A dual Canadian American citizen who was extradited from Canada pleaded guilty today for his role in a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of a family, including two children under the age of three, in the St. Lawrence River.

“This case is a tragic example of what happens when alien smugglers act for their own greed with callous disregard for human life and for the orderly administration of our nation’s immigration laws,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through investigations and prosecutions, we will continue to eliminate alien smuggling networks that flout our laws and evade lawful entry at our borders.”

“Protecting our homeland remains a top priority and I thank our federal partners for their unwavering efforts along our Northern Border to keep Americans safe,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarone III for the Northern District of New York: This case highlights the success we can have when working together across government, federal law enforcement, tribal leaders on both sides of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reserve and our partners across the border in Canada, all played a key role in bringing this defendant to justice. Although this smuggling attempt ended in tragedy, let this case serve as a warning: Those who attempt to unlawfully bring individuals into our country will be stopped, identified, and brought to justice.”

“Rahsontanohstha Delormier’s actions led to the deaths of two young children and their parents — a loss that will be felt forever by their family and the North Country community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Field Office. “In response to this tragedy, HSI Massena and our federal, state, tribal, and Canadian partners worked tirelessly to dismantle this deadly smuggling organization, sending a clear message that those who endanger lives at our border will be identified, brought to justice, and removed from our communities.”

According to court documents, Rahsontanohstha Delormier, also known as “Storm,” 31, from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Territory in Canada, was a boat driver for a human smuggling organization (HSO) that smuggled aliens from Canada into northern New York. Delormier, working with the HSO, routinely smuggled aliens into the United States by piloting boats across the St. Lawrence River. 

Beginning in and around 2023, the defendant worked with an HSO that smuggled illegal aliens of various countries from mainland Cornwall, Ontario to Cornwall Island, Canada and through the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reserve into the Northern District of New York. The organization arranged for aliens to stay in local motels in Cornwall before they were transported from Cornwall Island and staged along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Members of the organization would then transport the aliens by boat over the St. Lawrence River to drivers who transported them further into the Northern District of New York.

On the night of March 28, 2023, and into the early morning of March 29, 2023, a co-conspirator travelled to mainland Cornwall and transported a family of four Romanian aliens to Cornwall Island in a truck provided by Delormier. At approximately 3:06 a.m., the co-conspirator dropped the Romanian family off at Delormier’s residence to be brought across the St. Lawrence River. Delormier launched a boat from a landing in St. Regis, Quebec, intending to pick up the family, but due to high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility on the St. Lawrence River, Delormier’s boat broke down and he became stranded on St. Regis Island. Later that night a co-conspirator transported the Romanian family to a public boat launch on the tip of Cornwall Island where a different boat pilot picked them up and attempted to take the family across the St. Lawrence River. While in transit, the boat capsized due to severe weather. As a result, the Romanian family and the boat driver died.