GOP Leaders Host Town Hall on Identity Theft

Assembly GOP Leader McCarthy and Runners Host Town Hall

Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) joined State Senator George Runner and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, both Lancaster Republicans, in co-hosting a Town Hall Meeting on Identity Theft that drew a full house of concerned citizens Friday morning to Lancaster City Hall.

Assemblywoman Runner introduced a panel of local, state and federal experts, including Charlene Zettel, Director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, who told the audience that awareness and knowledge are the first lines of defense against being victimized by identity thieves. Zettel urged the audience to share with their families, friends and neighbors the know-how they gained in the two-hour session.

We're not just fighting criminals face-to-face anymore, we must wage war against the faceless criminals who prey on our financial security,” Assembly Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, of Bakersfield told the audience. “We're committed to ensuring that citizens have the tools they need to secure themselves from these types of dangers.”

Panelists presenting information from law enforcement included: Capt. Carl Deely, commander of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station; Detective Key Budge, I.D. theft specialist assigned to the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station; Detective Bob Benoit, member of the I.D. Theft Unit for the North Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, and U.S. Postal Service Inspector Paul Huddleston.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Evans, who regularly prosecutes identity theft cases in the Antelope Valley Superior Courthouse, told the audience a long term solution to identity theft is tougher sentencing of persons convicted of preying on the lives of citizens. He said the courts have had an attitude that identity theft is somehow less serious than other crime and that a change in that attitude must come from the public.

Evans said there is a direct correlation between the drug crime leniency imposed by Proposition 36 and the rise in I.D. Theft crimes, and a cause-and-effect relationship between I.D. theft and social welfare fraud. He suggested that convicted identity thieves be barred from receiving any welfare benefits for 10 years.

Assemblywoman Runner said in concluding remarks, “I have also learned a great deal from this Town Hall, and I will incorporate much of this in legislation to better protect our citizens. Given the present makeup of the Assembly and Senate Anti-Public Safety committees, it is difficult to pass laws to protect honest people. The committee majorities are far more concerned about criminals than about their victims.”

As a service in the public interest, Adelphia Channel 3 News videotaped the entire Town Hall meeting for future telecasts, both in the Antelope Valley and in other locations throughout California.