DETROIT (AP) - A suburban Detroit restaurant owner and his wife have been arraigned on harboring immigrants for commercial advantage and private financial gain charges that stemmed from a fire that killed five employees.
Roger Tam and Ada Lei appeared Friday in federal court in Detroit.
The Detroit News reports that a magistrate entered not-guilty pleas for the 55-year-old Tam and 48-year-old Lei.
They were indicted last month.
A teenager and four young men from Mexico died Jan. 31 during the fire in the basement of Tam’s Novi home. The fire may have been started by a cigarette.
The victims worked at Kim’s Garden, Tam’s restaurant. Authorities say Tam allowed the workers to live in his home.
They were in the U.S. without legal permission.
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