Stolen DMV equipment recovered

David Kihara

Friday, June 3, 2005 | 10:54 a.m.

Authorities on Wednesday recovered the equipment stolen from a North Las Vegas branch of Department of Motor Vehicles, including a computer hard drive containing almost 9,000 residents' personal information and blank driver's licenses, officials said Thursday.

The authorities, however, have not yet arrested any suspects in the March 7 break-in of the DMV office at 4110 Donovan Way.

"We're elated," said Tom Jacobs, DMV spokesman in Carson City.

Jacobs said that all equipment from the burglary was recovered after Metro Police received an anonymous tip. The caller reported there was "contraband" in a building under construction at the northwest corner of Industrial Road and Warm Springs Road, he said.

The equipment recovered includes the computer that had personal information such as driver's license numbers and Social Security numbers for 8,738 people, the printer and camera used to make the licenses, the electronic signature pad used to sign a driver's license and the laminates with the state hologram, he said.

"It appears that no fake ID's have been made from this," he said.

Greg Marchio, special agent in charge of the Secret Service in Las Vegas, said the personal information did not appear to be compromised.

He said the authorities have been monitoring the accounts and records of these individuals since authorities discovered in March that the personal information was left on the computer, and "we would have known about it" if it had been used illegally.

"As a result of our investigation, it may have compelled the people who took the (stolen goods) that it might not have been the best idea and they decided to get rid of it," Marchio said.

Paul Masto, assistant special agent in charge, said authorities are currently performing physical forensics on the recovered goods for fingerprints and other evidence.

The authorities are also performing forensics on the stolen computer and hard drive to see if any personal information had been compromised, Masto said.

The forensics examinations will be conducted by the local Southwest Identity Fraud Task Force (SWIFT), made up of the Secret Service, Metro Police, Henderson Police, the DMV's Fraud Unit and the U.S. attorney's office.

Marchio said the forensics work could be completed in five to 10 days.

Although no suspects have been arrested, the authorities have given polygraph tests to individuals regarding the DMV burglary, Masto said.

"Officially, the case is ongoing," Masto said.

According to Jacobs, Metro received a tip on Wednesday that some contraband -- likely drugs -- was at the building under construction. When police arrived, they found a box on the rooftop containing the stolen equipment.

"It was all boxed up and waiting for the police," Jacobs said.

Jacobs, like the Secret Service, suspected that the stolen goods were "too hot to handle and they (the burglars) just wanted to get rid of it."

The DMV office was burglarized on March 7 about 1:30 a.m. The burglars drove a vehicle through the rear window of the building to gain access.

The DMV originally stated that no personal information was left on the hard drive of the computer that was stolen but later said that anyone who had been issued a driver's license at that branch from Nov.25, 2004,to March 4 could have information compromised.