A Marion County Criminal Court Judge has sentenced the owners of the El Rodeo restaurant chain following their plea deals on theft charges.
Judge Stanley Kroh sentenced Francisco Salgado and Jose Melendez to 10 years with eight suspended and Abel Bustos to two years including one year probation Monday. The trio will serve the bulk of their time on home detention.
Still, their lawyer, Sean Hessler, says he’d hoped for slightly better sentences.
"I wish they would have got less," Hessler says. "I think it is important for them to be out so they can manage their business. This will be a bit of a hindrance to them, but they'll still be able to keep the restaurants going."
The men had been charged with more than 10 counts of theft linked to operations of El Rodeo restaurants in nearly a dozen counties.
Authorities seized nearly $2 million from those ten locations back in November of 2013 after an investigation revealed the restaurants were keeping two separate tills and reporting far less income than they were taking in.
Prosecutors say the money came from unreported sales and taxes dating to at least 2012.
