Illegal Immigrant Worked for Six Years as a Cop

Officer Rafael Espinoza of the Anchorage Police Department was arrested and fired from his job in late April when it was discovered that he was actually a Mexican national, Rafael Mora-Lopez, 47. The true Rafael Espinoza, who has dual citizenship, lives outside of the U.S. and recently applied for a passport around the same time the officer using his name applied for a passport renewal under the same identity.

According to Anchorage Police Chief Mark mew, Mora-Lopez was hired in 2005 after passing all of the department’s background checks, including a polygraph test and a national fingerprint check. Since then he’s been a good employee, according to the police chief. Mora-Lopez pleaded not-guilty on the count of passport fraud. His trial is set to begin June 27, 2011. If convicted, Mora-Lopez faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.