Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

An Akwesasne man arrested in 2010 for his role in smuggling an Irish man into the United States was sentenced last week to three years in prison.

Carl Thompson, 44 was arrested on March 31, 2010 along with two others, Dennis Jocko and Nathan Sampson Martin. The three were accused of capitalizing off commercial alien smuggling by transporting an illegal alien by boat from Kawehno:ke (Cornwall Island) to Akwesasne’s mainland, where he was then driven into the U.S. and brought to a business in Massena, NY. Thompson, who pleaded guilty to one count of bringing an illegal alien into the United States, admitted to being the driver of the vehicle.

The illegal alien, a citizen of Ireland, was not permitted to be in the U.S.

On Feb. 3, 2011 Thompson was sentenced to serve three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Both Jocko and Martin remain at large, having failed to appear for a pre-trial hearing.

The case was investigated jointly by the Massena field offices of the United States Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Plattsburgh Office.

“Homeland Security Investigations will use all of our resources to investigate and arrest individuals engaged in human smuggling,” said Special Agent in Charge Lev J. Kubiak of Immigration and Customs Enforcement “This cold, heartless enterprise generates billions of dollars in illicit proceeds and threatens the security of the United States, ICE works aggressively, with its DHS counterparts like Customs and Border Protection, to target the criminals and criminal organizations who violate border security and are involved in this dangerous trade that routinely risks aliens’ lives.”