Source:
CNN(CNN) – A onetime staffer for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid no longer works for the senior a Democrat amid reports the staffer orchestrated a sham marriage in order to provide a Lebanese man with American citizenship, a spokesman for Reid said.
"Our office was not previously aware of these allegations and, following an internal investigation, the staffer at issue is no longer with our office," Jim Manley, Reid's communications director, said in a statement. "The conduct alleged, which took place several years before the staffer worked for Senator Reid, was clearly wrong."
Fox News reported Monday that Diana Tejada, Reid's press secretary for Hispanic media, accepted money for marrying a Lebanese man - Bassam Mahmoud Tarhini - who wanted to become a citizen of the United States. Tejada reportedly misrepresented the marriage to federal officials in 2003 but later admitted to its true nature in 2008.
The Fox report also said Tarhini pleaded guilty in 2009 to entering a fraudulent marriage to for the purpose of citizenship and was deported last March. Tejada did not face charges.
Read more:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/26/reid-staffer-gone-amid-fake-marriage-revelation/