Ex-state clerk pleads guilty in records scam

A former state Division of Vital Records clerk has pleaded guilty to a scheme in which he sold birth and death certificates to black market buyers.

Nathan Green, 22, of Baltimore sold birth certificates for $40 and death certificates for $500, and provided an official certificate of the document's authenticity, said Assistant Attorney General Michael A. Zwaig.

Green pleaded guilty to bribery charges Monday in Baltimore Circuit Court before Judge David Mitchell. Prosecutors are recommending a three-year jail sentence, with two years suspended.

Mr. Zwaig said Green, who worked in the vital records office on Patterson Avenue for 18 months, was fired from his job immediately after his Jan. 27 arrest. State officials have tightened security measures at the records office.

Authorities said they don't know how many false documents Green, who will be sentenced Sept. 25 in Baltimore Circuit Court, sold before undercover agents bought birth certificates from him.