Guilty Pleas for Landlord, Relatives
Immigrant girl's death led to federal charges
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 24, 2000
©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/10/24/MN27924.DTL


A Berkeley landlord and four relatives will plead guilty to federal charges stemming from an investigation into the alleged smuggling of teenage girls from India for sex and cheap labor, according to new court documents.

Lakireddy Bali Reddy, 63, and his son, Vijay Lakireddy, 31, intend to enter guilty pleas Monday as part of agreements with the federal government, documents filed in U.S. District Court show.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kennedy, in records filed Thursday, said three previously unnamed defendants are also scheduled to plead guilty next week to criminal charges: Prasad Lakireddy, 42, of Lafayette, another son of Reddy's; Jayaprakash Lakireddy, 47, of Oakland, the landlord's youngest brother; and Annapurna Lakireddy, 46, Jayaprakash Lakireddy's wife.

Kennedy yesterday declined to detail the charges against the new defendants or discuss the impending plea agreements for all five people. People accused of multiple crimes often plead guilty to at least one charge in exchange for the dismissal of other counts.

Reddy, Berkeley's wealthiest landlord, was indicted in February on federal charges that he brought young Indian women to Berkeley for sex and cheap labor. Reddy could also face state charges of statutory rape.

Reddy and Vijay Lakireddy were also indicted on charges of submitting false visa applications that allowed them to import the young women.

The case came to light after two girls who arrived from India in the summer of 1999, 17-year-old Chanti Prattipati and her 15-year-old sister were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in November in a Bancroft Way apartment, where authorities said Reddy, the owner, had sex with them. Prattipati died accidentally from the gas, and her sister survived.

Kennedy said the other three defendants would not be indicted by a federal grand jury but instead will be accused, as early as Thursday, in a document known as a ``criminal information,'' in which the accused person agrees with the allegations and intends to enter into a plea agreement.

Annapurna Lakireddy declined to discuss the case yesterday, and her husband and Prasad Lakireddy did not return calls seeking comment.

Prasad Lakireddy's attorney, Paul Wolf of Oakland, said, ``There has never been any basis for charges against my client with regard to sex.''

Wolf declined further comment, and other attorneys in the case did not return calls.

A sixth defendant, Venkateswara Vemireddy, 30, allegedly posed as the father of the two sisters and was indicted in March on charges of smuggling them into the United States with the help of Reddy and Vijay Lakireddy. Vemireddy's case is pending.

After Reddy was arrested in January, both Prasad Lakireddy and Jayaprakash Lakireddy wrote letters to the court urging that the landlord be granted bail.

``Mr. Lakireddy is the most kind- hearted person in this world,'' Prasad Lakireddy wrote of his father. ``He has never hurt or refused help to anyone in his life.''

Jayaprakash Lakireddy agreed, saying his brother helped bring him to the United States to help with the landlord's Pasand restaurant and real-estate business in downtown Berkeley.

``I stand behind Mr. Lakireddy in his time of need,'' Jayaprakash Lakireddy wrote, praising his brother's ``generosity and kindness.''

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

©2000 San Francisco Chronicle Page A19