The news is heavy this morning from my neck of the woods. A Waukegan man arrested for using someone's else identity. La Raza says on the cover that immigrants are fleeing Waukegan. And now a major document fraud operation is halted.



Mundelein police uncover scheme to produce driver's licenses, more
By Russell Lissau | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 3/28/2008 12:11 AM

A routine traffic stop led Mundelein police to uncover a counterfeit ID scheme detectives described as the best they'd ever seen.

More than 50 fake driver's licenses, Social Security cards and other documents were discovered inside the suspect's apartment after his arrest, Mundelein police Sgt. John Monahan said Thursday.

The suspect, a local resident whose name has not been released to the media, used a computer and specialized equipment to produce ID cards that could have passed as legitimate, police said.

"The quality of the driver's licenses he was making was, in my opinion, very, very good," Monahan said. "It would be difficult for anyone to tell the difference, including a police officer."

The 36-year-old suspect is in federal custody but has not yet been charged, said Greg Palmore, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It was not known whether the suspect was part of a larger counterfeiting ring or if he led the operation, Palmore said. The case is under investigation.

"We don't know the full extent of it," Palmore said.

The suspect is a Mexican citizen who used a fake passport to repeatedly travel to and from his home country and the United States, police said.

The suspect was arrested March 11. The investigation began the day before when police stopped a 20-year-old local resident for a traffic violation and found drugs, Monahan said.

During the driver's arrest, police found he had three fake ID cards: a driver's license, a Social Security card and a permanent resident card, Monahan said.

The driver told police where he got the cards. The next day, an undercover officer called the suspect and said he wanted to purchase a fake Social Security card and driver's license, Monahan said.

The officer met the suspect in a local parking lot, at which time the suspect took a digital photo of the officer, police said. Two hours later, they met again in another parking lot, and the officer bought a fake driver's license for $90, Monahan said.

The suspect was then arrested.

The ensuing search of the suspect's apartment turned up dozens of fake IDs and an elaborate document-making system, police said.

"This is one of the better ones we've seen," Monahan said.

The suspect would put whatever name or address on the ID cards a customer requested, police said.

Authorities believe the suspect was making the cards for local residents.

Police expect investigators specializing in computer forensics will find more IDs and evidence on the suspect's computer.

Immigration officials got involved in the case March 12 and have since taken over the investigation.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=161786