While harried employees didn't think much about the onslaught, some couldn't help but notice that a few of their co-workers had begun sporting wildly expensive designer purses and were driving cars - BMW and Infiniti SUVs - that seemed to far exceed the stretch of their modest paychecks.
The two seemingly unrelated events were tied together late last month when a multi-agency task force arrested five license examiners for accepting bribes to issue driving permits to hundreds, if not thousands, of immigrants who otherwise couldn't get them because they were in the country illegally. While the investigation is ongoing, the five are believed to be part of a larger ring, said Elizabeth Parker, a chief assistant state attorney who headed the task force.
"It was insane what was going on," she said. "They were bringing van loads of people from all over South Florida. It was so blatant."
While the exact number of licenses issued is unknown, as many as 40 were issued daily during the scheme that had been operating for more than a year.
Armed with counterfeit immigration documents often handed to them in the parking lot of the office on Military Trail, they were directed to one of the five license examiners. Few took the mandatory written exam, much less the driving test. For fees ranging from $500 to $2,500 for the documents and the special treatment, they walked away with valid licenses.
Some of the predominantly Haitian, Guatemalan and Mexican immigrants probably just wanted licenses so they could stay in the country, get a job, open a bank account and not live in fear that a simple traffic stop would land them in jail with the next stop their home country, Parker said. Others may have wanted them to snare lucrative jobs as drug mules, she said. With a valid license, they wouldn't have to worry that if stopped with illicit cargo, their cars would be searched.
So far, she said, there is no evidence that the scheme was linked to terrorist activity. But, she said, with so many driver's licenses issued to fake names, the prospect worries her...
He said he has no idea how the five examiners were able to get away with the scam for so long. With 19 examiners, the office is the second-busiest in the county, processing an average of 408 customers a day compared to 470 at the West Palm Beach office, he said...
In the wake of the arrests, he said the agency is reviewing its operations in hopes of plugging gaps. Further, he said, the agency plans to increase the presence of Florida Highway Patrol troopers at drivers license bureaus.
Once the examiners were arrested, the agency acted quickly, he said. All of the women, one of whom had worked for the agency for 12 years, were fired immediately.
It is not the first time license examiners have been arrested for bribery. In 2001, seven who worked at offices in Miami-Dade County were arrested as part of a similar scam. In 2005, three were arrested as part of a license-selling operation in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
More people could be arrested before the current investigation is closed, Parker said.
