WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2005

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TWENTY-ONE CHARGED IN MAJOR FRAUDULENT GOVERNMENT
IDENTITY DOCUMENT ENTERPRISE OPERATING OUT OF JACKSON HEIGHTS AREA
Thousands of Fake Driver’s Licenses, Social Security Cards and Other ID Seized

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, New York State Office of Homeland Security Director James W. McMahon, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Raymond P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge of the United States Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General Edward J. Ryan, today announced that 21 individuals – all but one of whom is an illegal alien – with ties to a violent street gang based in the Jackson Heights area of Queens County have been indicted on charges of operating a $1 million a year criminal enterprise that supplied fraudulent government identity documents – such as resident alien cards, driver’s licenses and Social Security cards – to individuals throughout the country. Seventeen of the defendants are in custody and four others are presently being sought.

District Attorney Brown said that “Today’s indictments are the result of a nineteen-month investigation that included months of court-authorized wiretaps, video surveillance and thousands of intercepted telephone calls. During the investigation numerous search warrants were executed, resulting in the seizure of more than 5,000 completed, semi-completed and blank forged government identification documents – including 700 driver’s licenses and identification cards from eleven different states and more than 2,400 Social Security cards – and forgery tools – such as typewriters, paper cutters, laminators, embossed laminated sheets and photo scanners – necessary to create the fraudulent documents.”

The District Attorney added, “The defendants are accused of papering the streets of our city and state with thousands of phony government identification documents that allowed individuals to obtain employment, operate motor vehicles, obtain government benefits and open lines of credit, as well as providing a source of identification. The widespread black market trafficking of such bogus documents that can easily be used by terrorists undermines the efforts of homeland security and other law enforcement officials intent on keeping our borders and citizens safe. Such a serious threat to public safety cannot go unchallenged. We will continue to work closely with the NYPD, our state’s Office of Homeland Security and our other law enforcement colleagues to stamp out such fraud and help to maintain the safety and security of our city and state.”

Police Commissioner Kelly said, “There is no good associated with the production of fraudulent IDs and the investigators in this case ought to be congratulated for preventing their use in the commission of other crimes.”

Homeland Security Director James W. McMahon said, “Subsequent to September 11th, the New York State Office of Homeland Security, at the request of Governor Pataki, created a Fraudulent Document Task Force to identify and interdict individuals who produce, sell and use fraudulent documents. District Attorney Brown and his office successfully organized and implemented the first such task force operation in New York State. The expertise, enforcement and prosecutorial strategies developed by the Queens District Attorney’s Office were instrumental in the take-down of this large-scale fake ID mill.”

DMV Commission Raymond P. Martinez said, “Because of the joint efforts of committed law enforcement agencies, once again dangerous individuals have been arrested for attempting to defraud our system and potentially putting law-abiding New Yorkers at risk. I commend this joint effort as we continue to do all we can to protect the safety and security of the motoring public and citizens at large.”

Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Ryan, Office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration stated: “As the law enforcement arm of the Social Security Administration, this office is responsible to protect their programs from fraud, waste and abuse, as well as preserve the integrity of the Social Security Number. This investigation illustrates our office’s commitment with other law enforcement agencies to the aggressive pursuit of criminal enterprises engaged in this type of illegal activity. These cooperative efforts of the agencies represented here today have ensured the successful outcome of this investigation into the manufacturing, distribution, sale and the continued trafficking of fraudulent identification documents. The recovery of counterfeit documents in this investigation and others can and have been used by several groups to assimilate into our society to conceal their illegal status, conceal their true identity for financial gain, or worse to potentially plan/execute terrorist acts against the security of our homeland. The results of this case prove that our collective efforts are both worthwhile and needed. Therefore, we will continue our strides to enhance the protection and the integrity of all relevant identification documents.”

District Attorney Brown said that the investigation leading to today’s charges began in May 2004 when information was developed by the District Attorney’s Counter-Terrorism Unit within his Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau concerning the manufacture, sale, distribution and possession of forged identity documents, including driver’s licenses, alien registration cards, passports, visas, and Social Security cards being sold on Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens – an area which is considered to be the epicenter of such fraudulent activity on the East Coast.

According to the District Attorney, such fraudulent identification document enterprises typically consist of a boss, a cutter, runners and street sellers. The “street sellers” deal directly with the buyers and obtain the photographs and personal information that are to be placed on the forged documents; “runners” pick up orders and deliver them to the “mill” where the fraudulent documents are generated; and then the “cutters” produce the documents. The typical street price for a Social Security card is $40, a New York State driver’s license costs $50 and a DHS-ICE resident alien card costs $60.

According to a 53-count Enterprise Corruption indictment filed in Queens Supreme Court, between June 4, 2004 and July 13, 2005, twelve of the defendants conspired to acquire money illegally through the manufacture and sale of forged government identity documents. The indictment charges that reputed Vatos Locos members Esteban Chaves, 32, who reportedly has fled to Mexico City, and Maricruz Chavez, 30, of 41-30 Hampton Street in Jackson Heights, were the “bosses” of the criminal enterprise who managed the operation, settled disputes between other members of the conspiracy, ordered the supplies needed for the making of the fraudulent documents, collected and distributed the cash proceeds of the operation and had ultimate authority over its illegal business.

The indictment further charges that Odilon Mendez, 24, of 85-21 56th Avenue in Corona, worked as a “cutter” at the mill where he manufactured the fraudulent documents. Among his alleged duties were typing numbers, dates of birth, and names onto the bogus identity documents, as well as placing any photographs that needed to be placed on the documents.

