Deliberations to begin in Ukrainian brothers' "debt-bondage" trial

Jurors will start deliberations Wednesday in the federal trial of two Ukrainian brothers charged with running what prosecutors say amounted to a ring of indentured servants cleaning suburban big-box retail stores.

The illegal immigrants, largely young men from the same area of the former Soviet Union, were allegedly beaten and threatened to keep them under control working 16-hour days for little pay, say prosecutors. At least one female immigrant was raped, according the grand jury indictment, handed up in June 2010 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

Omelyan Botsvynyuk, 52, and Stepan Botsvynyuk, 36, have been on trial for a month on charges of conspiring to engage in racketeering and extortion as part of a multiyear human-trafficking operation involving about 30 victims.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel A. Velez told jurors Tuesday in his closing argument that the illegal immigrants were forced into "debt bondage," cleaning department and grocery stores for the Botsvynyuks' company. Its customers included Target, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Safeway in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.

Omelyan Botsvynyuk was arrested in Berlin, Germany, last year and extradited to the United States to stand trial. Three other brothers were also charged with participating in what prosecutors call the Botsvynyuk Organization.

The younger Botsvynyuk's defense attorney, Joshua Briskin, told jurors that discrepancies and commonsense contradictions in the testimony of government witnesses justified acquittal. "I don't think there is enough evidence to find him guilty of anything," said Briskin, "even disturbing the peace."

The older Botsvynyuk's attorney, Howard Popper, said prosecution witnesses lacked credibility, testifying in the hope of getting "T visas" to remain in this country. Those are visas given to people who are victims of human trafficking.

Popper said the witnesses had a history of lying to government officials - as did his own client, he conceded. Omelyan Botsvynyuk initially entered the country in 1998 on a merchant seaman's visa that was supposed to allow the bearer to join a ship on its way out.

"They lied to immigration, everyone, on both sides of the room," said Popper.

Some of the Botsvynyuks concocted a fake political party that they claimed was being persecuted in the Ukraine in order to win asylum in the United States.