Federal harboring charges dropped for Taco Ole manager

MISSION, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Federal charges have been dropped for the Taco Ole manager accused of harboring, according to court records.

Juan Ramirez Cortez was detained on July 10 at one of the Taco Ole locations. Cortez was initially charged with illegally hiring, employing, and harboring more than a dozen people.

A probable cause affidavit obtained by ValleyCentral, revealed that on July 1, a federal warrant was obtained for Taco Ole, located on the 2300 block of North Conway Avenue in Mission and 2600 W. Freddy Gonzalez in Edinburg.

The warrant was obtained to search for and seize evidence of unlawful employment of workers and violations of bringing in and harboring certain workers.

On July 10, the FBI McAllen and other law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at the Taco Ole business, located at the 2300 block of North Conway Avenue, where Ramirez Cortez identified himself as the manager of the restaurant.

According to the affidavit, the FBI interviewed Joel Esteban Bazan, the owner of Taco Ole in Mission, who stated Ramirez Cortez was in charge of hiring and firing for the restaurant employees.

Additionally, he stated that Ramirez Cortez fills out employment paperwork and checks immigration documents for hiring purposes. He also allegedly processes the W-4 and I-9 forms for the individuals he hires.

"There is nobody at the restaurant the majority of the time, Bazan instructed Cortez to only hire people eligible to work and trusted to complete the paperwork," the document reads. "Cortez serves as the intermediary between Bazan and the workers."

The FBI interviewed Fabiola Sari Guerra Cuellar, who admitted she had a valid tourist visa in 2014, but it expired in January 2020.

Guerra Cuellar stated that she has been working at Taco Ole for approximately 10 years, earning $3.25 an hour plus tips. Ramirez Cortez paid her weekly with a check, typically by Monday afternoon.

According to the document, Guerra Cuellar said that Ramirez Cortez interviewed her when she applied for the job in 2014 and provided her a tourist visa during her initial employment interview.

Guerra Cuellar stated that she informed Bazan of her lack of status before starting, and she is aware of other employees who do not have status and have worked there for 20 to 25 years.

She also reported that employees used a WhatsApp group chat to coordinate shifts and work matters, but did not know for sure who the creator of the group chat was, the document stated.

Multiple other employees were also interviewed by the FBI. They also reported that Ramirez Cortez was responsible for hiring employees. During the interviews, at least 10 workers were determined to be employees at Taco Ole in Mission, according to the criminal complaint.

According to court records, while Judge Juan F. Alanis dismissed the federal harboring charges, he determined that there was sufficient probable cause to proceed with the misdemeanor charges of illegal hiring and employment.