Yovani Diaz-Cruz pleaded guilty in federal court today to charges of transporting illegal aliens for profit.
The plea hearing took 17 minutes, according to court records. An interpreter was available for Diaz-Cruz to make sure he understood the proceedings. Judge Richard E. Door ordered a pre-sentence investigation. No plea agreement was involved, according to court records.
The Joplin Police Department arrested Diaz-Cruz on March 12. More information is included in an April 8 posting of The Turner Report.
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A 2 p.m. April 25 arraignment has been scheduled in McDonald County Circuit Court for former Southwest City Clerk Dehonna Shields, who is charged with three counts of forgery and two counts of theft in connection with the embezzlement of city funds.
The alleged thefts were uncovered during a recent state audit.
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In a few months, approximately 75 percent of the parts that go into La-Z-Boy products will be "made and in some cases finished in China and a few other Asian countries," according to an article in the Triad Business Journal, which serves Greensboro and Winston-Salem, N. C.
Company officials say not enough was done to protect U. S. furniture manufacturers against Asian competition, forcing them to take other routes to stay competitive. Those other routes apparently have been coming at the expense of American workers.