New Bedford factory in 2007 immigration raid to close
6:01 PM Fri, May 29, 2009 | Permalink
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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) - A New Bedford leather-goods factory raided in 2007 by immigration agents will close its doors by July 31, the company that owns the plant announced Friday. Alliant Techsystems, a Minneapolis-based military contractor, said in a statement that the former Michael Bianco Inc. factory was operating well below capacity, and the closure is part of a consolidation plan of its current owner, Alliant's wholly owned subsidiary, Eagle Industries, Inc. Alliant spokesman Amanda Covington said the factory's 350 employees were notified of the closure Friday. In 2007, federal immigration agents raided the plant and arrested 361 undocumented workers. Immigrant advocates criticized the raid for separating families and leaving children without proper care. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the raid was properly handled. Francesco Insolia, who owned the Michael Bianco Inc. factory at the time of the raid, later was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay a $1 million fine after pleading guilty to knowingly hiring and concealing illegal workers. Insolia sold the business to Eagle Industries soon after the raid. Eagle Industries, based in Fenton, Mo., was acquired by Alliant in March. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank called the closure "absolute corporate savagery" and said it made Alliant "unfit" to continue as a U.S. contractor. "To buy a company sole for the purpose of closing it down, presumably to eliminate a competitor, is irresponsibility of the worst sort," Frank said. But Covington said when Alliant purchased Eagle Industries, the company was entering into a new market of producing products for the military and law enforcement agencies. She said the move to close the New Bedford factory was a business decision. 
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