Defendants face mandatory life in ID-fraud case

CHICAGO (AP) — A trial in a massive, long-running counterfeit-documentation scheme has ended in Chicago with three defendants now facing mandatory sentences of life in prison.

The operation was centered in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood and lasted for 15 years until authorities dismantled it in 2007.

Jurors Tuesday determined Julio Leija-Sanchez, his brother Manuel Leija-Sanchez and Gerardo Salazar-Rodriguez should get mandatory life for racketeering conspiracy because it included murder.

They returned with guilty verdicts on multiple counts Monday. Federal prosecutors say it was Salazar-Rodriguez who carried out the execution-style murder of a rival in Mexico City.

At times, the counterfeiters sold 100 sets of fraudulent IDs a day, generating some $3 million in annual sales. A set went for around $200, and typically included a Social Security card and other forms of identification..