DMV Officials Issued Driver’s Licenses for Cash. Why Will REAL ID Be Any Different?
In New York, several employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) were recently caught doing the one thing at which government drones seem efficient: corruptly profiting from their positions. They weren’t alone in selling driver’s licenses to ineligible customers; similar stories frequently appear around the country wherever public workers see a way to make a few bucks by providing official identification documents, often in fake names, to anybody with cash in hand. As common as the practice is, it’s an interesting commentary on the long-delayed recent introduction of REAL ID requirements, which are supposed to make us more secure.
Sure, they will. Except for that part about workarounds being for sale to all-comers at reasonable prices.
Countless Licenses Issued With No Exam Required
“State and federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday announced several arrests for an alleged scheme in which countless individuals were issued driver’s permits and licenses on Staten Island without having to pass the exams,” the New York Offices of the Inspector General announced July 2. “A joint investigation revealed countless acts of tampering with state records and identity theft carried out by a Queens-based driving school in conjunction with DMV workers on Staten Island.”
In this case, most of the customers for the scheme were Chinese immigrants. For $2,000, employees of the driving school would take the test in place of customers and then bought-off DMV employees would score passing grades, alter the database, and issue licenses. The operation “guaranteed individuals driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, language, and even their ability to actually operate a vehicle,” according to Homeland Security Investigations New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.
And all that drama we just went through about requiring people to get standardized REAL ID-compliant identification to fly on commercial airlines or enter federal facilities was bypassed in the process. You may have had to stand in line with documentation to get a new driver’s license with a federally approved star i
Article from Reason.com
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