Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, a security supervisor Newark Liberty Airport has been arrested and charged with identity theft.
Mr. Oyewole,54, from Nigeria assumed the identity of Jerry Thomas, few weeks before the petty criminal was shot outside a Queens, New York, YMCA in July 1992.
Investigators are however saying that the Nigerian who orchestrated a 20-year odyssey of deception cannot be linked to the death of the original Jerry Thomas, stressing they found no indication that he used the fake identity for any reason other than to live in the United States.
Oyewole entered the United States illegally in 1989 and had worked under several contractors at the airport, most recently FJC Security Services, and supervised about 30 guards.
Authorities were alerted to Oyewole’s alleged double life when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s inspector general’s office in Hoboken received an anonymous letter, the officials said. The letter described Oyewole’s using additional names, though those weren’t divulged Tuesday.
If convicted Mr. Oyewole can spend up to a maximum of 10 years in jail.