“Charlie,” “Angel” and a Post reporter await the delivery of fake IDs on a street corner in Jackson Heights, where officials believe at least 10 identity-card forgery mills operate.(nypost.com)
It’s a passport to trouble — and it can be bought for just $260 on the streets of Jackson Heights, Queens.
In just one hour, The Post was able to buy a phony green card, Social Security card and New York state driver’s license from a stranger on a corner — all of which could serve as a gateway to obtain legitimate IDs.
The cards are frighteningly real — convincing enough to fool creditors, potential employers and security at buildings and even the airport.
Experts said the biggest fear is that these IDs are being bought by people who slipped past border crossings.
“You get that legitimate ID, and this one goes away,” said John Cutter, retired NYPD deputy chief of the Intelligence Division, as he tossed the fake Social Security card in the air.
“The next thing you know, you’re legit even though you never came across the border legally, nobody really knows who you are, you’ve never paid taxes, but now you’re a legitimate citizen, and now you start your history.
“That’s the scary part, because, let’s face it, people working in government agencies aren’t always cognizant of the security risks of these things,” said Cutter, who runs a private security company.
On Roosevelt Avenue, known to investigators as the “East Coast epicenter” for fake IDs, officials believe 10 mills operate between 103rd and 76th streets.
In 2007, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown netted one of the gang-related groups. It was raking in more than $1 million annually selling the bogus cards on the streets. Investigators found that while most of the ring’s buyers were illegal immigrants, a handful were criminals involved in identity theft.
Five years later, the illegal industry continues to thrive and sellers on the street avoid the watchful eyes of patrol cops and surveillance cameras.
担心没护照？只要花上260美元，你就能在纽约皇后区的繁华商业街杰克逊高地买到假证。
仅用一个小时，《纽约邮报》的记者就从角落里的一个陌生人手中买到了假绿卡、社会安全卡与纽约州驾照，拥有了这些，你就可以获得合法身份证明了。
这些证件足以以假乱真，足以骗过债主、未来雇主、楼宇甚至机场的安保人员。
专家表示，最担心的是这些身份证明被卖给了非法入境的人们。
已经退休的纽约市警察局情报处副处长约翰•卡特尔撕掉假的社会安全卡扔向空中，说：“你得到了合法的身份证明之后，就不需要它了。”
“之后，即便你是非法入境，你的身份也合法了，没人真正知道你是谁，你从没有缴过税，但你现在已经是合法公民，开始了你以合法身份在美国生活的历史。”
卡特尔说：“这正是恐怖之处，因为，事实上，政府工作人员不总能意识到这类事情的安全风险。”卡特尔开了一家私人安全公司。
在被调查人员称为假证“东海岸中心”罗斯福大街，政府官员认为在103号大街和76号大街之间有十个假证团伙。
在2007年，皇后区地方检察官理查德•布朗抓获了一个办假证团伙，他们在大街上出售假证的年收入可超过100万美元。调查人员发现，尽管该团伙的大部分买家是非法移民，仍有一部分人是参与身份盗用的罪犯。
五年后，这一非法产业仍然非常猖獗，大街上的卖家躲开巡警的犀利目光和摄像头监控出售假证。
phony: 假冒的，欺骗的
cognizant: 知道的，已认知的
rake in: 迅速取得，大量敛财