Judge is moved by roofer's plight

Daniel Tacuri, an illegal immigrant from Ecuador who built a prosperous roofing business in Milford though he could barely read or write, earned little sympathy from federal authorities last year when they charged him with employing and housing other illegal workers.

But last week Tacuri's personal story of overcoming poverty won the compassion of a federal judge in Worcester. After Tacuri pleaded guilty to harboring and hiring illegal immigrants Friday, the judge sentenced him to seven months' time served instead of the 15 months prosecutors had requested. Tacuri's lawyer had recommended eight months.

"I have to say that this is the single most sympathetic defendant that has come before me in my four years on the bench," said Judge F. Dennis Saylor, according to a court transcript. "It would be a hardhearted person who would not be at some level touched by this story."

Saylor said Tacuri "has suffered sufficient hardship." The father of two is bankrupt and facing deportation to Ecuador, along with his wife, Maria. Saylor said he did not sanction Tacuri's violations of immigration law, and he noted that in addition to the time served and a $2,475 fine, Tacuri is also facing deportation. But he said he was moved that Tacuri had overcome a life of poverty in Ecuador, came to the United States to work, and did not exploit his workers at Same Day Roofing, even though he had been exploited himself. Tacuri opened his home to relatives and some workers.

His lawyer, Raymond O'Hara, said Tacuri treated his workers well and paid them generously, unlike other operators in the area he said authorities did not pursue.

"The immigrant advocates told me that Mr. Tacuri was almost a hero within the immigrant community," O'Hara said. "He always paid on time."

Before he was sentenced, Tacuri spoke through an interpreter about the disbelief his family had expressed in the past at being charged as a criminal.

"I would like to ask for your forgiveness, because I did [not] realize that it was a crime in this country to actually feed people in need, and to give them a roof, and to share my table with them and my family," he said. "I would like to ask God for forgiveness. I would like to ask everyone for their forgiveness. That's all."

The US attorney's office declined to comment about the case.

Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com.