Alaska cop in stolen ID case worked as bus driver

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A police officer in Alaska accused of being an illegal immigrant using a stolen identity previously worked as a bus driver and had an excellent driving record.

The driver known as Rafael Espinoza left his job as an Anchorage city bus driver in 2005 to become a police officer in the same city.

Authorities say the officer’s real name is Rafael Mora-Lopez, a discovery they say they made after he applied for a passport renewal and so did the real Rafael Espinoza. That man has dual citizenship and lives outside of the U.S.

Mora-Lopez was arrested last week and is charged with federal passport fraud. He is out on bail and has declined to comment.

Anchorage’s public transportation director Lance Wilber says he passed a criminal background check.