Illegal immigrant became a cop in Alaska

For quite a few years, the man who was known as Rafael Espinoza was widely respected as an exemplary police officer who was popular among his peers in Alaska’s largest city. But all of this came to an end when authorities discovered he was really Mexican national Rafael Mora-Lopez, who was in the U.S. illegally and stole another man’s identity, officials charged.

“His reputation here is one of a hard-working officer, one who was very professional,” Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew said Friday at a news conference announcing Mora-Lopez’s arrest. “The problem, obviously, is he is not Rafael Espinoza.” Fox News

Mora-Lopez soon appeared in U.S. District Court in Anchorage and pleaded not guilty to a charge of passport fraud, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence. At his arraignment, Mora-Lopez told a federal magistrate he is 47, even though officials listed his age as 51. What stemmed the question about his identity, was that Federal agents were processing a renewal request for his passport, when the fraud was discovered. He was arrested Thursday after authorities searched his home and found documents confirming his true identity.

Since 2005, Mora-Lopez had been employed as an Anchorage police officer. The real Rafael Espinoza is a U.S. citizen who lives outside Alaska. Authorities released limited details, saying the case was still unfolding. The department conducted a pre-employment criminal background check on Mora-Lopez and he also passed a polygraph test. A national fingerprint check also turned up empty. At the moment, no charges have been filed, as the case is still under investigation.

Bond has been ste at $50,000 and ordered Mora-Lopez to home-confinement and electronic monitoring. His defense attorney told the magistrate that Mora-Lopez has a wife and child in Alaska and has close ties to Anchorage, where he has lived since the late 1980s. Fox News

The passport fraud case is similar to one involving a Mexican national who took the identity of a dead cousin who was a U.S. citizen in order to become a Milwaukee police officer. Oscar Ayala-Cornejo was deported to Mexico in 2007.