NEW YORK -- A woman was convicted Wednesday of using her Chinatown storefront to orchestrate human-smuggling schemes, including a treacherous voyage in 1993 that ended in the deaths of 10 Chinese immigrants. Cheng Chui Ping, 56, was convicted in federal court in Manhattan, one week after the jury began deliberations. Ping allegedly became a multimillionaire by smuggling thousands of immigrants who endured perilous journeys aboard dilapidated cargo ships such as the Golden Venture, which ran aground in June 1993 off Rockaway Beach in the borough of Queens. Ten immigrants died trying to swim 200 yards to shore.
Posted by Editor at June 23, 2005 09:22 AM
