AUGUSTA (NEWS CENTER) -- A criminal case in Bangor involving an illegal immigrant has brought attention to one reason why state lawmakers want to change driver's license requirements. Police arrested Niall Clark in October 2006 after he robbed a Bank of American branch in Bangor. Clark is from Ireland. He arrived in Maine first in April 2006 to take a drivers test and obtain a driver's license.
It was six months later, in October, when his visa had expired that he bought a gun using that driver's license. He then robbed the bank.
Clark learned how he could get a license in Maine through the Bureau of Motor Vehicle's Director of Licensing Services Robert O'Connell. Court documents show that O'Connell and Clark met in a bar on St. Patrick's Day 2006. They exchanged several e-mails and the documents show that O'Connell told investigators that he thought Clark was in the country illegally, but he did not do anything wrong.
O'Connell is not facing any charges. But, upon learning about this case, Governor John Baldacci (D-Maine) said he wants to learn more.
"I don't know enough about it," he said. "It doesn't sound very good. It sounds like someone should be investigating this person in charge of licensing and what process they used. Whether they followed personnel procedures in dealing with people. Doesn't sound right, exchanging information in a bar. But I don't all the facts, but I'd certainly want to look into it."
Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said this type of thing happens frequently. "People ask us for help all the time and we try and help them," Dunlap said. "In that particular case, that's exactly what we were trying to do. And sure, the documents are going to stand on their own. The action that our bureau took when Niall Clark was trying to find a way to get a driver's license, he had no criminal history, he was a student, he asked us for help and we gave it to him. Nobody had any idea what was going to transpire after that."
Dunlap said this case is one reason why Maine needs to change its driver's license requirements. The legislature's transportation committee is currently taking up LD 812, which would require residency in order to get a license. Currently, you don't have to be a resident to get a Maine driver's license. Dunlap said by making this change, the majority of problems would go away.
"When you talk about the immigration issue, which is what steers the lawful presence debate, my law enforcement people tell me the residency requirement as we discussed it would probably handle about 98 or 99 percent of the issue," he said. "So it wasn't really pressing for us, within the working group, to make that a more broader discussion at the time, but it's something that should probably be discussed further on down the road."
The reason why there's no citizen requirement is Dunlap said immigration is a federal issue and he does not want BMV employees to be immigration officers. He said the government also does not provide a set of documents that are acceptable.
Governor Baldacci said as this bill moves forward, he wants everything, even citizenship, to be considered. "I think we got to look at all these things," he said. "I think it's important for us to make sure that we're blending into the region. That we have the same procedures and security and apparatuses as we do with law enforcement."
He wants the state to consider Enhanced Identification, which is similar to Real ID. He said a tightening of requirements is needed.
LD 812 came after U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby revealed that her office was investigating several cases where people were transporting illegal immigrants to Maine to get driver's licenses. Her office prosecuted two men who each had three people who were coming to get licenses.
When they came to Maine, the first stop they'd make is the Social Security Office where they would get a paper that said the office could not process an application for a Social Security number. That paper would pass at the BMV for showing they were ineligible for such a number. Under protocol, if someone can show they are ineligible for a Social Security number, BMV workers enter 999-99-9999 in order to still process the application.
Secretary Dunlap said Wednesday that BMV workers no longer accept these papers. He said that the Social Security office is now printing on those papers that it is not proof of ineligibility. Therefore, he said that part of the process is curtailed.
In another development authorities are looking at internal issues in that the suspect reportedly obtained his Maine driver's license with the help of a high-ranking state official.
Niall Clark will be sentenced next month for robbing a bank in Bangor in October 2006. Clark is from Ireland and used a Maine driver's license to buy the gun he used in the robbery. When he obtained the license in early April 2006, he was in the country legally, but his visa expired at the end of that month.
Bureau of Motor Vehicles Director of Licensing Robert O'Connell helped Clark get his driver's license. There are no criminal charges filed and O'Connell told investigators although he thought Clark was in the country illegally, he did nothing wrong.
Attorney General Steven Rowe has reffered the case to the state's Human Resources Department to decide whether the investigation should be done internally or independently.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops