Akwesasne man gets time served for bringing alien to U.S.

Kanento Boots, 63, of Akwesasne, Ontario, Canada, was sentenced Sept. 11 to time served (111 days in jail) and one year of supervised release for illegally transporting an alien within the United States, according to Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith.

Boots pleaded guilty on Aug. 15. He admitted that on May 23, on the Akwesasne reservation near Hogansburg, he picked up a Hungarian man, Zsolt Mihaly, who had just crossed the border illegally from Canada. Boots drove Mihaly a short distance and Mihaly then got into the car of another driver, Constantin Chiriac. All three were arrested, according to Jaquith.

Mihaly pleaded guilty on June 6 to illegal entry into the United States, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 36 days in jail. Chiriac pleaded guilty on July 17 to illegal transportation of an alien and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18.

This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward P. Grogan.