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Danbury part of ID probe
Authorities crack down on forged documents
By Chipp Reid
THE NEWS-TIMES

Danbury is part of a growing statewide investigation into forged identification documents and identity theft, according state and federal officials.
Though few details are available, agencies involved in the probe include the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and the state Attorney General's office.

Officials would not say whether the Danbury portion of the investigation involves individuals or businesses. One source said it might include the production of fake Australian passports.

"We have an investigation ongoing into possible counterfeit identification documents but I cannot be more specific than that," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "All I can tell you is we have an investigation ongoing."

Blumenthal declined to say whether the investigation hinges on undocumented immigrants trying to obtain counterfeit ID. He did say the investigation went beyond just illegal aliens and it might include drivers' licenses, birth certificates, social security cards and marriage and death certificates and credit cards.

"It isn't just undocumented people that want fake IDs," he said. "We are looking heavily into identity theft and others that would want counterfeit documentation."

For illegal aliens, false papers allow them to pass at least cursory checks by law enforcement and local officials and live almost openly in the country. Criminals want fake IDs to establish new identities to escape prosecution or to help pull off new crimes.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton raised the concern the city's estimated 10,000 undocumented aliens might seek counterfeit documents after the case of Lisette Delgado. The Danbury woman presented documents, which the city believes are fake, that allowed her to get married at least four times in roughly a year.

Experts say it's likely the marriages were designed to help the grooms become legal residents of the United States.

"The (Danbury) town clerk picked up on the series of wedding certificates," Boughton said. "Now it's starting to come to fruition" with the statewide investigation.

If counterfeit passports are part of the probe, that would mean the involvements of federal agents. Blumenthal said the FBI would take the lead in that area, although his office "would certainly be involved."

He would not confirm any federal involvement, although he did say the probe covered "everything when it comes to identification documents, and that would mean passports."

Tom Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Haven, also would not comment on possible involvement of federal agencies in the probe. "We can't officially comment on anything until we make an arrest," Carson said.

Officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency also declined to comment on the investigation. ICE spokesman Jarryd Agen did say passport counterfeiting was "a major concern, one we would investigate rigorously."

One area of specific concern is use of forged Australian passports to enter the United States. Australia has a large immigrant population and Australian passport holders do not need a visa to enter the United States.

Australia is one of 27 countries on the visa waiver list. Australian nationals simply fill out form on which they promise not to stay in the United States for more than 90 days; they also state they are coming in as tourist or on a business trip. The form, an I-94W, costs $6 and is available at every U.S. point of entry.

"Australians are some of the best traveled people in the world," said Ken Allen, the Australian consul general in New York. "About 10 percent of our population live in or work in the United States. That makes them very good targets for possible identity theft."

In February, Bridgeport police arrested four people from Belize after they used fake Australian passports to get into a bar. The bouncer actually decided the IDs were false and called authorities. Police turned the four people over to federal immigration authorities.

The simple entry procedures worry Boughton, as does the possibility immigrant smugglers could forge Australian passports or those of other nations on the waiver list.

"That's the suspicion," he said. "It's why we keep saying the controls have to be tightened."