Immigration sweep nets 73 with criminal records Postal worker took bribe, authorities say

Immigration agents fanned across the state for a week ending Monday and arrested 73 men and women with criminal records, who now face deportation, officials say.

The arrests were part of “Operation Cross Check,” an enforcement action that began under the Obama Administration and runs periodically throughout the country. In 2015, agents arrested 168 immigrants in Florida, 116 of whom were from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

This year’s action, whichranfromApril18-24, snagged 32 immigrants fromSouthFlorida,16 each from Broward and Miami Dade.

According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the targets of the arrestsmay or may not have been in the country legally, but all have been convicted of crimes.

A Bahamian citizen living in Miami was in the U.S. lawfully since1983, but he became subject to deportation when he was convicted in 1995 of sexual assault, burglary, robbery and kidnapping.

A Jamaican citizen living in Oakland Park legally was convicted of attempted sexual battery in 2015.

Others were convicted of less serious crimes including driving under the influence, driving without a license, petty theft and trespass.

And some were not in the U.S. legally, such as a Mexican citizen living in Miami who has already been deported twice. His criminal record includes convictions for cocaine possession and aggravated assault on a family member with aweapon.

Criminal convictions subject immigrants to deportation whether they are in the country legally or not.

“Thirteen of those detained during the action are previously removed individuals who may be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for felony re-entry after deportation,” said Marc Moore, field office director for the Miami Field Office of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.

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When a man offered a veteran U.S. Postal Service worker cash in exchange for giving him addresses where drugs could be mailed on her delivery route, federal prosecutors say she broke the lawand took the money.

Evelyn Price, 53, of Deerfield Beach, lost her job as a mail carrier in Boca Raton in October when authorities said they discovered shewas breaking the law.

And on Tuesday, Price was arrested on two federal charges that carry a total maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Price accepted a bribe in her role as a public official – a postal worker – by taking money from the unidentified man in exchange for giving him addresses on her delivery route where “U.S. mail parcels containing illegal narcotics” could be delivered without detection. Price also agreed to illegally redirect parcels that were addressed to one person and deliver them to other people, investigators said.

Price is also charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to the indictment.

If convicted, prosecutors said she would likely face approximately one to two years in prison. Theunidentified man who offered cash has not been arrested, according to court records.

Prosecutors declined to provide any additional details, such as how much money and drugs were involved.

Efforts to contact Price for comment, after she was released Tuesday on $50,000 bond, were unsuccessful.

In court, Price told U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer that she had been earning about $800 a week as amail carrier but lost her job in late October after the allegations emerged. She said she student.

Jeldrys Lowry, a spokesperson for the postal service’s Office of the Inspector General, confirmed that Price is no longer employed by the service and declined to provide additional details because the case is still under investigation.

“The U.S. Postal Service employs more than 625,113 employees and is the largest civilian federalworkforce in the country. This type of alleged behavior within the postal service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of postal service employees, who serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior,” Lowry wrote in an emailed response to questions. is now full-time

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