Two clerks at the Division of Motor Vehicles in Pawtucket have been charged by the state police in a wide-ranging scheme of falsifying dozens of Rhode Island driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants and people involved in midlevel drug dealing.

Dolores Rodriguez-LaFlamme, 40, of Providence, and Soraya Santiago, 42, of Pawtucket, are accused of working with two “middlemen,” who were paid about $2,500 to $3,000 by each person who wanted a valid Rhode Island license — with a fake identity.

A valid license is a desirable item to have, especially if you’ve been deported and have illegally reentered the country, or if you’re wanted by the police. The valid license stops the police from further questioning someone’s immigration status, because the license assumes an identity has been established. And people can hide their true identity when their photo is matched with a fake name and birth date on a real ID.

State Police Capt. Stephen Lynch said the word was out on the streets among people involved in illegal activities about the scam. It went like this:

The person who wanted the license would first use an assumed identity to get a legitimate Rhode Island identification card. The person would give the ID card and the money to one of the middlemen, who would send the card off to the clerks at the DMV.

The digital picture on the ID card would be transferred onto a new Rhode Island license. The permanent licenses were sent in the mail from the DMV — no written exam, no driving exam, and no waiting in line at the registry.

LaFlamme and Santiago were among 11 people charged so far, but Lynch said there are 21 more arrest warrants. He said about 28 fraudulent Rhode Island licenses were issued by LaFlamme and Santiago.

LaFlamme is well-known in the politically active Latino community in Providence, where her arrest at her house at 9 Hall St. yesterday morning came as a shock to friends.

One is State Rep. Anastasia Williams, who said she is “devastated” by the news of LaFlamme’s arrest. They’re both members of the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Labor Council for Latin-American Advancement; Williams is chairwoman and LaFlamme is the treasurer.

“She is an outstanding individual. She is an excellent mother. She is a hard worker. She a community volunteer, she is someone that you can depend on. And trust. This situation is certainly, certainly, unbelievable. Although I have heard it, I’ve read it, I haven’t accepted it, and I’m not ready to accept that she has had any conscious involvement with any fraudulent activity in any way shape or form,” said Williams.

“If — and that’s a big ‘if’ — she is involved, she fooled me,” she added.

LaFlamme has also been involved “with a lot of different [political] campaigns,” Williams said, including for Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, the campaign of U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and for Providence City Councilman Nicholas Narducci Jr. (Whitehouse and Cicilline didn’t return calls last night.)

“It’s a sad thing,” Narducci said yesterday. “I know when people do things like this, only the bad things are heard. But as a mother, she was someone you’d want as a friend.”

LaFlamme ran unsuccessfully for Democrat Ward 4 Committee, promising “A New Beginning.” She also volunteered for a neighborhood crime watch, neighborhood cleanups, Williams said, and with “every community — the Italian community, the Latino community, the African-American community.”

Williams added, “We’ve gone for cookouts at her home. We’ve gone out to dinner. We’ve hung out. She’s someone that I would help out if she needed to be helped, and I had no concerns about her honesty. So that’s why I’m saying, I’ve been punked.”

LaFlamme was also the face of the DMV at the 2006 Latino Expo held at the Rhode Island Convention Center last September. During an “Ask projoCars!” seminar, LaFlamme was a co-presenter. The topic? “How to Save Time at the Department of Motor Vehicles.”

It was around then that state police Detective Matthew C. Moynihan got a tip about a corrupt worker inside the DMV, who was sending out fraudulent Rhode Island licenses. The tipster said that many people living in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island had gotten licenses this way, according to an affidavit filed in 6th Division District Court.

Moynihan is part of the state High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force, and their investigation revealed how the licenses were being processed. Both LaFlamme and Santiago were handling these licenses and recording them as being issued for people giving up out-of-state licenses, according to the affidavit. But a check with the registry’s enforcement division found that the out-of-state licenses did not exist.

LaFlamme and Santiago were both hired by the registry in the summer of 2000 and were making about $38,000 a year. Yesterday, the two were handcuffed together for arraignment before District Court Judge Walter Gorman.

LaFlamme is charged with 17 counts of conspiracy to commit identity fraud, for making 17 licenses, and Santiago faces 11 charges. Identity fraud is a felony offense punishable by up to three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine for a first conviction.

One accused middleman — Luis Rivera, 55, of Providence — and three alleged customers were also arraigned for aiding and abetting to commit identity fraud. Arismendy Gonzalez, 50, of Providence, Jose Bueno, 30, and Jose Nieves, 43, of Providence, were accused customers. Nieves was also wanted for distributing cocaine in Massachusetts, where his identity there is Jose Gonzalez and Hector Aponte. He was held without bail as a fugitive.

All six are due for Dec. 5 pre-arraignment conferences and Dec. 12 arraignments in Providence County Superior Court. All but Santiago, who is from Puerto Rico, are being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after making bail.

LaFlamme had been previously ordered deported to the Dominican Republic after her application for adjusted status was denied following an investigation into two fraudulent marriages, according to a court affidavit. LaFlamme is appealing the deportation order.

Five other people who are incarcerated for drugs are facing charges of conspiracy to commit identity fraud and aiding and abetting. After having been deported three times, Alexander Hernandez, 29, alias Noel Aguasvivas, was arrested in Orlando in May for possession of cocaine. Fernando Iglesias Vargas, 30, alias Osvaldo Hernandez, was arrested by New York City police in August for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. Fleridilia Alvares, 24, was arrested by the Providence police in May for possession of more than one kilo of cocaine. Charles Rosario, alias Charlie Adrian, 23, of Providence, was arrested by the state police last month for possession of cocaine. And Rafael Feliciano, 40, alias Juan Paula, was arrested in June in Rhode Island for possession of 44 pounds of marijuana. He’d been deported before as a felon.

All were caught with the falsified Rhode Island licenses.

kziner@projo.com