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Legislator will resign in wake of guilty pleas
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| Contributor | RBH |
| Last Edited | RBH Aug 10, 2007 03:29am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - St. Louis Post Dispatch |
| News Date | Friday, August 10, 2007 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | A legislator who pleaded guilty Thursday of helping hundreds of foreign truck drivers enter the U.S. illegally will resign from the Missouri House, his lawyer said.
Rep. Nathan Cooper, R-Cape Girardeau, pleaded guilty of two felonies: visa fraud and making a false statement to the Department of Labor. He faces 30 to 37 months in federal prison under sentencing guidelines.
Officials said Cooper, 33, committed the crimes as an immigration lawyer, with no connection to his elected duties or his close association with Gov. Matt Blunt.
Cooper was working for trucking companies in southeastern Missouri and Arkansas with a chronic problem — too few drivers. He used sham corporations to manipulate immigration law covering temporary workers, his plea agreement says.
He obtained at least 260 visas intended for use by seasonal workers for six months or less. Most went to residents of New Zealand, which Cooper's lawyer, Joel Schwartz, said had a glut of truck drivers.
Cooper also bought "visa approval notices" from two contacts in the hospitality and temporary worker industry, intending to use them for drivers whose visas had expired. |
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