Getting into, then behind bars

If any of you have ever used a fake ID to get into a bar, you know the familiar routine. You look at your ID one last time trying to convince yourself that you're 21. You try to act more mature, more civilized. Your hands are shaking as you enter the front door of the bar, and you avoid eye contact with the bouncer at all costs. You hand the piece of plastic to your enemy as you experience 30 seconds of the most awkward form of silence known to the college kind. And then you look up for some form of approval. If he shoots you that disapproving look, you grab your ID and run. If he nods, you've done it: conquered the system. \nContrary to popular belief, using a fake is against the law.\nThree Purdue University students are learning that lesson the hard way. Amanda Coffey, Thomas Leeper and Joseph Isbell's mistake may cost them two to 20 years behind bars. \nThe investigation began in February of 2002 when the Purdue University Police Department received an e-mail claiming Isbell was making fake IDs. Police jumped on the lead and interviewed many students who received fake IDs from the group. One woman told investigators Isbell took her picture with a digital camera and within a matter of days, she had a fake ID. Another woman admitted she went to Leeper in the summer to purchase a fake ID. Coffey was thrown into the mix when a woman told police she received a fake ID from Coffey.\nCoffey, Leeper and Isbell are typical college kids who had promising futures. They are now uncertain about what lies ahead. All three were majoring in management, and possessed a wide array of knowledge in computers, according to an article in the Greenwood Daily Journal. Coffey was the model student, once serving as the homecoming queen of her high school, while Leeper and Isbell both were teacher's aides. Arrested just after Christmas, these three college students aren't the only ones who will take the heat in this case. While Coffey, Leeper and Isbell face 19 felony and misdemeanor charges, police have sent a warning to the fake ID customers: Come forward now or face harsher penalties.\nThe Purdue trio piled up multiple class C felonies. Each felony can result in two to eight years of jail time. Using a fake at a bar is considered a class C infraction. If a minor is caught with a fake ID their driver's license can be revoked for a year. \nIf you use your buddy's ID you can get in trouble, and so can they. And if you're helping someone out by taking a trip to the license branch, think long and hard about it. All they need is your address, birth date and social security number to ruin you. You may trust your friend, but what happens when your underage friend gets a little too "happy" during happy hour and loses your ID?\n Police say the crackdown with false IDs has to do with the Sept. 11 attacks. The terrorists used false identification, and police are no longer letting the crime slide. The Purdue group needed a computer, a digital camera, a scanner or template program, and a laminator to be in business. It takes an hour to produce a new identity. There is also a Web site called "Make Your Own IDs," but rumor has it the site is monitored by the police. \n Coffey, Isbell and Leeper were producing and distributing false IDs to anyone willing to pay. And now they may have to pay the price for breaking the law. It may be fun to sneak into bars, but the consequences for cheating the system just aren't worth it.