The indictment also charges that Hugo Merlin, 29, of 104-02 51st Avenue in Corona, David Merlin, 23, of 44-47 69th Street in Woodside, and Orlando Hernandez, 29, of 37-51 79th Street in Jackson Heights were among the “runners” employed by the enterprise and that they routinely transported the information that the buyers gave the street sellers back to the mill where the documents were made. Once the orders were completed, the runners would then deliver the forged documents back to the sellers so that the deals could be completed.

The indictment charges additionally that Remigio Diaz, 36, of 104-18 42nd Avenue in Corona, Javier Ramirez, 40, of 43-15 Judge Street in Jackson Heights, Alma Zavaleta, 28, of 36-09 32nd Street in Astoria, Ramon Paz, 32, of 31-30 68th Street in Jackson Heights, and Enrique Gonzales, 23, of 85-94 Parsons Boulevard in Jamaica worked as “sellers” and dealt directly with buyers. It is alleged that each seller performed a variety of duties, including gathering personal information to be used in the manufacture of the fraudulent documents, giving the information to the runners and then completing the deal by giving the finished documents to the buyers in exchange for cash.

Other indictments also unsealed over the past two days allege that between February 10, 2005 and October 10, 2005, Oswaldo Lopez, 25, of 41-33 Forley Street in Jackson Heights, worked as a runner and Monica Gavito, 34, of 50-65 41st Street in Woodside, Jorge Aguilar, 43, of 91-03 32nd Avenue in Corona, Salvador Perez, 28, of 32-02 83rd Street in Jackson Heights, Victor Martinez, 30, of 42-22 Elbertson Street in Corona, and Jesus Sanchez, 33, of 38-11 104th Street in Corona, worked as sellers for the enterprise.

All of the defendants, with the exception of Laisam Ng, 56, of 235 West 103rd Street in Manhattan, were arraigned on December 5, 2005 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter and have been variously charged with Enterprise Corruption, a Class B felony punishable by a minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years in prison; Forgery in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of Forgery Devices, which are all Class D felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison; and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Justice Buchter ordered the defendants, all illegal aliens, held without bail. The defendant Ng was arraigned yesterday before Justice Buchter on charges of Enterprise Corruption, Forgery in the Second Degree and Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree. Bail was set at $175,000.

District Attorney Brown expressed his appreciation to Special Agent John Perez and Assistant Special Agent in Charge John Grasso of the United States Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General; Senior Investigator Mark Beharry and Supervising Investigator Robert Ashford, of the Field Investigation Division of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles; and his own Detective Bureau, under the supervision of Lawrence J. Festa, Chief Investigator, and Albert D. Velardi, Deputy Chief Investigator, for the assistance that they provided during the investigation.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Rafael Ramos of the New York City Police Department’s Queens Gang Squad under the supervision of Captain Kevin Catalina and the overall supervision of Inspector Thomas Galati.

Assistant District Attorney Purvi Patel of the District Attorney’s Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Christina Hanophy, Chief of the District Attorney’s Airport Investigation and Counter-Terrorism Unit, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, Bureau Chief of the Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau, and Marc P. Resnick, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Operations and Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Michael J. Mansfield, Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that indictments are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

ADDENDUM

The following 12 defendants have been charged with Enterprise Corruption, Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree and multiple counts of Forgery in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of Forgery Devices.

Esteban Chaves (a.k.a. Carandache, a.k.a. Tio), 32, of Mexico. (Fugitive)
Maricruz Chavez (a.k.a. Manicruz, a.k.a. Tia), 30, of 41-30 Hampton Street, Jackson Heights, Queens.
Odilon Mendez (a.k.a. El Gordo), 24, of 85-21 56th Avenue, Corona, Queens.
Hugo Merlin (a.k.a. Costeno) 29, of 104-02 51st Avenue, Corona, Queens.
David Merlin, 23, of 44-47 69th Street, Woodside, Queens.
Orlando Hernandez (a.k.a. Botas, a.k.a. Jefe), 29, of 37-51 79th Street, Jackson Heights, New York.
Remigio Diaz (a.k.a. Giyo), 36, of 104-18 42nd Avenue, Corona, Queens.
Javier Ramirez (a.k.a. Compadrito, a.k.a. Compadre), 40, of 43-15 Judge Street, Jackson Heights, Queens.
Laisam Ng (a.k.a. Sophie, a.k.a. Jenny), 56, of 235 West 103rd Street in Manhattan.
Alma Zavaleta (a.k.a. Alma Saobaleta), 28, 36-09 32nd Street, Astoria, Queens
Ramon Paz (a.k.a. Chovi), 32, of 31-30 68th Street, Jackson Heights, Queens.
Enrique Gonzalez (a.k.a. Tatay), 23 of 85-94 Parsons Boulevard, Jamaica, Queens.

The following 6 defendants have been charged with Conspiracy in the Fifth Degree and multiple counts of Forgery in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree.

Oswaldo Lopez (a.k.a. El Irlandes), 25, of 41-33 Forley Street, Jackson Heights, Queens.
Monica Gavito (a.k.a. Machitos), 34, of 50-65 41st Street, Woodside, Queens.
Jorge Aguilar (a.k.a. Pulques), 43, of 91-03 32nd Avenue, Corona, Queens.
Salvador Perez (a.k.a. El Stupido, a.k.a. Lagrimas), 28, of 32-02 83rd Street, Jackson Heights, Queens.
Victor Martinez (a.k.a. Cacheton), 30, of 42-22 Elbertson Street, Corona, New York.
Jesus Sanchez, 33, of 38-11 104th Street, Corona, Queens.
Three additional defendants are presently being sought.