Daily Californian


Updated Friday, October 27, 2000
News
Papers Detail Reddy's Alleged Sex Crimes
Landlord, kin expected to plead guilty
by WILL EVANS Daily Cal Staff Writer Thursday October 26, 2000

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Federal prosecutors filed new documents in court yesterday charging Berkeley
landlord Lakireddy Bali Reddy and some of his relatives with conspiring to
bring Indian girls illegally to the United States for sex, even as the
landlord's son pleaded not guilty.
Vijay Kumar Lakireddy pleaded not guilty to transporting minors to Berkeley
to have sex with his father yesterday, but is expected to enter into a plea
agreement on Monday.
The new document filed by the U.S. Attorney's office is a form of indictment
in which the prosecution and defense generally agree on the charges. Reddy
himself is scheduled for an arraignment today, in which he will plead guilty
or not guilty, but this will not prevent him and his relatives from agreeing
on a plea bargain in Oakland Federal Court next week.
Reddy, who with his family is the wealthiest landlord in Berkeley, with
almost $70 million in real estate, was charged with bringing at least two
minors from India to have sex with him. Berkeley's city attorney's office
has alleged that there are many other victims who were molested by the
landowner.
Lawyers for Reddy and his relatives were all either unavailable or declined
to comment. The U.S. attorney's office could not comment further.
The court papers allege that Reddy, two of his sons, his brother and another
relative brought the Indian girls to the United States with fake identities
and fraudulent visas, pretending they were the spouses, children or
relatives of United States citizens.
For example, among many other incidents detailed in the document, Reddy
allegedly prepared a "Petition for Alien Relative" for an 11-year-old girl.
Some of the immigrants were family members, such as the case when Annapurna
Lakireddy, one of the defendants, allegedly posed as the wife of her nephew
to bring him over.
The relatives then "sponsor(ed) sham marriages for the purpose of obtaining
immigration benefits," the government alleged.
The family members would pick up the immigrants at the airport, either
personally or "causing" others to do it, and bring them to Reddy-owned
apartments, according to the document.
Reddy and his relatives would employ the Indian nationals at the
family-owned Reddy Realty, the Pasand restaurants, one of which is located
on Shattuck Avenue, and Jay Construction, transferring them among the many
apartments, the document said. It further alleged that workers were, at
times, not paid minimum wage or overtime, as mandated by law.
The prosecution details the case of two girls whom Reddy arranged to have
"transported" for sex, personally picked up at the airport, driven to
Berkeley and employed at Pasand.
Prosecutors said the criminal activity was perpetrated between October 1986
and January 2000.
Reddy is further charged with making a false statement on an income tax
return that he did not have interest or control over a financial account in
India.
The city attorney has said in a statement that Reddy is believed to have
amassed a fortune in both India and the United States. He came to the
country forty years ago to study chemical engineering at UC Berkeley,
according to his brother.
The federal investigation into Reddy and his family began when the Berkeley
Police Department was alerted to a young Indian immigrant who died of carbon
monoxide poisoning in one of Reddy's apartments. Although no one was charged
in her death, it was alleged that Reddy brought her to this country for sex
and, since she was pregnant, the fetus and bodily fluids were preserved by a
judge's order.
The case has gained much attention, even leading U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein
to offer to propose legislation aimed at protecting Reddy's alleged victims
from deportation if they speak out.
Before the breakthrough in the case when the prosecution announced that
Reddy and his family are scheduled to plead guilty to some charges, the
defense lawyers had filed motions asking the judge to dismiss some charges.
They said the charge of importing immigrants for "immoral purposes" was
"unconstitutionally vague." The judge denied the motion.
In May, the Reddy family filed a lawsuit against a Mills College professor
who picketed outside of the Pasand restaurant in Berkeley, charging that she
harassed customers. She urged residents to boycott the restaurant because of
the allegations against Reddy and held up signs detailing his charges to
diners inside.
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