Burning Atlanta

He is the last of four defendants in the case to be prosecuted in the case. His wife, Ineys-Hoyos Solano, 60, was sentenced to three years probation for her role in assisting her husband launder money from the restaurant. His brother, Juan Faustino Solano, 58, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for paying illegal immigrants under the table — and less than the minimum wage — to work at the restaurant. And his sister, Consuelo Solano, 69, was sentenced to two months in prison for her role as the bookkeeper of the laundered money.

Prosecutors said more than $7 million in cash from the restaurant was deposited in an El Pollo Rico business account from January 2002 to July 2007 and transferred to a co-defendants' personal accounts. Money was used to buy property, jewelry and vehicles while the illegal immigrants employed at the restaurant were paid less than the minimum wage and housed at some of the defendants' properties.

U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus, who has presided over the case, agreed. However, he said the crime of hiring illegal immigrants is a serious one and should not go unpunished. He said he is aware that practice is being used at businesses across the nation but said he hoped Solano's punishment would serve as a deterrent to hiring illegal immigrants.

Francisco Solano and the other defendants must also forfeit $7.2 million in cash and other assets, an amount Titus said was "absolutely enormous" and the most he's ever seen in his five years as a judge. He said he hoped that would also help deter businesses considering using illegal immigrants.

At his sentencing, Francisco Solano was composed when he told Titus — first in English then switching to speaking in Spanish through a translator — he was sorry for what he did.