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Thursday, August 31, 2006

Bogus Licenses Issued By Tijeras MVD

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
    The Tijeras Motor Vehicle Division office was closed for several hours Tuesday after allegations surfaced that the office was issuing drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants who submitted fake documents.
    The MVD office was open Wednesday but Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies and state Department of Taxation and Revenue officials continued to investigate.
    Auditors and investigators from Taxation and Revenue were sent to Tijeras as soon as news reports surfaced about the licenses, department spokesman David Harwell said Wednesday.
    Auditors found records of about 100 drivers' licenses issued to illegal immigrants through the Tijeras office, he said.
    All of the license numbers have been flagged in the MVD computer system used to check driving records, so that law enforcement officers will know the licenses are invalid, Harwell said.
    Auditors were still combing through the paperwork at the Tijeras office Wednesday, he added.
    Tijeras Mayor Gloria Chavez, who was attending a New Mexico Municipal League conference Wednesday, said in a phone interview that she is disappointed such activity took place in the village.
    "We're very disturbed to learn that something like this has happened in the village of Tijeras," she said. "You expect these kinds of things to happen, but not at your place."
    Chavez said she was most disappointed in the village employee suspected of issuing the false documents, because she feels the person "deceived and lied to (us)."
    The name of the employee suspected in the scheme has not been released.
    The village will fully cooperate with the investigation, Chavez added.
    In the meantime, Harwell said the village's MVD office in the newly renovated village hall is secure and was reopened for business Wednesday.
    Chavez said she wanted area residents to know that the village offices are still open and operating "as normal as possible, under the circumstances."