ID-fraud rings' scope called 'staggering'

Indianapolis Star ^ | December 14, 2003 | Fred Kelly and Richard D. Walton

[sarcasm]

It began as a tip: Bureau of Motor Vehicles employees were on the take.

It turned not on investigative technique, but a bit of luck.

The woman who would become investigators' chief suspect -- Elizabeth Lang -- just happened to walk into the Speedway license branch that police had under surveillance.

[sarcasm]

ping

[ReformedBeckite]

Though the head of Indiana homeland security sees no immediate threat of terrorism from the BMV problems

I wonder if that's what they might have said in Virgina before 911.

[XHogPilot]

Wish stings like this were done here in California....

[XHogPilot]

PING

[archy]

This sound familiar to anyone? Remember Katherine Smith in Memphis?

-archy-/-

[Dick Vomer]

To Ong, the big problem is that the driver's license has become too important as a sign of legitimacy -- and a ticket into many facets of American life.

Like vote for candidates in the National Socialist Democratic Party...Ted, Dashole, Gephardt et al..

[FreePaul]

Our head of Homeland Security has the solution to this. Just grant amnesty to all illegals. This would put people like Elizabeth Lang out of business. < /sarcasm >

[Age of Reason]

a 39-year-old Chinese national who worked as a volunteer translator at numerous license branches

As an aside--I suppose that means there are legally licensed drivers on the road that can't read or otherwise understand English?

[Darksheare]

Yeah this sounds way too familiar.

[gcruse]

Why do you think all those icon highway signs are there? They require neither literacy or english.

[Focault's Pendulum]

Illegal immigrants allegedly paid anywhere from $150 to $1,500 to obtain identification on the black market. Lang may have gotten as much as $5,000 per transaction,

They were losing money???

[Amerigomag]

I'm shaking my head. I have no idea how large the Speedway office is but I assume about the size of a large, DMV, branch office in California (20 -30 employees).

In that office were 5, repeat 5, people, apparently operating without knowlwdge of each, who were all engaged in idenidty theft or document forgery.

I can only hope that California manages it's branch offices with one hell of a lot more care. As in everyone in the branches is under suspicion and monitored constantly.

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

They also found 53 credit cards in different individuals names...

As a victim of ID theft, I hope she gets a loooong jail sentence.

[Age of Reason]

What's the icon for the number of miles per hour?

And how does a non-English speaker converse with the cops or fellow drivers?

In how many languages must I learn to say "Get a horse!"

[janetgreen]

Yes, California needs stings at the DMV offices. Not many people there speak English. Have you noticed?

[BluH2o]

Illegal Aliens ... if you hang around long enough in the "good ol" US of A you will be eligeable for citizenship ... Tom Ridge guarantees it!

[DustyMoment]

What strikes me about this is the fact that clerks at the Driver's License office are more concerned with supplementing their paycheck than with performing their job with honor and ethics. IMO, it calls into question how states define the Driver's License clerk job and establishes a suitable pay range to deter this type of activity.

What may seem an innocent indescretion on the part of the clerks is terribly dangerous to America. For a few dollars, these clerks have been willing to undermine security efforts within America by selling licenses that, today, provide entree to the most vital functions in American society.

Far from a slap on the wrist, those who have perpetrated this scheme for their own selfish reasons need to be sentenced to very, very long prison sentences. Anything less than life at hard labor without parole will signify tacit approval by the authorities that they condone this type of behavior.

[Dr Warmoose]

And how does a non-English speaker converse with the cops or fellow drivers?

As for speaking to cops, it is always best to at least pretend you have no understanding whatsoever of any languages the cop is speaking. As for conversing with other drivers - there is always the universal "The Bird". If you have no insurance nor demonstrable source of income, what do you have to say to the driver whose car you just wrecked? Usually all they see is asses and elbows.

[Veracious Poet]

Sounds like typical business to me...everyone's trying to scam someone.

These people were both scamming the state (their employer) and the illegals (their customers).

The worst part is that the state gives illegals such broad sanction to enter & live in our once great republic...