Possible Williams probe could provide many turns
Posted on Thursday, November 22, 2007
Any investigation of Ken Williams’ use of a dead man’s identity would include a check of whether federal and state laws dealing with fraud, taxes and election documents were violated, officials said Wednesday.
Williams, whose real name is Don LaRose, resigned Wednesday as mayor of Centeron after acknowledging he’d been living under an assumed name for decades.
Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone said his office will likely investigate whether Williams violated state law.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no law enforcement agency had told Stone’s office it was investigating, and no complaint had been made.
Stone’s office, however, can initiate an investigation of its own, he said.
“I anticipate there will be an investigation, one way or the other,” he said.
Speaking generally, Stone said such an investigation would look at whether laws against identity fraud and criminal impersonation apply.
Those laws, however, typically require some purpose to harm or defraud.
Stone said such an investigation could look at whether Williams broke the law in providing information on election documents.
“This type of investigation could be wide-ranging, it could lead down many avenues,” he said.
Arkansas State Police Sgt. Bill Roten, who is not investigating Williams or familiar with the situation, said pretending to be someone isn’t automatically a crime.
Hollywood actors do it all the time, he said.
“If you want to say your name is Daisy Duck, you can,” said Roten, who is the criminal investigation division commander at Troop L in Springdale. “I’m not aware of it being a crime simply to be living under a false name, barring that it’s not done to perpetrate fraud against someone else.”
At the federal level, fraudulent use of a Social Security number is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, said Debbie Groom, spokesman for the U. S. attorney’s office in Fort Smith.
It also can be a crime to use a bogus Social Security number to file income taxes or to use a stolen Social Security number to obtain a job or to get a loan.
“There’s more than one potential avenue for this type of investigation,” Groom said, speaking generally. “If we were to investigate, the first thing we’d look at is fraudulent use of a Social Security number,” she said. “That would be the simplest place to start.” Groom wouldn’t confirm or deny if Williams is under investigation, which is the office’s policy in all matters.
As for election fraud, the only document a candidate must fill out and file with the county clerk is a political practice pledge.
Tim Humphries, general counsel for the Arkansas secretary of state, said the only crime pertaining to fraud on a political practice pledge is failing to disclose being a convicted felon.
Mary Lou Slinkard, Benton County clerk, said the political practice pledge doesn’t require a candidate to give a Social Security number.
When Williams filed his voter registration with the county clerk in 1984, a Social Security number wasn’t required. His registration showed him as B. Ken Williams whose birthday is July 26, 1938, and birthplace New York, Slinkard said.
Since then, the county clerk’s records have become linked to the secretary of state’s office and Department of Finance and Administration’s office of motor vehicles.
A check of that database Wednesday by Slinkard showed the last four digits of a Social Security number associated with Williams ’ name and data.
The check by Slinkard didn ’ t indicate under what circumstances Williams gave the information, but it could have been while applying for a driver’s license, she said.
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