PORTLAND (AP) — The owners of three Mexican restaurants in Maine convicted of hiring people living in the U.S. illegally have been granted a new trial because a juror in their first trial used a racial slur when referring to them.
Brothers Guillermo and Hector Fuentes were found guilty in March of conspiracy, harboring undocumented aliens for profit, and aiding and abetting document fraud.
The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1bVMHFN ) reported that a federal judge in an order granting them a new trial said a juror used a racial slur in referring to the defendants to a man at a Portland club. The judge said he interviewed the juror who admitted making the slur.
The brothers own restaurants in Westbrook, Waterville and Biddeford.
Their new trial is scheduled for Oct. 7.
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