selling indentification documents to undocumented immigrants

Tennessee driver's license employee charged with accepting bribes | The Tennessean | tennessean.com:

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“The state’s driver service center employees are on the front lines of homeland security,” Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons said in a statement.

“We must not let Tennessee driver licenses be issued to individuals who are not entitled to them. When we became aware of possible criminal activity involving this individual, we launched an immediate investigation and turned the case over to federal officials. Any action that places driver licenses in the hands of the wrong people will not be tolerated by this department.”

A Tennessee driver’s license examiner faces federal charges for issuing licenses to unqualified applicants in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes, authorities said today.

A federal criminal complaint was filed Wednesday against Larry Murphy, 54, of Antioch, who served as a state Department of Safety supervising driver license examiner on Hart Lane in Nashville.

He was arrested and released on his own recognizance. His attorney, Craig Fickling of Cookeville, declined comment this morning.

According to the complaint, Murphy issued licenses to undercover FBI agents in exchange for cash payments ranging from $850 for a regular license to as much as $3,500 for a commercial driver’s license.

“These allegations pose two serious problems facing our nation — public corruption and public safety,” U.S. Attorney Jerry E. Martin said in a statement.

The charges are the result of a five-month joint investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.

Authorities were led to Murphy as part of an investigation of a person suspected of selling indentification documents to undocumented immigrants. The person, known as Castillo in the criminal complaint, passed money to Murphy over the counter at the Hart Lane facility, according to the complaint.

In one instance, according to the complaint, an undercover FBI employee sought a commerical license, which requires additional written exams and a certification from a doctor that an applicant is physically capable of driving large vehicles.

When the undercover employee told Murphy he did not have a Social Security number, Murphy simply made up a number and entered it on the application, according to the complaint. Murphy also created the medical certificiation by altering information provided by another applicant, according to the complaint.

The undercover employee paid Castillo $3,500 for the commercial license, and the FBI saw Castillo pass money to Murphy, according to the complaint.