BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Jose Sanchez-Ocampo, one of the men charged after high-profile raids at four Buffalo-area Mexican restaurants in Oct. 2016, pleaded guilty on Friday in Federal Court.
The four well-known restaurants, Don Tequila in Buffalo's Allentown neighborhood, Agave on Elmwood Avenue, El Agave in Cheektowaga and La Divina in Kenmore were the subject of an investigation that began in 2014.
Prosecutors alleged that the restaurants employed dozens of people without legal permission to work in the U.S., and provided nearby housing in exchange for long hours at the restaurant and cash under the table.
More than 25 people were arrested in the initial raids, which touched off eventual protests at the Delaware Avenue office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and outpourings of neighborhood support.
Sanchez-Ocampo faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced April 20.
Restaurant owner Sergio Mucino and Marguin Sanchez were also initially charged.