Thread: CT: DMV Shuts Down School

DMV Shuts Down School

Investigators Probe Possible License Fraud
By DAVE ALTIMARI

Courant Staff Writer

March 15, 2008

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has shut down a Stratford driver training school whose owner is the target of a state and federal investigation into whether he helped hundreds of undocumented immigrants obtain driver's licenses.

DMV officials revoked the business license for Express Driving School and also the individual business license of its owner, Henry Kruszewski, after receiving a tip that Kruszewski was helping undocumented immigrants get licenses through the department's Bridgeport and Danbury branches.

DMV Commissioner Robert Ward said Friday that DMV officials turned the investigation over to state police in February when it became clear there was possible criminal activity. Ward said DMV officials have determined none of their employees were involved. He declined to discuss details of the probe because it is ongoing.

Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for driver's licenses.

State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance confirmed Friday that state police are investigating the Express Driving School and that the probe is being run by a unit of detectives originally assigned to investigate license fraud by DMV employees in the department's Bridgeport branch.

Vance declined to comment further.

Law enforcement sources said state police and federal investigators from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency searched the offices of the driving school late last month and removed computers and other records.

Sources said authorities had received an anonymous tip that Kruszewski was helping undocumented immigrants obtain driver's licenses by assisting them in forging paperwork needed to obtain a license from the DMV.

The tipster indicated at least 15 immigrants had obtained driver's licenses, but sources familiar with the probe said Friday that investigators believe the number is in at least the "hundreds and possibly higher."

Kruszewski has not been charged with any crimes. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

The licenses were obtained from the DMV offices in either Bridgeport or Danbury, a source said. A source said investigators suspect Kruszewski started off helping Polish immigrants obtain licenses but branched out to assisting others, including the Brazilian population in Danbury.

The DMV licenses several private driving schools to help first-time drivers get training before applying for a license or to retrain drivers.

Ward said it is common for people who have difficulty speaking English to go to private driving schools to assist them with the process.

When someone without a license goes to the school, they are required to produce valid identification such as a Social Security card, birth certificate or passport, along with a recently dated, postmarked piece of mail with their address on it.

Immigrants seeking a license must produce documents from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] indicating their status in the country. The DMV requires documentation showing they are temporary residents or resident aliens or are employed. Foreign students must produce paperwork showing they are enrolled in a school.

Sources said that Kruszewski was allegedly helping illegal immigrants forge paperwork to get through the DMV process by producing replicas of USCIS documents.

Another private driving school owner from Fairfield County who wished to remain anonymous but is familiar with the probe questioned how DMV personnel weren't picking up on the scam.

"They still have to bring the falsified documents to the DMV, and aren't they supposed to screen them and authenticate them?" the owner asked.

Ward said DMV officials can check certain documents, such as Social Security numbers and passports, but not all documents are checked at the branch level, nor does DMV have the ability to do that right now.

"If they appear to be legitimate documents, then they are accepted as legitimate documents when they are brought to us," Ward said.

www.courant.com

Driving School Owner Charged With Forgery
Police: Owner Helped Illegal Immigrants Get Licenses

POSTED: 2:10 pm EDT March 20, 2008
UPDATED: 7:51 pm EDT March 20, 2008

STRATFORD, Conn. -- The owner of a Connecticut driving school has been accused of fraudulently obtaining licenses for illegal immigrants.

Henry Kruszewski, 57, the owner of the Express Driving School in Stratford, surrendered to state police on Wednesday.

Police said the arrest stemmed from a two-year investigation by state police, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department.

Police said the investigation found that a large number of driver's licenses were issued to subjects using forged or counterfeit documents.

During a Department of Motor Vehicles inspection in October, police said, inspectors found possible counterfeit documents that would enable immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. The information was sent to state police for a criminal investigation.

Police said the ID operation focused mostly on illegal Polish immigrants. They claim that Kruszewski would exchange the documents for $1,500 in cash.

"It took experts from the DMV, state police detectives, ICE agents to bring everything together so we could disassemble this illegal operation," said Lt. J. Paul Vance of the state police.

Police said that some of the fraudulent IDs have been seized and that they expect more to be seized soon.

Kruszewski was charged with corrupt organization and racketeering and forgery. He was released on a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on April 3.

http://www.wfsb.com/news/15654763/detail.html