Meuser hirings spark questions

Illegal immigration has become an issue in the race between Dan Meuser and Chris Hackett for the Republican Party nomination in the 10th Congressional District race.

A fine against Meuser’s company 11 years ago has become a point of contention between the candidates.

The 1997 fine against Pride Health Care Inc., now Pride Mobility Products in Exeter, was the focus of a letter sent Tuesday to the Meuser campaign by a former area district attorney who supports Hackett.

Mark R. Zimmer, a Honesdale attorney and Wayne County district attorney from 1992 to 2003, raised the matter and his confusion over perceived legal discrepancies in the two-page letter. He asked Meuser to release documents regarding the $41,000 fine and the incidents that necessitated it – for which Meuser appealed and finally agreed to pay a lesser sum.

Meuser, of Harveys Lake, stood by his previous comments Tuesday night and said no documents will be released. He maintained that three workers provided false information, including fake Social Security numbers, when hired. Federal immigration authorities fined the company $41,000. The company, then based in West Wyoming, paid $23,000, and the case was closed.

Now that Meuser is running for Congress, the matter has been raised once again and Hackett’s supporters said it won’t be settled until Meuser releases all the documents.

Zimmer questions Meuser’s account of the incident and how employing just three illegal immigrants can result in a $41,000 fine. Based on federal immigration law civil penalties, Zimmer said the fines should be no higher than $6,000.

He also questioned Meuser’s contention that he didn’t know he had hired illegal immigrants.

“ . . .under the Immigration Reform Law that existed at that time and currently, employers face penalties only when they are found to have knowingly hired unauthorized workers,” Zimmer wrote.

He said the law only requires employers to look at identification that’s presented and accept it if it appears legal.

“If, as you say, the hires were done unknowingly, as a result of false identification, your company would not have violated the law and would not have been fined,” Zimmer said in the letter. “If that’s the case, why would you pay $23,000? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Meuser, in a statement e-mailed Tuesday night, said, “As we have said all along, we hired three illegal aliens who presented us with false identification. During the review undertaken by the INS, they believed additional records of American workers were incomplete as required with the I-9 form. We agreed to the $23,000 fine to take responsibility for all of the records, but again only three were illegal aliens."

Meuser campaign manager Eric Wallace said the additional fines are attributable to the legal workers, not aliens. He said steps were taken to "make this the first and last time they would be victimized by false identification." Among them were personal interviews, criminal background checks and the federal government’s Basic Pilot Program.

Hackett campaign manager Mark Harris said that since Meuser is “repeatedly bringing it up,” he’s opened the door to the case’s circumstances.

The winner of the race between Hackett, of Kingston Township, and Meuser will face U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township.

10th Congressional District:

Encompasses parts of Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming and Tioga counties and all of Bradford, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Union, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

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Opponent’s supporters bring up fine Meuser’s company paid for hiring illegals.

10th Congressional District:

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