 2008 issue that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raided Annapolis Painting Services in Maryland on June 30, 2008. Officials arrested 45 of the company’s employees and more than eight months later charged owner Robert Bontempo Jr. with hiring illegal immigrants and engaging in monetary transactions with property derived from unlawful activity.

In April 23, Bontempo pleaded guilty in federal court to both criminal charges. He faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 4, according to the Maryland District U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bontempo agreed to forfeit seven properties, 10 vehicles and more than $26,000 in five different bank accounts. And that’s not the end of Bontempo’s legal troubles. He must still contend with approximately $1 million the IRS says he owes in back taxes, and 20 of his former employees have jointly filed a civil case against him and Annapolis Painting, alleging he didn’t pay them for all their work and improperly deducted wages from their paychecks.

Melissa Crow, attorney for the plaintiffs, says the judge has postponed Bontempo’s civil suit until his criminal case is complete. The civil suit against Annapolis Painting is proceeding.

Most of the 20 plaintiffs were caught up in the raids and are currently in deportation proceedings. However, Crow says that’s not relevant to the current case. “Workers still have the right to be paid, regardless of their immigration status,” she says. Bontempo and his attorneys declined to comment.