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by Pam Zekman
CHICAGO (CBS) ― The 2 Investigators showed us last February how easy it is to buy a fake ID in a thriving marketplace in Chicago, and an some even more shocking information has been learned tonight.

As 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, it seems the father of a City Hall alderman is smack in the middle of the ID sales.

Last week, the peddlers were still at a shopping center off 26th Street in the Little Village neighborhood, flashing the sign they had fake ID's for sale.

One peddler took CBS 2 producer Simone Thiessen to Foto Munoz to get a picture for her fake ID.

"Within seconds one of them offered to sell me fake ID's for 300 bucks," Thiessen said.

The studio is owned and operated by Elias Munoz, the father of Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd).

"I paid Mr. Munoz $10 for the Polaroid picture, and then turned around and paid the ID peddler his $100 cash deposit -- right inside the photo shop," Thiessen said.

A few hours later, we picked up our fake Social Security card and State of Michigan driver's license in the parking lot.

"It was incredibly easy," Thiessen said.

It was easy because the fake document mill is reportedly run by an international crime family.

Documents obtained by federal indictments filed in other states detail how the organization has trained and equipped workers to run document mills across the country, for more than a decade.

Federal officials say Manuel Leija Sanchez is the man in charge of the operation in Chicago, which takes in $2.5 million a year.

We found business continued even after Sanchez was jailed last year for making forged documents.

Sanchez's stepdaughter, Suad Leija Sanchez, is now helping the federal government identify other players involved.

"At this time, other people have stepped in; other members of the family," she said.

Suad Leija Sanchez added: "They had pictures with no names. I told them who they were; everything they had to do with the organization."

Illinois State Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago) said federal agents told him the organization rotates crews from city to city.

He said that is "because Chicago has the most sophisticated operations here, so actually it's a promotion when you reach Chicago."

Alderman Munoz says the photo studio has no relationship to the ID peddlers.

"What the photography studio provides is Polaroids," the alderman said. "That's what the family business sells is Polaroid pictures."

His father speaks English, but insisted on talking to us in Spanish.

When asked if he was part of the illegal ID operation, Elias Munoz replied in Spanish, "No, I'm not part of anything. I'm a photographer, and that's it."

As to our transaction, when we pointed out that Thiessen had paid the peddler right at Foto Munoz, Elias Munoz replied, "I don't care."

When asked whether he cared if the peddlers did business at Foto Munoz, he replied in Spanish, "There's no business done here."

We pointed out that peddlers stand out his store and signal. He replied, "I don't care if they are outside or inside."

"You don't care?" Zekman asked him.

To that, Munoz replied: "Of course I care. They bring money in here and I work with them."

So what does Alderman Munoz think?

When we pointed out what happened inside the photo shop, he replied: "That shouldn't be taking place – bottom line."

Alderman Munoz says he frequently calls police to complain about ID peddlers at the mall and along 26th Street.

A spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Immigration and Custom Enforcement said the agency is aggressively investigating the document fraud ring in Chicago.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)