Don’t Worry, It’s Not Like This Is Critical Infrastructure Or Anything

Looking on the bright side, one also could say that the system worked:

A fugitive wanted by federal immigration and customs agents somehow slipped through background checks and got a job making repairs inside the Midtown Tunnel, authorities said yesterday.

Carlos Amaya was busted only after an MTA Bridges and Tunnels officer noticed Amaya’s work ID had expired and checked his name for outstanding warrants, authorities said.

“This guy could have easily slipped through the cracks and gained entry to very sensitive areas,” said Joe Mauro, president of the Bridge and Tunnel Officers Benevolent Association. “This may seem inconsequential, but imagine the implications if this guy was a terrorist.”

Officer Christopher Schatz stopped the 44-year-old construction worker as he tried to use an expired work ID to get into a ventilation room, where air is pumped into the tunnel.

When Schatz asked Amaya for another ID, Amaya gave him a photocopy of a driver’s license and then a forged driver’s license, police said.

Schatz — who is assigned to a counterterrorism post created after 9/11 — quickly discovered that Amaya was wanted by the feds for unspecified crimes. The feds are now planning to deport Amaya to his native El Salvador.