DETROIT, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Federal agents say they are investigating how a man with a felony record was hired to head security for the Detroit port authority, a key border entry point.
The target of the investigation, Benjamin Bostic, director of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, is alleged to have falsified records to receive a top-level security clearance, The Detroit News reported Monday.
Agents from the Department of Homeland Security seized numerous documents in a raid on port authority offices Wednesday. Personnel information for Bostic, Executive Director John Jamian and Chief of Staff Christopher Johnson was being sought, search warrants indicated.
No charges had been filed.
Bostic's attorney, Brian Legghio, said his client had not violated any federal criminal laws, adding "he went to prison and has been rehabilitated and is a fine citizen."
Bostic, a former U.S. Coast Guard officer, was sentenced to two years in prison in 2009 for extorting about $30,000 from people trying to prevent the deportation of an illegal immigrant.
He was released from prison in March 2011. His supervised release ended in March 2012, court records indicate. The port's personnel records indicate Bostic was hired by the port authority this past February, although investigators said he may have been hired as early as July 2012.
The security pass Bostic received allowed him to access secure areas of port facilities across the United States.
