| TRENTON - Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that a Nigerian man who came to the U.S. in 1989 and assumed the identity of a murder victim to remain in the country illegally was sentenced today for using a fraudulent security clearance ID to work as a supervisor for a private firm that provides security services at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Bimbo Peter Oyewole, 54, of Elizabeth, was sentenced to one year of probation by Superior Court Judge Peter V. Ryan in Essex County. Oyewole pleaded guilty on Sept. 7 to exhibiting a false government document, a third-degree offense. He admitted he used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a man named Jerry E. Thomas, who was murdered in Queens, N.Y., in 1992, to obtain an airport security ID card, called a Secure Identification Display Area Card. Oyewole used the SIDA card as a supervisor for FJC Security Services, a private firm contracted to provide security services at Newark Liberty International Airport. Oyewole was required to forfeit his position at the airport. He was held in the Essex County Jail after his arrest on May 14 until his guilty plea, and was subsequently held on a detainer filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He faces potential deportation.
Deputy Attorneys General Vincent J. Militello and Veronica Allende prosecuted the case for the Division of Criminal Justice Corruption Bureau. Oyewole was charged as a result of an investigation by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Office of Inspector General and the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. They were assisted by the New Jersey State Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the New York City Police Department. DAG Militello led the investigation for the Division of Criminal Justice, with assistance from DAG Allende and Detective Janine Ponnwitz. Police Investigators Frank Vallone and John Tucci conducted the investigation for the Office of Investigations of the Port Authority Office of Inspector General. Detective Sgt. John Granato and Detective John Gorman investigated for the New Jersey State Police Security Officer Registration Act Unit.
Oyewole entered the U.S. in January 1989 on a temporary work visa. He began using Thomas’ identity, including his birth certificate and Social Security card, several weeks before Thomas was murdered on July 20, 1992. Thomas was shot outside a YMCA in Queens where he was staying. Oyewole used his identity to obtain a New Jersey driver’s license and high school equivalency diploma. He used Thomas’ identity to hold security positions at Newark Liberty International Airport under several private contractors.
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