Posted on 09/06/2003 2:35:41 AM PDT by Liz
The judge, the defense lawyer, and even the prosecutor all agreed that Andrea Turner probably never realized how serious her crime was.
For a kickback sometimes as small as $50, Turner, a longtime employee of the Social Security Administration, routinely processed fraudulent applications for Social Security cards. She directed many of the cards to the same Elizabeth address, where they were sold to illegal immigrants.
But in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, federal investigators stepped up enforcement of such identity fraud cases.
And the penalties, Turner discovered, can be harsh: Yesterday the 40-year-old mother from Linden was ordered to spend 30 months in federal prison.
"What you did was absolutely bone-headed; it's also criminal," U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden told Turner during a hearing in Newark.
Turner was charged in April 2002 after investigators from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Social Security Administration tracked a flow of illegal cards to Victor Pacheco, 45, of Elizabeth.
Pacheco admitted that he enlisted Turner to illegally process about 400 cards for him. He paid her between $50 and $300 for each card, then sold them to aliens who otherwise could not get the cards.
Turner and Pacheco became friends when he worked at a convenience store near her office in Elizabeth. Both pleaded guilty last fall to conspiring to transfer Social Security cards to illegal aliens. He faces sentencing in two weeks.
Turner, a mother of three children, had no criminal record and had worked for the Social Security Administration since 1981. Her seniority among service representatives enabled her to pull off the scam, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Boxer said.
"She held a position of public trust and she abused that trust," the prosecutor said.
Federal investigators have tracked down all of the fraudulent cards, Boxer said, and found no proof that any of the recipients used them to commit crimes. He said authorities have not yet decided whether more charges will follow.
But such cards often can be the gateway to jobs in government and at places like airports, Boxer said. "We as a society are lucky that these cards weren't used for more nefarious ends," he told the judge.
Turner cried throughout the hearing, but declined when the judge offered her a chance to speak. When Hayden asked her if she was prepared to go to prison, Turner replied: "I haven't told anybody yet."
Her attorney, Jack Venturi, said Turner was remorseful and "never in her wildest imaginations" envisioned the consequences of her actions. "She simply thought she was doing someone a favor," Venturi said.
The judge let her remain free on $25,000 unsecured bail but said Turner must report to prison within the next two months. Hayden said Turner will probably be jailed at the women's federal prison in Danbury, Conn.
Minutes before the hearing ended, Turner's husband and young daughter arrived and sat in the back of the nearly empty courtroom. A onetime family court judge, Hayden urged Turner to be strong for her family, to serve her penalty and move on with her life.
"The price that everyone is going to pay in the Turner family is a real one," she said.
Something is wrong with this statement.Having the card itself was a crime.
Well they got Victoooor Paaaacheeeecoo . . . of course they will also immedeatly get on those 400 criminal aliens, right? They have the SS numbers, should be a piece of cake, right?
Federal investigators have tracked down all of the fraudulent cards, Boxer said, and found no proof that any of the recipients used them to commit crimes.
Well, a logical and thinking person would conclude that the cards. having been obtained by fraud by criminal illegal aliens would probably be used to commit other crimes but obviously all 400 POSSESSORS of the cards are just `lil angles blowing halos out their butts, right?
Give me a break...You don't get paid for favors...She had a little side business going...She got paid and now it's her turn to pay...
I think the Feds also checked whether the illegals created false identities -- a huge crime these days -- for purposes of fraud as well.
What are you talking about? This is Animal Farm. Those illegals who commited a crime by bribing a US Fer'al Employeee into committing a crime, then using that fraudulent document to fraudulently game the system (even get on the recipient roles worth tens of thousands of dollars annually in fraud based entitlements) Heck, that SS card can even be used to vote illegally.
You need to understand the rules. Those who are honest and are American Citiens are the target of all government hostility. Those who work to undermine this nation's status as a World superpower are Heros of the Revolution and will be rewarded, not punished.
The Ends Justify The Means
Well --- she sure does now. I wonder what is the point of mentioning she HAD no criminal record ---- she's no innocent, she knew exactly what she was doing. A lot of criminals have no criminal record until they are caught.
And what about Pacheco? What the heck was his sentence?
Not to imply (or should that be infer?) that you have the answers, Fitz. All of this crap going on in America ticks me off beyond belief.
That's what I was thinking when I read it.
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