He graduated from the Naval Academy and made a mark in the community as an architect and engineer, serving as president of several development companies. He served on county committees, hosted a political fundraiser for state Sen. John A. Cade and became the longest-serving trustee at Anne Arundel Community College.
But for more than 30 years, it gnawed at Robert J. DiAiso that he had largely completed his doctoral studies but didn't have a degree to show for it. The Anne Arundel County resident said he contacted an Internet-based company about three years ago to see if he could put the finishing touches on it.
"It was one bit of unfinished business," he said.
DiAiso now appears on a database that lists more than 9,000 people who contacted an organization busted by the federal government in 2005 that authorities say sold thousands of counterfeit degrees and transcripts from legitimate colleges and bogus degrees and transcripts from nonexistent universities and schools.
Not all of those whose names appear in the database purchased fake degrees; officials said some may have only made an inquiry. But those who followed through were able to receive fraudulent diplomas from phony schools with names such as St. Regis University and James Monroe University, as well as legitimate academic institutions such as the University of Maryland.
The list names at least 115 Maryland residents, as well as hundreds of individuals with ties to the military, government and education, including National Security Agency and CIA employees with top-secret government clearances. Only one buyer - a former deputy U.S. marshal - has been charged criminally in connection with the case, according to The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., which published the database last week.
It is not illegal to purchase a phony degree, though 10 states have laws making it illegal to fraudulently use one. The ringleader of the diploma mill, Dixie Ellen Randock, 58, was sentenced last month to three years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and seven others have been or will be sentenced in connection with the operation.
Authorities contended that the bogus degrees could be used to circumvent U.S. immigration laws and to help the degree-holders win promotions and pay raises in government jobs. Degrees were sold to customers in 131 countries, officials said, posing potential terrorism threats.
