by alex christodoulides
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agent Isaac Baichu, 46, of the Bronx, is charged with receiving a bribe, receiving a reward for official misconduct, sexual misconduct, coercion and official misconduct in a case where he allegedly forced an immigrant to trade sexual acts in hopes of obtaining her green card late last year, according to the criminal complaint filed with the Queens district attorney's office.Baichu, a Guyanese immigrant, handled some 8,000 green card applications in his three years with the agency's Garden City, L.I., office, from which he has been suspended with pay, the New York Times reported. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.The woman, who was not named in the complaint, and her husband of one year had met with Baichu to further her application, the criminal complaint said. At the end of a meeting involving the victim, her husband and the agent, Baichu told the woman he saw no problems in terms of her application, but asked for her telephone number in case he needed to reach her, according to the complaint.After that meeting, Baichu called the victim and said he wanted to meet her again alone in a location other than his office to discuss matters, the complaint said.Baichu told her she needed him and had to work with him, and directed her to meet him at his car at noon Dec. 21, 2007, outside the Flagship Restaurant in Briarwood, according to the complaint.The victim told the district attorney's office that when she sat in the front passenger seat of Baichu's car in front of the diner that day, he told her he would get her file shortly and that in exchange for assisting her in her immigration application he allegedly told her she must have sexual intercourse with him at least twice.She tried to get out of the car, but Baichu allegedly grabbed her arm and told the woman he expected her to perform oral sex on him then and there, saying it would only take a second, that he was very fast, the complaint said. The victim told the district attorney's office she complied because Baichu was restraining her and he had authority over her green card application.She met Baichu again in March, when he told her that her file was complete, she would receive a letter in a couple of weeks and he would call her a few days before she received the letter – only this time she recorded the conversation and played it back for the DA's office, which noted it in the criminal complaint.”Do I have to do anything?” the victim asked in the recording.”Just like the last time,” Baichu answered in the recording. “It'll only take a minute.”When the victim protested on the recording that she loved her husband and was uncomfortable, Baichu allegedly told her this is business, not love, and that if he were her he would do it in a minute, according to the complaint.Baichu allegedly offered to take the woman to a garage or to his friend's real estate business elsewhere in Queens, saying he would take her to the restroom and she would be more comfortable doing it with him there, the complaint said.Reach reporter Alex Christodoulides by e-mail at achristodoulides@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
