Cass City area dairy farmer Denis Burke admitted in court he employed more than 100 people who were in the U.S. without legal permission. He was sentenced Thursday in Bay City federal court to two years in prison for harboring illegal workers and ordered to pay $1.38 million in fines. His wife was sentenced to probation last fall. Burke, a native of Ireland, owns Parisville Dairy and half of Dunganstown Dairy, both located in the Upper Thumb area. In a court filing, his lawyer warned that a prison sentence would “result in the financial ruin” of the farms, which have 3,500 cows.
