ICE holds Nigerian admitting to using false ID to work at airport (updated)

Mon, 2012-09-17 10:34 AM
By: Mark Rockwell
Government Security News

A Nigerian man who admitted assuming the identity of a murder victim to get clearance to work as a private security guard at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey is now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Bimbo Peter Oyewole, 54, had pleaded guilty to document fraud in a federal courtroom in New Jersey on Sept. 7, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Oyewole, who came to the U.S. almost 25 years ago in 1989, assumed the identity of a murder victim to remain in the country illegally, it said.

Under Oyewole’s plea agreement, the state of New Jersey will recommend that he be sentenced to a term of probation, at his sentencing schedule for October 19, said ICE.

Oyewole, said ICE, came into its custody on Sept. 11 and is in removal proceedings. He is being held in an ICE detention facility pending an immigration hearing before an immigration judge, it said.

According to court documents, Oyewole admitted he used the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a man named Jerry E. Thomas, who was murdered in Queens, NY, in 1992, to get an airport security ID card, called a Secure Identification Display Area Card (SIDA).

SIDA cards allow access to special security areas designated by an airport operator in the US to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. Identification systems are typically used in those areas, which include flight ramps and other sensitive operational areas. Personnel working in the area are required to undergo security training and have their backgrounds checked.

Court documents said Oyewole used the SIDA card as a supervisor for FJC Security Services, a private firm contracted to staff vehicle access gates and provide other security services at Newark. The card gave him access to secure areas, including the tarmac and airplanes, said ICE whose Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was one of several agencies working on the case, including The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Office of Inspector General, the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police.

Oyewole entered the U.S. in January 1989 on a temporary work visa, said the documents. He began using Jerry E. Thomas' identity several weeks before Thomas was murdered on July 20, 1992. Thomas was shot outside a YMCA in Queens where he was staying. Oyewole used his identity to obtain a New Jersey driver's license and high school equivalency diploma. He also obtained employment in Thomas' name, holding security jobs at Newark Liberty under several private contractors.

"Document fraud poses a significant threat to both national security and public safety," said Andrew McLees, special agent in charge of HSI Newark. "HSI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and other critical infrastructures in protecting the American public."

"The Port Authority moved swiftly to arrest this defendant and remove him from his security position at the airport when they learned he was using a false identity," said Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa. "My office, in turn, worked closely with the Port Authority's Office of Inspector General, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the New York City Police to investigate him, ensure he was not a threat to national security, and prosecute him for his crime."

"Whatever the motive, it's a serious crime to falsify government documents, particularly when it involves identity theft and issues of public security," said Stephen J. Taylor, director of the Division of Criminal Justice. "This defendant has rightly faced serious consequences. By the time he is sentenced, he will have spent roughly six months in custody and he will be a convicted felon."

ICE holds Nigerian admitting to using false ID to work at airport | Government Security News