It made millions transporting illegal immigrants as far as the East Coast, deal says.

LUKE TURF

Golden State Transportation Co., a bus company with facilities in Tucson, pleaded guilty yesterday to six felonies related to bringing illegal immigrants into the country and moving them as far as the East Coast, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in Arizona.

As part of the plea agreement, which included felony charges for money laundering, Golden State will forfeit a $2 million bus terminal in Phoenix.

U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said Golden State built the $2 million terminal with "money illegally obtained from the smuggling, harboring and trafficking of illegal aliens."

Charlton said a $3 million fine was also ordered.

"Smuggling does not pay in the long run," he said.

The indictment said Golden State employees encouraged the use of its buses by illegal immigrants and their smugglers.

The plea agreement said Golden State allowed smugglers to hide their human cargo at bus terminals before the buses' arrival and provided special charter service to smugglers for transportation of illegal immigrants on one-way trips from Arizona and Las Vegas to cities on the East Coast.

The company's records for 2000 and 2001 show Golden State transported more than 42,000 passengers on just one route, from Tucson/Phoenix to Los Angeles via Las Vegas, said U.S. attorney spokeswoman Harriet Bernick.

The revenue from that one route in those two years was about $3.1 million. According to Bernick's news release, "most, if not all, of these passengers were illegal aliens."

The company's president, Antonio Gonzalez; and vice president Francisco Gonzalez; and other family members are awaiting trial in the case.