http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Mystery+man+in+DMV+case+gets+jail+time&articleId=44a35781-5499-4b72-b0a7-882c8fddbbbeBRENTWOOD – A man whose true identity remains a mystery to prosecutors has been sentenced to a year in jail after being convicted of paying thousands of dollars to obtain a fraudulent New Hampshire driver's license.
A guilty plea by the man, who goes by the alias Nelson Audino Carrasquillo, 30, marks the third conviction related to the state Department of Motor Vehicle bribery case, which has so far netted more than a dozen of arrests on state and federal charges.
Carrasquillo pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery in official and political matters.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said Carrasquillo, who obtained a license saying he lived in Manchester, is among the estimated hundreds of people with bogus driver's licenses that the state is trying to track down .
A large share of the people came from Massachusetts and got licenses to dodge law enforcement or engage in crimes such as drug dealing, according to court papers filed by the state.
"It's probably one of the largest corruption schemes we have seen," Young said.
Today, prosecutors expect one of the main players in the scheme that allegedly recruited customers and took a cut of the illegal proceeds to plead guilty to bribery-related charges.
Angie Paola Patrone, 30, Lawrence, Mass., is expected to make her guilty plea, two months after being indicted on six counts of conspiracy to commit bribery in official and political matters.
Carrasquillo faced a charge that carries a potential 3 1/2 to 7 year prison sentence. He waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the felony charge as part of a plea agreement with the state.
Defense lawyer Donald Blaszka argued that his client should only serve six months in jail because there was no proof tying him to being involved in other illegal activity.
"His intention was not to commit crimes," Blaszka said. "His intention was to get a job."
Blaszka said his client's real name was Arturo Montoban, but prosecutors said they were unable to find any record to confirm that.
"We have no way to document his true identity," Young told the judge. "We can't find a record in that name. We can't tell you in confidence if he has another identity. We can't tell you if he has a criminal record."
Young asked Judge Tina Nadeau to sentence Carrasquillo to a full year in jail to send a message to those coming into New Hampshire to buy bogus identification.
"We were easy picking," Young said. "They knew we didn't have facial recognition (software) in New Hampshire."
After getting a driver's license with a new alias, "they could go back to do their business whether it was legitimate or criminal," Young said.
Carrasquillo, through an interpreter, admitted to buying the license from former DMV clerk Donna Rockholt, who pleaded guilty last month to felony bribery, theft and drug charges.
Rockholt is expected to serve 12 years in state prison and testify as a state witness against her codefendants as part of a plea deal she struck with the Attorney General's Office.
Carrasquillo bought his license from Rockholt on Jan. 29, 2010. He will likely face deportation to the Dominican Republic after his county jail sentence, Young said.
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