The Newark Airport security guard who worked for 20 years using the name of a murder victim obtained the illicit identity three weeks before the man was gunned down, authorities said yesterday.
Jerry Thomas’ killer was never caught, but sources said the Queens cold case will be re-examined after the arrest of Peter Abimbola “Bimbo” Olumuyia Oyewole, 55.
“He’s not necessarily a suspect, but a person of interest or a witness,” a New Jersey law-enforcement source said.
Oyewole was interviewed Monday by Queens homicide detectives.
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Yesterday, he was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail on a charge of identity theft at his arraignment in New Jersey Superior Court in Newark.
“We simply do not know who this gentleman is. Therefore, he is a flight risk,” New Jersey Deputy Attorney General Vincent Militello said in court.
Oyewole, an illegal immigrant from Nigeria, claims he bought the fake ID in late June or early July of 1992, law-enforcement sources said.
On July 20, Thomas — a 41-year-old career criminal with an arrest record dating to the 1960s — was shot four times in the face, leg and chest in his room at the YMCA in Jamaica, Queens.
While that case quickly turned cold, Thomas lived on through Oyewole.
Oyewole used the dead man’s name, birth certificate and Social Security number to get a New Jersey driver’s license. He passed background checks from several security companies, most recently FJC Security, a major Port Authority contractor.
Oyewole worked his way up to a job supervising 30 people at Newark Airport with wide access to secure areas.
But his ruse began to fall apart in mid-March, when someone ratted him out in an anonymous typewritten letter mailed to the Port Authority inspector general’s office in Hoboken.
“My speculation is that it’s a girlfriend who just got pissed off,” said a law-enforcement source.
Oyewole was placed under surveillance, officials said. He was arrested on Monday.
Authorities suspect he has used other aliases over the years.
Under the name Jerry Thomas, Oyewole lived quietly in the same Elizabeth, NJ, apartment for 21 years. A small wooden cross on his door has the words “Bless Our Home.”
“He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would do what he did — he was peaceful,” said Herwins Milcent, 15, a neighbor.
On his way to work every day, Oyewole drove past Rosemont Memorial Park in Elizabeth — where the real Jerry Thomas lies in an unmarked grave.
Oyewole maintained a Facebook page under his real name, identifying himself as a graduate of the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and linking to several friends in his homeland.
Oyewole’s public defender said he has a girlfriend and a brother in the United States.
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram and Larry Celona