INS Investigated Landlord in '97 -- No Evidence
More purported victims heard from
Debra Levi Holtz, Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, January 21, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/01/21/MN31652.DTL


A Berkeley landlord accused of illegally bringing three girls from India for sex was first investigated in 1997 by immigration agents who found no evidence of wrongdoing, authorities said yesterday.

By last November, the Immigration and Naturalization Service's probe of Lakireddy Bali Reddy, 62, had been relegated to periodic spot checks. That changed when Berkeley police told INS agents about allegations that three girls were purchased in India and then forced to endure sexual molestation in Berkeley by Reddy.

Yesterday, investigators said they have received reports about other girls who may have been victimized by Reddy, and they are analyzing 13 computers seized this week from Reddy's properties.

Police said they are also investigating a complaint about Reddy in at least one other state and are trying to determine whether he is involved in a larger interstate smuggling operation.

Reddy, one of the largest rental property owners in Berkeley, is accused of using fraudulent visa applications to bring Indian citizens into this country to work at his restaurants and apartment buildings. The illegal immigrants included two teenage sisters, one of whom died from carbon monoxide poisoning attributed to a blocked heater vent in one of Reddy's Berkeley apartments on November 24.

The girl's younger sister, who survived the poisoning, and another young woman who lived in the same apartment told investigators that their parents sold them to Reddy in India years ago and that he brought them to Berkeley to continue sexual relationships with him that began before they were teens.

Chuck DeMore, San Francisco district director of the INS, said yesterday that during the initial probe his agency did all it could, including undercover surveillances of Reddy, who manages 1,000 apartment units and runs a restaurant, a software company and a construction firm.

The first complaint to the INS came in the form of a ``vague'' letter, DeMore said.

``At that point, it really was an unsubstantiated allegation that he was inducing aliens to come,'' DeMore said. ``There was not enough substance to the initial letter to warrant a lot of investigative inquiry. There were no names of victims, locations where they could be found or interviewed.''

DeMore said the INS's early investigation showed Reddy to be a ``professionally educated gentleman, with widespread corporate interests, financial interests. There was nothing to indicate any criminal conduct.''

But, DeMore said, statements made by the surviving sister and her roommate changed the INS's position on Reddy.

``Clearly (this is) one of the most egregious cases that we have come across in Northern California in a long time,'' DeMore said. ``It's as if these individuals were almost sex slaves.''

In a federal complaint filed on Tuesday, Reddy is accused of importing illegal immigrants ``for the purpose of prostitution and other immoral purposes'' and of encouraging aliens to enter and reside in the United States illegally.

Federal authorities say Lakireddy Bali Reddy applied for temporary work visas for at least 21 Indian citizens to work at a company in Berkeley owned by his son, Vijay Lakireddy. The company, Active Tech Solutions, currently has only three employees, however.

But Vijay Lakireddy said yesterday that his computer consulting firm is expanding and has been petitioning for skilled workers from India because there is a shortage of engineers in this country.

He vehemently denied any wrongdoing by himself or his father and accused the immigration service of conducting a ``witch-hunt.''

Vijay Lakireddy said at least a dozen of his employees have been arrested for not holding U.S. passports by immigration agents outside the family's homes and businesses this week.

Reddy's eldest son, Prasad Lakireddy, also vehemently defended his father, calling him a ``nice, kind- hearted person.''

Prasad Lakireddy said the elder Lakireddy has, for 15 years, sponsored Indians seeking work visas.

``He legally sponsors cooks from India. That's legal.''



WHERE TO CALL
Anyone with information about Reddy, women who speak Hindi, Telegu or other Indian languages can contact the following South Asian women's organizations: Maitri (San Jose and the South Bay), (888) 862-4874; Narika (Berkeley and the East Bay), (800) 215-7308; or the Indo- American Community Service Center at (408) 748-1771. Berkeley police can be reached at (510) 644-6062 or (510) 843-2677 if you prefer to remain anonymous.


©2000 San Francisco Chronicle Page A19