Illegals caught; restaurant closed
A popular Greencastle area restaurant remained closed Wednesday after local law enforcement officers found a half-dozen illegal immigrants living in the building's basement, Putnam County Sheriff Mark Frisbie said.
Health inspectors and the sheriff went to the Barnyard Cafe on Monday evening where, according to the sheriff, they learned that six Mexican citizens were living and working there. That is a violation of health codes.
Frisbie said the workers ranged in age from 18 to 47 years old and may have lived in the Crawfordsville area previously. They were ordered out Monday night and officials with the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) were notified, Frisbie said.
No one was arrested, including the owners of the restaurant, Frisbie said, because the case falls under federal jurisdiction.
"My opinion is the owners should pay some type of fine," Frisbie said, adding that he did not know what the INS plans, or doesn't plan, to do with the case. He said one of the men has lived in the U.S. illegally for eight years.
Frisbie said he did not know the names of the restaurant's owner but that they are from the country of Macedonia.
Health Department official Doug Ehman declined to comment on the case, stating that the information would become public in 10 days.