Man sentenced in Maine on illegal alien charges

BANGOR, Maine --A 48-year-old man from Harrington has pleaded guilty to federal charges for bringing illegal aliens to Maine to work at a sea cucumber processing plant.

U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby says Juan Centeno-Perez pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Bangor to charges of visa fraud, transporting and harboring illegal aliens, and conspiracy to employ illegal aliens. He faces a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Court records show that Centeno-Perez came to Maine as a migrant worker in the late 1990s and later opened a Mexican store and restaurant in eastern Maine. He agreed to provide workers to a sea cucumber processing plant in 2005, but officials say many of the workers weren't in the U.S. legally.