The Boston Globe
CUMBERLAND, Rhode Island -- Patricia Skurka knows every street in this town. And she knew the address a couple had written on their marriage application did not exist.
Standing at an employee's desk one day in early 2005, Skurka, the Cumberland town clerk, sensed this was not an innocent mistake. Something was amiss. And maybe it went beyond this one couple.
Skurka ordered her staff to bring her all the applications filed for the year. They found 35 others listing phony addresses.
Then they noticed other things. Couples who showed up seeking marriage licenses sometimes could barely understand each other. The duos always consisted of a US citizen and an immigrant. And they could not say where and when they were getting married.
The eagle-eyed municipal servants had stumbled upon a criminal scheme, in which US citizens were being paid to marry illegal immigrants from Brazil and Africa, giving them legal status.
Posted by tyne at December 4, 2006