Peabody company at center of Romney-illegal alien controversy

PEABODY-Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney denies any responsibility for hiring illegal immigrants as workers at his Belmont home, including those allegedly employed by a Peabody painting company under investigation by state authorities, insisting it was the fault of contractors and calling for tighter federal guidelines to verify the status of workers.On Friday, a published report said that a North Shore company that painted Romney’s Belmont mansion in recent months has been accused of relying on subcontractors who exploited workers, including illegal immigrants.According to the report, Romney hired Olympic Painting and Roofing of Peabody, to paint the salmon-colored house in August. The work was reportedly completed in October.Asked by a reporter Friday if he shouldn’t go the “extra mile” because of his business background and his strong advocacy of clamping down on illegal immigration in his presidential bid, the former Massachusetts governor shot back: “And what’s the extra mile? So for instance, if I go to a restaurant, do I make sure all the waiters there are all legal?””We have a country where there’s not an employment verification system that allows companies to know who’s in the country legally and illegally. And I’ve certainly never proposed that homeowners have a responsibility when they hire a contractor or company to then go out and inquire of the company’s employees whether they happen to be legal or not. That’s not the course of this country. It’s even potentially against the law,” he said.A call placed by the Daily Item on Sunday to the offices of Olympic Painting and Roofing seeking comment on this report was not returned.(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.)