Crackdown at Salt Lake City airport
[link|http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/12/11/saltlake.arrests/index.html|They lied on their job applications]
Excerpt:
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CNN) -- Just two months before the 2002 Winter Olympics open here, 69 workers at the Salt Lake City Airport were indicted Tuesday on charges of lying to their employers about their immigration status or criminal background and providing false Social Security numbers on their applications for security badges.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said arrest warrants were issued for all the suspects and they were being picked up by authorities as part of what was dubbed "Operation Safe Travel."
"These are people who have misrepresented who they are. Through their use of false information and altered or counterfeit documents, they were able to obtain security badges that put them one-swipe away from access to the most secure areas of the airport," said U.S. Attorney Paul Warner.
"While there is no evidence that anyone indicted as part of Operation Safe Travel has attempted any kind of terrorist activity at the airport or that the airport is anything less than completely safe, in today's environment we are not going to wait around for something to happen," said Warner.
All but eight of those charged had top security clearance. Most of the suspects were Hispanic, mainly Mexican nationals, a spokeswoman for Warner said.
The employees work for private companies contracted to operate such services as airport screening, catering, refueling, cleaning and aircraft maintenance and airport construction.
