N.Y. Crackdown on Fake IDs Nets 225 Arrests

NEW YORK — In a state crackdown on people selling fake identification documents, more than 200 people have been arrested since February, many of them on New York City streets, authorities said Thursday.

Gov. George Pataki’s Fraudulent Identification Task Force shut down six fake ID mills and seized more than 2,000 forged documents, the governor said.

The coalition of local, state and federal agencies was created to target the manufacture, sale and distribution of illegal passports, driver licenses and other IDs.

Of the 225 people who have been arrested since the group began operating in February, more than 140 have been convicted.

“We cannot, in this new era where we have people who are out there trying to actively harm us, [allow] ... false identification or two identities,” Pataki said.

“It just shows how at risk we are.”