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disappearing act.jpg  But human smuggling remains a federal
crime, as well -- and in cases where there are aggravating
factors, such as deaths from a van crash, federal prosecutors
will step in. That's what happened in the case of 26-year-old
Jose Francisco Franco-Rodriguez.  Franco-Rodriguez was the first
person charged with human smuggling after the state law was
enacted in 2006. But it didn't take long for the feds to swoop
in and take the case.  Why? In addition to smuggling, Franco-
Rodriguez was charged with causing the deaths of four of the
illegal immigrants he was transporting through Colorado.  On
November 28, 2006, court documents show that Franco-Rodriguez
was driving eastbound on I-70 with a minivan full of fourteen
passengers, all of whom were illegal aliens. The passengers,
like Franco-Rodriguez himself, were from Mexico. They had
crossed the border and been taken to safe houses in Phoenix and
Tucson, where they were held until their fam