D Mo's chef charged with stealing half brother's identity

Published on: 3/25/2014

He was known as Ramon Antonio Mitre-Hernandez to law enforcement and'Chef Tony' to patrons at the former D Mo's Italian Pasta & Chop House in The Clarke Hotel. Police now say that neither name was his.

Milwaukee resident Daniel Morales has been accused of using his half brother's identity to commit crimes, collect unemployment checks and rack up debts.

Morales, 35, was charged Thursday, March 13, in Waukesha County Circuit Court with five counts of identity theft, for which he could face 30 years in prison and $50,000 in fines if convicted.

According to court records, Morales failed to make an initial court appearance on Monday, March 24, and an arrest warrant has been issued for him.

According to the criminal complaint, Ramon Mitre-Hernandez reported the alleged identity theft to City of Waukesha Police last September.

He told an officer that he had been receiving notices from the IRS and the Department of Workforce Development about unpaid back taxes, the complaint said. The notices said his unemployment checks would be intercepted to pay the debts.

The problem, said Mitre-Hernandez, was that he didn't owe any taxes and he wasn't on unemployment, the complaint states.

There were other problems. He told an officer he had recently been cited for first-offense drunken driving and tried to receive court-mandated treatment at La Casa de Esperanza in Waukesha, the complaint said.

The treatment center turned him away, he said in the complaint, because he had supposedly been treated there before, for a sexual-assault conviction. A therapist provided a picture of the individual previously treated, and Mitre-Hernandez recognized the man as his half brother, Morales.

Morales was charged in September 2012 with second-degree sexual assault for molesting a 28-year-old woman at D Mo's restaurant in 2011. He used his half brother's identity and pleaded guilty to fourth-degree sex assault, a misdemeanor, in January 2013. He had previously used Mitre-Hernandez's name when he was charged with disorderly conduct and battery, accused of fighting outside The Clarke Hotel in August 2011.

Mitre-Hernandez told the officer that he and Morales had lived together in New York City in 2008. His brother emigrated to the United States unlawfully about 15 years ago; he had entered the country as a legal resident and provided the officer a Mexican birth certificate and Wisconsin driver's license to prove it, according to the complaint.

Morales allegedly racked up more than $10,000 in debt and had even started a business — New York Attitudes Inc. — using his brother's identity. According to the Department of Financial Institutions, the company was registered in September 2010 and specialized in apparel and accessories.

The detective tracked down a booking photo of Morales from New York City. He matched the man arrested in New York City to the booking photos taken in connection to the Waukesha crimes, according to the complaint.

Morales was arrested Sept. 18 and refused to speak without an attorney present, the complaint states. He allegedly signed his booking paperwork using the name Daniel Morales.