Hogansburg man sentenced to 5 years in prison for smuggling attempt that led to river rescue

Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Mar. 1—SYRACUSE — A Hogansburg man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to five years in prison for his role in a smuggling attempt that led to a river rescue on the St. Regis River last year.

Brian Lazore, 45, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and three counts of alien smuggling, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York announced Wednesday.

As part of his guilty plea, Lazore admitted to smuggling six Indian citizens from Cornwall, Ontario, into New York on the St. Lawrence and St. Regis rivers on April 28.

Lazore admitted to smuggling the six people for his own financial gain during his guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Brenda K. Sannes, Syracuse, imposed a two-year term of supervised release following the term of incarceration.

Lazore's case was investigated by U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Stitt Jr. prosecuted the case.

The six other people face charges after they were apprehended during the rescue. N.A. Patel, D.H. Patel, N.E. Patel, U. Patel, S. Patel and D.A. Patel, all citizens of India and ranging from 19 to 21 years old, were charged with improper entry by an alien.

Suspicious activity had been reported to the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service at about 6:50 a.m. April 28. The Akwesasne Mohawk Police notified the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police about a boat containing multiple people traveling from Canada, near Cornwall, Ontario, toward the United States. The information was received from an off-duty Cornwall City Police officer, who observed the boat with six to eight people leaving from the Monte Carlo Hotel in Cornwall, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police responded and observed the vessel taking on water in the St. Regis River about 30 yards from shore and about 800 feet from the international boundary between the U.S. and Canada. U.S. Border Patrol agents and the Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department were called for assistance and said they found the vessel almost entirely under water, CBP said.

Mr. Lazore was able to walk to the shoreline, border officials said. The Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department deployed a boat to recover the other six people. No life jackets or other safety equipment was located on the boat.

Because the temperature was about 32 degrees and the water temperature was about 40 degrees on the surface, the seven people were taken by the Hogansburg Akwesasne Rescue Squad to Massena Hospital, where they were evaluated and treated for hypothermia.