OFFICIALS FIND 142 MEXICAN STATE POLICE USED FALSE MILITARY CREDENTIALS

TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) - A routine inspection by military officials has
found that more than 10 percent of Mexico State's judicial police sub-
mitted false proof of military service to get their jobs.

The Defense Secretariat found that 142 police agents assigned to to
the Mexico State attorney general's office submitted crude imitations
of military service credentials, according to documents obtained by
The Associated Press.

Defense officials confronted the agents on Aug. 28 and six resigned
immediately. The others are under investigation. The attorney
general's office in Mexico State, which surrounds most of Mexico City,
declined to comment on whether the agents have been suspended.

Military service credentials are required for judicial police.
Military officials inspect police records annually to assure that
officers have the proper credentials. It was not known why the false
records hadn't been discovered in previous inspections.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry