18 February 2011

The Triple Eye

(State Patrol Officer Babs checking me out on the Triple Eye LE Database. Photo State Patrol)

I paced around the place, checking the e-mail periodically to see if there was any word from Mongo about what might be causing my application to buy a pistol to be hung up in the system.

I mean, I didn’t need the gun. I have plenty of them, and all I was trying to accomplish was get a smaller caliber and more economical one. Really, the government should encourage that, right? It is like, green.

Oh well. I contemplated having an afternoon cocktail or a nap, or both, to see if that would calm me down a little. The clouds were blowing out to the east, and sunshine flooded the parking lot. It was turning warm for the first time in months, or at least tepid, and the juice of Spring seemed almost ready to flow.

Had my identity been compromised? Or was it something else?

I wracked my brain about my association with the strip-mall city of Aurora. I had lived there once, for about six months. What could have happened thirty-four years ago that would pop up now?

The computer dinged before I could pour a drink, or open a bottle of that insouciant bottle of Bucaro red that came in the mail from the winery.

I sat down at the table and looked at the incoming file. It was from Mongo, who was clearing out his Sunday afternoon traffic with his usual efficiency. I read the words slowly:

“Vic,

Let the background check run it’s course. Could be a lot of different close “hits” or matches, slowing it down. Let me know right away if it does not come through “clear.” There are some actions I can take that may help.

BTW, Your son made a fine choice on the SIG SP-2022. The almost 700 sworn officers on the Arizona Department of Public Security cary it.

Mongo”

That was a relief. I had already checked all the credit/bank accounts to see if there is any activity I had not authorized. I tried a Google search on my name and social, and nothing clicked except an alarming long list of social security numbers in sequence from a Chinese web site that included mine.

What the hell is up with that. I wondered? That was unsettling, but left me with nothing more specific than a vague sense of Red Menace.

I spent an evening of unease, and no amount of red wine could really ease it. I got to the office on Monday and once I got the business of business started, I called the State Patrol down in Richmond and got Babs again. She provided some clarification, though not much.

Apparently there is a report in the FBI Triple Eye Data base that identified me with my personal information. The good news, according to the lady on the phone, is that there is no one using my information, so I stopped being freaked out about identity theft.

Babs the Patrol Lady was helpful, but could only go so far. She could not see the record, since the digital flag only referred to what was apparently an old paper record, which they have requested.

I am puzzled by the whole thing. She could see that the report cited "Havana Ave" and referenced Aurora. I thought back to what might be in the Government files, and researched what is contained in the Triple Eye Base.

Holy crap, I thought. I lived in an apartment at Colfax and Colorado while going to AFAITC in the winter of 1977, and my only involvement with LE while living there was a speeding ticket.

I began some intense investigation of the system, which is supposed to be an index of  "individuals who have been arrested or indicted" for "serious criminal offenses" anywhere in the country.

The more I read the more it seemed really strange that I would be included in it.

Then it hit me like a thunderclap. Damn, I had a rap sheet!

Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
vicsocotra.com | Subscribe to the RSS feed!