Ohio resident admits to hiding war crime charges when he immigrated from Croatia

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A Parma Heights, Ohio, resident will serve three years in prison for concealing a war crime charge against him in Croatia prior to immigrating to the United States.

Jugoslav Vidic was sentenced after entering a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio as part of a plea agreement that includes removal from the United States after serving three years in a federal prison.

"Vidic lied about war crimes charged against him in an attempt to escape his past and live in the United States unlawfully," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri said Wednesday in a news release.

"Vidic will serve prison time in the United States followed by his removal," Argentieri said. "His sentence demonstrates that human rights violators will not be allowed to hide from their crimes in the United States."

Vidic, 56, falsely claimed he never was charged for breaking any laws when he applied for lawful permanent residency in the United States and pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an alien registration receipt card by knowingly making false statements.

In his plea agreement, Vidic admitted he was charged with a war crime in Croatia in 1994 and was convicted in absentia in 1998.

A Croatian court determined Vidic cut off the arm of civilian Stjepan Komes when Vidic and other ethnic Serb forces attacked Petrinja, Croatia, on Sept. 16, 1991. Komes died from his injury.

Vidic also admitted he was aware of the Croatian charges against him when he immigrated as a refugee to the United States in 1999.

He applied to a green card in 2000, was interviewed by U.S. immigration officials and obtained his green card in 2005.

Vidic lied when he claimed he only served in the Yugoslav Army from 1988 to 1989 and concealed his service in the Serb Army of Krajina and its predecessors during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia from 1991 to 1995, federal prosecutors said.

"Vidic committed serious human rights violations and was convicted of war crimes in Croatia as a result," U.S. Attorney Rebecca Lutzko said. "Yet, he lied to U.S. immigration officials about his conviction and participation in a violent military force to claim refugee status and obtain a green card."

Agents with the FBI's International Human Rights Unit and Homeland Security Investigations investigated Vidic and received help from Croatia's Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice and Public Administration.