http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/228239p-195985c.html BY DAVID EPSTEIN DAILY NEWS WRITER September 2, 2004 On the eve of President Bush's address to the nation, the Daily News has uncovered alarming breaches in security at the Republican National Convention. The News learned yesterday that delegates and guests were freely handing out unused passes. A News reporter investigated - and within five hours he was inside Madison Square Garden to catch Vice President Cheney's speech. Even more shocking, the pass was obtained without anyone asking for or checking on the reporter's identity. The breach came after three security incidents in three days. So it should have been near impossible to slip past the thousands of cops and federal agents inside and outside the Garden. But it was all too easy. The generic credentials don't have the user's name, and as for a photo, forget about it. In short, there was nothing to prevent anyone, from protester to hardened criminal, from getting inside the Garden - though we were checked for weapons. Yesterday, The News sent this clean-cut reporter - dressed in a white collared shirt adorned with a Bush-Cheney button - to several delegates' hotels to check out whether it was true that credentials were readily available. One helpful delegate told us that plenty of passes had been available Monday and Tuesday, but it was tougher to get one last night, when Cheney was speaking. Others suggested we try the delegation from Guam or Hawaii, because not everyone had showed up. Later, a delegate was going to a party and would be leaving the Garden early. She said she would meet us outside and give us her credentials. But she got cold feet. Someone had warned her not to give credentials away. The police mentioned the previous security breaches, how protesters have managed to get in - in some cases, getting shockingly close to Cheney. But later, at an ice cream parlor three blocks from the Garden, we found someone wearing pro-Bush buttons. We told her we were from Illinois and how we always wanted to witness history - which was the truth. "I really wanted to keep it," she said, pulling a guest pass from her purse. "All right. Go have fun." The last test was Garden security. With the credentials around our neck, we walked into the frozen zone, showing a driver's license to an NYPD cop. Then we walked up to the heavily manned security gate just outside the arena. After a thorough search for weapons, we were allowed in. The reporter noticed a ruckus during Cheney's speech. It was authorities dragging away yet another protester who had gotten through security. _________________________________________ Donate online for the Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes - http://www.c4i.org/ethan.html
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