BRONX MINISTER AND TWO OTHERS ARE SENTENCED FOR SWINDLING DOZENS OF UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS WHO WERE TRYING TO OBTAIN "GREEN CARDS" IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a minister who stole thousands of dollars from undocumented aliens has been sentenced to a term of up to 6 years imprisonment on the charge of grand larceny, in connection with a scam which offered assistance to people seeking to obtain "green cards".

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett sentenced Reverend Erroll O’Connor, 50, of 3010 Bruner Avenue, to a term of 2 to 6 years imprisonment. Co-defendants Robert McKenzie, 42, of 103 Craig Avenue, Freeport, New York was sentenced to a term of 1 ½ to 4 ½ years imprisonment, and Emanuel Felder, 35, of 55 Martin Luther King Drive, Hempstead, New York, was sentenced to a term of 2 to 4 years imprisonment. Each defendant pled guilty earlier this month to one count of Grand larceny in the 3rd degree, a Class D felony offense.

The three defendants were charged with "acting in concert" in stealing more than $260,000 from undocumented aliens who were seeking to obtain "green cards" from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. The defendants were arrested by Detective Investigators from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office in September 2001 following a nine month investigation.

Reverend O’Connor ran radio commercials in which he purported to be authorized by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to help undocumented aliens obtain "resident alien" status. Reverend O’Connor ran the scam from his church, Pentecostal Deliverance Ministries at 3247 Laconia Avenue. O’Connor’s co-defendant, Felder, posed as an INS officer and would conduct interviews with the victims at the church. McKenzie assisted O’Connor in pre-screening potential victims. The victims were charged an average of $4,000 for assistance in obtaining "green cards". The scam came to light when victims began to come forward with complaints about the minister.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jose Contreras of the Investigations Division’s Arson / Auto / Economic Crime Bureau.