Last August, state and federal agents raided a garment-factory sweatshop in Los Angeles and found 72 Thai immigrants confined to a compound ringed with razor wire and spiked fences. On Friday, seven operators pleaded guilty to violating federal civil rights laws. The immigrants were told that they had to repay the cost of their transportation to Thailand. They were threatened with beatings and made only $2 a day.
The operators will be sentenced in April or May.
