Sea-Tac workers plead to immigration violation

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Two men who had top security clearances at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor immigration violations.

Koffi Justin N’Goran, 34, of the Ivory Coast and Clemente Ortiz-Alvarez, 52, of Mexico had each been charged with one felony count of falsely stating they were permanent residents and one misdemeanor count of failing to register with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

But prosecutors dropped the felony charges when the two pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor in federal court.

Their attorney, Antonio Salazar, said U.S. marshals released the men shortly after they entered their pleas.

"I think it was a fair resolution, because they were in violation of the law," Salazar said.

The men no longer work for the airport; neither has been accused of having terrorist connections. They were among 20 Sea-Tac employees arrested last month as part of "Operation Tarmac," an effort the INS launched after Sept. 11 to tighten security at airports nationwide.

None of those arrested was found to have ties to terrorism. Most were referred for deportation proceedings.

N’Goran and Ortiz-Alvarez each passed FBI background checks and were given "blue badges," the highest of three security clearances at the airport. In complaints filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, prosecutors said those badges gave them unfettered access to commercial jets.

"This shows how absolutely accessible these security clearances are," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Reno, a prosecutor handling the case. "Osama bin Laden could have applied for a fueler job and be fueling your plane."

But airport spokesman Bob Parker countered that security badges are only issued for areas in which employees need to work.

"The idea the blue badge means supersecure access is not necessarily the case," Parker said.

About 18,000 out of 22,000 employees at Sea-Tac airport hold color-coded security badges giving them access to various parts of the airport, planes and tarmac.

"Two out of 18,000 is an infinitesimal percentage," Parker said. "The system is working the overwhelming majority of the time."

Ortiz-Alvarez was hired as a food-service worker for LSG Sky Chefs in December 2000. The company provides food and beverage services for most major carriers at the airport.

N’Goran was hired last July as a fueler at Aircraft Service International Group, which provides fueling services for most of Sea-Tac’s major airlines.

They passed FBI checks because they did not have convictions for any of about 35 crimes that would have excluded them from the jobs, INS spokesman Garrison Courtney said. At the time they were checked, FBI computers were not linked to those in the INS, which would have showed both were in the country illegally. The two agencies’ computer systems were linked after Sept. 11, Courtney said.

The two companies that hired them and the Port of Seattle, which oversees operations at the airport, followed proper procedures, Courtney said.

In charging papers, an INS agent said Ortiz-Alvarez presented a counterfeit Alien Registration Receipt card to support his employment application. It wasn’t clear what type of identification N’Goran offered.

"It’s not the hardest thing in the world for these people to get jobs," Salazar said. "Sometimes employers will overlook these things because they need them. It’s a matter of supply and demand that creates these situations."

Ortiz-Alvarez has agreed to leave the country within four months, Salazar said, and N’Goran is seeking asylum in the United States on grounds that he faces persecution if he returns to the Ivory Coast.