A Nigerian illegal immigrant admitted to using a murdered man's identity while working as a security supervisor at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
Bimbo Oyewole, of Elizabeth, N.J., faces possible deportation after pleading guilty to using a fake security badge to work at the airport. He has been charged with identity theft when he was arrested in May, but he reached a plea bargain.
Under the plea bargain, prosecutors will seek probation when he is sentenced to jail on Oct. 19, but he may face up to 10 years in prison for ID theft.
Oyewole, 54, also admitted to being in the country illegally since his student visa from 1989 expired. He took on the identity of Jerry Thomas, a man who was shot dead outside of a YMCA in Queens in 1992.
However authorities say that Oyewole started using Thomas' identity weeks before he died. Thomas sold his documents, including a social security card and birth certificate, to a Nigerian cab driver, who sold them to Oyewole. Oyewole is not tied to the death of Thomas.
When Oyewole applied for the job at the airport, he presented Thomas' documents to officials. When he was hired, he received ID cards under Thomas' name.
Oyewole worked for a contractor that staffs access gates at the airport. He was in charge of 30 guards and had access to secure areas of the airport.
Aside from this incident, Oyewole had a clean record. It is not clear if he will be deported.
After his arrest, Oyewole's bail was set at $250,000 because investigators believe he may also have other identities.
"We simply do not know who this gentleman is," Deputy Attorney General Vincent Militello told the New York Post.
Port Authority officials were tipped off by an anonymous letter suggesting than Oyewole had used multiple identities over the years.
This case reveals a possible problem with employee screening at Newark Liberty International, which is one of the busiest airports in the country.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
