And just think...each one of the drivers licenses illegally obtained, still allow those people to vote in an election...(drive by motor voter)...!!! Thanks for the article....I've posted it entirely as it will be good reference for this board ....
Sniper probe leads to N.J. DMV
nj.com
Saturday, October 26, 2002
After their plea for a Trenton man to voluntarily contact the FBI proved fruitless, federal agents secured a warrant in Baltimore yesterday to apprehend Nathanel Osbourne, the city man who helped one of the Beltway sniper suspects buy a car in Trenton and is considered by law enforcement to be a key witness in the case.
Searches continued in Trenton and Camden yesterday for Osbourne, who bought a former Bordentown Township police car with suspected sniper John Allen Muhammad less than a month before Muhammad allegedly set out on a shooting spree that killed 10 people and wounded three in the Washington, D.C., area.
Yesterday, officials considered whether shoddy security at the state motor vehicle agency helped Osbourne obtain a driver's license and allowed the men to register the car to a Camden address where they apparently did not live.
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Capital murder charges were filed last night in Maryland against Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, who are being held without bail. They were arrested at a Maryland rest stop where they were sleeping in a blue 1990 Chevrolet Caprice, with the New Jersey license plate NDA-21Z, the car that authorities say was bought in Trenton with Osbourne's help.
On Thursday, the FBI issued a public plea for Osbourne, 26, to come forward and answer questions about the case. At the time, bureau spokeswoman Linda Vizi said Osbourne was in no way facing criminal charges.
She said Thursday that Osbourne, a Jamaican native, should not worry about his immigration status and that special visas are available to those assisting criminal investigations.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Baltimore office of the FBI obtained a material witness warrant for Osbourne, said Ken Shuey, supervisory special agent for the FBI in Trenton.
The warrant allows any law enforcement officer to apprehend Osbourne but does not charge him with criminal violations, Shuey said.
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Shuey said little is known about Osbourne and his ties to Muhammad, but investigators are eager to find out.
"We'd like to learn what he knew about the car and how he hooked up with this guy," Shuey said. "Wherever that conversation goes is anybody's guess at this point."
Shuey said they are looking for a 1992 Honda Accord that Osbourne may be driving.
State Transportation Department spokesman Micah Rasmussen said Osbourne has titles to a pair of Accords - a 1991 and a 1992 model - bought at Sure Shot Auto Sales at Hudson Street and South Clinton Avenue.
That is the same agency where Osbourne and Muhammad bought the Caprice now in police custody. The Accords were sold to Osbourne on Aug. 29, just 12 days before the Caprice, Rasmussen said.
Shuey would not speculate if Osbourne is in Camden, Trenton or elsewhere. "We're looking everywhere for him," he said.
Last night, Newark FBI spokeswoman Sandra Carroll said the hunt for Osbourne took agents to another state, but she declined to say where.
"It's expanding," Carroll said.
Mercer County-based members of the New Jersey-New York Regional Fugitive Task Force were searching for Osbourne yesterday, the task force said. The team is made up of U.S. marshals and local and state police.
Trenton police were notified late Wednesday night by the FBI to be on the lookout for Osbourne. Yesterday morning, before the material witness warrant was issued, patrol officers were shown his picture at roll call, said police spokesman Lt. Joe Juniak.
Osbourne used to live in the 800 block of Carteret Avenue in Trenton. His last known address is the 300 block of Church Street, where his mother and half-brother live.
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The owner of Sunshine Restaurant, a Jamaican restaurant on Pennington Avenue in Trenton, who had talked to the FBI on Thursday said he had seen Osbourne in a brown Accord in recent months.
He said he was hoping to locate a former cashier named Tammy who had dated Osbourne up to two months ago so she could assist authorities.
The owner, who asked to be identified only as Keith, said he thought members of the Jamaican community would heed authorities' request to help find Osbourne. He said he was trying his best to aid the FBI.
Muhammad and Osbourne bought the Caprice on Sept. 10 at Sure Shot Auto Sales.
The title does not list the sale price as required, state officials said, but dealership owner Christopher Okupski said he sold the car to the two men for $250.
The next daythey registered the car at a state Division of Motor Vehicles office in Camden, listing 1400 Sheridan St. as the address.
Muhammad does not have a New Jersey driver's license, said state DMV spokesman Derek Stokes, but Osbourne has a license listing the Sheridan Street address and was the one to sign registration forms.
Osbourne's signature let the transaction pass legally, Stokes said.
"Without Mr. Osbourne, Mr. Muhammad would have been unable to register the vehicle," Stokes said.
The FBI yesterday said it was unclear whether Osbourne, a Jamaican citizen, is in the country legally.
"Right now, we don't have . . . documents to back that up," Shuey said.
If Osbourne was in the country illegally, he should not have had a New Jersey driver's license, said DMV Director Diane Legreide. She said Osbourne could have obtained a license legally if he had a visa when he received it.
"If he was (illegal) at that time, he got his license, I would suppose, unfortunately, in Trenton using false documents," Legreide said.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service would not comment on Osbourne's status.
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Osbourne got his driver's permit in May 1998, renewed it in November 1999 and received his driver's license in May 2000 at the DMV office at South Stockton and Front streets in Trenton, Stokes said.
Legreide said Osbourne used his alien registration card, commonly known as a "green card," to get his license, but the state has no copy to determine the green card's validity.
"We don't even have the ability to tell you what clerk really did the transaction," Legreide said. "That is so unbelievable."
Michael Clarke, owner of the building at 1400 Sheridan St., said neither Osbourne nor Muhammad lived at the address, even though Osbourne used it on his license.
Legreide said the DMV has no way to check whether an address given by an applicant is valid.
"Anyone can come in with any address and we put it down," she said. "There is no ability to cross-check."
The state is planning to change its licensing system, offering digital licenses that would be more secure than the paper variety it has been issuing. Legreide said applicants for a digital license likely will have to verify their address by, for example, showing a recent utility bill.
The DMV's computer system is two decades old, contributing to counterfeiting problems and long waits, and fraud has become a constant problem.
Eight people who worked for the DMV were among about 40 people recently indicted by a state grand jury in schemes that provided licenses to illegal immigrants and identity thieves.
A commission appointed by the governor released a preliminary report two months ago that recommended digital driver's licenses, background checks for all motor vehicle employees and customer service and security improvements.
The governor also gave the DMV budget a $7.5 million increase, the first budget increase for the agency in about 15 years.
Efforts to bring in Osbourne were evident yesterday. At North Clinton Avenue, in front of Jerusalem Baptist Church, several police cars swooped down on a man in a gray, hooded sweat shirt appearing to match Osbourne's description.
The FBI said police checked the man's identification and let him go.
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