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34 at MVD charged in fake-ID case


False licenses, other cards sold, indictments say
By Eric Swedlund and Barrett Marson
September 24, 2004
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
A three-year undercover investigation into widespread corruption at
Arizona Motor Vehicle Division offices resulted in the indictments of 34
people suspected of making and selling fraudulent driver's licenses,
authorities said.
In one of the largest public corruption cases in state history, MVD
employees have for years been accepting bribes of up to $3,500 for
unlawfully providing state identification cards and driver's licenses,
according to indictments released Thursday.
Among those indicted are 26 current and former employees of 10 MVD
offices in Southern Arizona and the Phoenix area and eight others suspected
of brokering the sale of fake state-issued ID cards. The 94 pages of
indictments also contain several charges of conspiracy. All but two
Phoenix-area suspects were arrested Thursday.
"These fraudulent documents would permit individuals to travel from
Arizona to Washington nonstop. They could be used to open a fraudulent
bank account. They could be used to buy a weapon," said Jennifer Guerin,
chief assistant U.S. attorney in Tucson. "They would permit an individual
who otherwise would not be permitted to cross the border to cross through
a Border Patrol checkpoint."
While authorities aren't certain how many state-issued ID cards and driver's
licenses were fraudulently produced, the Operation Double Driver
undercover investigation, which began in Tucson, involved $70,000 in
bribes and turned up more than 100 fraudulent licenses and other
documents. And officials expect to find more, said Roland Mignone
assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Tucson office.
MVD employees accepted bribes for issuing fraudulent driver's licenses,
identification cards, commercial driver's licenses, hazardous-material

certification and even a Social Security card in one Phoenix case, Mignone
said. The fraud was the work of several pockets of illegal activity rather
than a single organization.
Of those arrested, 11 are current or former MVD employees in Tucson, two
are former employees in Sierra Vista, two are current MVD employees in
Douglas and one worked in Nogales.
The investigation started in December 2001 when an undercover Tucson
police officer working for a counter-narcotics task force received a tip that
MVD employees were selling the IDs, said Kathleen Robinson, assistant
chief of the Tucson Police Department.
Undercover narcotics officers continued to investigate and verified the
fraudulent documents were being sold when they purchased some,
Robinson said, at which point the investigation was turned over to the FBI
and expanded to the Phoenix area.
Although investigators have uncovered no link to terrorist activities,
authorities said it is cause for worry about the nation's security.
Guerin said those IDs were the "real McCoy" and would be nearly
impossible for anyone to tell they had been fraudulently issued.
The maximum penalty for each count of unlawfully producing
identification documents is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
"To my knowledge, this is probably the largest public corruption case in the
history of our state," said Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik. "They
have sold national security in a traitorous and despicable fashion."
The indictments were announced at press conferences in Tucson and
Phoenix. In Phoenix, U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton said authorities will never
know how many fraudulent licenses were issued.
Nathan Gray, FBI assistant special agent in charge, said law-enforcement
officials will attempt to get as many names as possible from the suspects.
"It is going to be near impossible to know exactly all the people," Gray said.
Charlton warned MVD employees involved with the scandal or who have
knowledge of it to contact law enforcement.
Authorities said the workers who sold the fake documents were allowed to
continue with their jobs after undercover agents purchased the IDs.

Law-enforcement officials did not want to blow the investigation by


arresting one or two suspects at a time. Thomas Clinkenbeard, chief
investigator for the MVD's Office of Special Investigation, said the agency
is going to try to get some of the licenses back.
"It's a huge concern but there are accommodations that have to be made.
You don't want to compromise the investigation," Clinkenbeard said.
The workers are now on paid administrative leave pending further action,
Department of Transportation Director Victor Mendez said. Mendez did not
know how long that would last.
House Majority Whip Randy Graf, R-Green Valley, said the investigation
could lead to more support for Proposition 200, which looks to cut down on
fraud in the state's welfare programs and restrict services available to illegal
residents. A driver's license is proof of legal residency in the state.
"It will certainly highlight the issue that there is fraud activity going on out
there," said Graf. "It highlights the lengths people will go to and why as a
state we have got to be more diligent."
Dupnik said that while it is possible illegal entrants may have obtained
fraudulent identification, authorities have no reason to suspect there is any
fraud in voting.
Saji Vettiyil, an attorney for Tucson defendant Deborah Salcido, said she as
well as other MVD employees deny any involvement in the cases.
The investigation echoed a similar case in 2000 in which undercover
officers exposed three separate rings selling fake licenses and ID cards out
of several Maricopa County MVD offices. A dozen people were arrested,
including four state employees, on charges of selling the fake licenses and
ID cards for up to $1,500 each.
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/40370.php

Case likely to slow lines at MVD


offices
By Tim Ellis
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

It'll take more time in line to get a driver's license now that the state Motor
Vehicle Division has instituted new security measures in the wake of an
investigation into the sale of fraudulent licenses and ID cards, officials said.
But agency officials aren't sure how much more time.
"We will be scrutinizing much more closely. That will cause delays," said
Cydney DeModica, an MVD spokeswoman.
Those security measures include having document-verification experts at
all of the state's 62 MVD field offices who will examine identification
documents of all applicants. All documents will be photocopied and
examined in a central location before a permanent license is issued.
Gov. Janet Napolitano acknowledged the measures will cause delays.
"MVD has been focused for many years on keeping the line short, moving
the traffic through," Napolitano said. "But we have a law-enforcement
concern, a security concern that needs to be met now as well."
Napolitano announced the appointment of an inspector general in the
Arizona Department of Transportation, which oversees the MVD.
MVD customers already were seeing some delays because of a new policy
adopted by the agency Aug. 25 that limits the number and types of
documents that can be used to obtain an driver's license, DeModica said.
The policy prohibits the MVD staff from accepting driver's licenses from
19 states as a primary form of identification to get an Arizona driver's
license. Those states do not have "lawful presence" laws that require a
driver's-license applicant to prove he or she is lawfully in the United States,
she said.
Debra Brisk, deputy director of ADOT, said Arizonans who want to renew
their driver's licenses can go online at www.dot.state.az.us/mvd/.
Barrett Marson contributed to this report. Contact reporter Tim Ellis at
573-4176 or at tellis@....

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