While the owner and manager of The French Gourmet Restaurant were placed on probation for hiring undocumented workers on multiple occasions, the Pacific Beach restaurant was fined nearly $387,000 on Dec. 22 by a federal judge. Owner Michel Francois Malecot and manager Richard Kauffmann, both 59, dodged jail time from U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan, even though Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Kanter had asked that Malecot and Kauffmann get six and four months in prison, respectively. Kauffmann and the Turquoise Street restaurant pleaded guilty Oct. 13 to hiring 10 illegal immigrants. Malecot pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of continuing to employ undocumented workers since first being raided by authorities in the 1990s. The families and friends of both defendants filled the courtroom. After the court hearing, Malecot, flanked by his supporters, was asked by a television reporter if he was satisfied with the sentence. “Well, yes, I don’t really have the choice. I wish it would have never happened,” said Malecot. His lawyer, Eugene Iredale, said Malecot was “too generous, too compassionate to pull the trigger on people who had been working for him for five, for six or eight years.” “I think the judge did an excellent job … and came to a decision that was fair and just,” said Iredale, who noted the restaurant now employs “100 U.S. citizens,” including part timers. The restaurant never closed following a 2008 raid, in which dozens of illegal aliens were arrested. The restaurant was also fined in the 1990s for employing illegal aliens. “We have lost some catering business … because people don’t realize most businesses in San Diego have a certain percentage of illegal aliens,” said Malecot. The owner said he urged owners of other businesses to try to determine whether a potential employee is illegal and use a government verification program. “Cover yourself,” Malecot said. “Don’t just believe (immigration) papers, because they look very real.” Whelan imposed a fine of more than $277,000 on the business, and ordered that more than $109,000 be forfeited to the U.S. government. He also ordered the restaurant to pay $10,000 to one man who suffered a serious burn injury and didn’t seek medical attention initially because he was not in the country lawfully. “I think it is a sufficient sentence to demonstrate that this can’t just be a cost of doing business,” said Kanter after the hearing. “There will be financial consequences for those companies (who hire illegal aliens). “Just because the defendants in this case wore collared shirts to work and live in La Jolla does not mean they should be treated differently for their violations of the immigration laws.” Iredale filed court papers that showed Malecot was generous with donations to many worthy causes like the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the San Diego Opera and local schools. During the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, Malecot also donated food to emergency workers and shelters. He has owned the Turquoise Street restaurant for 32 years. Kauffmann has worked there for 28 years. Charges of conspiracy and harboring illegal aliens were dismissed. Charges were first filed in April. However, the restaurant received letters in 2005 and 2006 from the Social Security Administration that several employees’ names did not match Social Security numbers.