A Shawnee, Kan., man who was co-owner of a roofing company pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to providing employment, transportation and housing for undocumented workers from Mexico who he knew were in the United States illegally, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.
Tommy Frank Keaton, 71, Shawnee, Kan., co-owner of Canadian West, Inc., and RAM Metal Products, doing business as Century Roofing, pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly harboring illegal aliens. In his plea, he admitted the crime occurred while he operated Century Roofing at 6 S. 59th St. Lane in Kansas City, Kan.
Keaton provided vehicles to some Mexican citizens who worked for his company, as well as housing at a residence he owned in the 1500 block of South 18th Street in Kansas City, Kan. He admitted that about $1.4 million the government seized from him are the proceeds of the offense and are subject to forfeiture.
Beall commended Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Kansas Department of Revenue, the Clay County Sheriff’s Department, the Overland Park Police Department, the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the Lenexa Police Department, the Shawnee Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson for their work on the case.