Posted on Fri, May. 7, 2010


Two more charged in Phila. driver's license scheme
By Nathan Gorenstein



A PennDot license examiner accepted bribes from a Philadelphia businessman in return for issuing "hundreds" of driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and foreign residents, government prosecutors charged Thursday.
According to court documents, Harold Palmer, 43, accepted $40 to $100 per driver from Saman H. Salem in return for issuing licenses to ineligible clients of Salem's Professional Driving School.

The documents also say Salem, 32, helped his clients cheat on the written portion of the examination by posing as an interpreter and passing them answers. The scheme allegedly started in 2003.

Salem tied up thousands of slots at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation license center on Columbus Boulevard, where Palmer worked, by using the agency's online service to book tests, according to the documents.

Salem received up to $4,000 from each client, taking in about $1 million through the scheme, authorities allege. He is also charged with not paying income tax.

U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy said the defendants were "systematically corrupting the process of obtaining driving licenses."

"It involves risks to everyone," he said.

A third man charged Thursday, Pierre E. Jean-Louis, 52, of Collingdale, was accused of bribing a PennDot examiner in West Oak Lane who was indicted last year.

Attorneys for all three men charged Thursday declined to comment.

The charges are the latest from Operation Blind Spot, a two-year investigation by state police, the FBI, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. It has included an investigation into a 17-year-long licensing scheme in North Jersey, Levy said.

The Philadelphia Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent in charge, John P. Kelleghan, said falsely obtained government identification was often used in drug and financial crimes. ICE has set up 18 document-fraud task forces around the nation, he said.

"In the criminal world, it's a valuable commodity," State Police Lt. Anthony Sivo said.

Eight of the hundreds of fraudulently obtained licenses from Philadelphia have been implicated in crimes elsewhere in the nation, officials said.

During the last year, 20 people have been charged in connection with the license crimes by federal prosecutors in Philadelphia. Most have already pleaded guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Zack said Salem had run his business out of three cars parked near the Columbus Boulevard center. Customers came from a variety of sources, Zack said.

Palmer is the third PennDot examiner in Philadelphia to be charged in recent months with accepting bribes in return for issuing licenses to ineligible drivers. All three have been fired, said Kurt J. Myers, a PennDot deputy secretary.

By the end of this year, PennDot will require all license examiners to undergo an FBI background check, he added. License examiners' salaries range from $34,864 to $52,536.


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