July 18. 2007 7:00PM

2nd state worker charged in driver's license probe

The Associated Press



JACKSON, Miss. A second Mississippi Department of Public Safety employee has been charged as part of an ongoing federal and state investigation into the issuance of driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

The department said Wednesday that Jamie B. Hayes, 40, of Grenada, employed with DPS's driver services division, was arrested in Grenada County by Mississippi Bureau of Investigation agents.

Authorities announced Tuesday that five people, including a Tupelo woman working for the driver services division, were charged in a scheme to sell licenses to illegal aliens for approximately $2,000 each.

The five included two Mexican nationals and an Uzbek national, the agency said. All had Mississippi or Alabama addresses.

In the latest case, Hayes was taken into custody on Monday and later released on $100,000 bond. Authorities said Hayes has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.

The department also said Wednesday that Shelia Bell Rena Alsanabani, 32, of Clarksdale, had been arrested late last month in connection with the Hayes case. Alsanabani, charged with one county of conspiracy, is not a state employee.

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