Shortly after the October 15 presidential debate, in which McCain repeatedly referred to “Joe the Plumber,” Wurzelbacher’s Ohio state records were illegally accessed.

The criminal investigation conducted by the Ohio Department of Highway Patrol is now focused on an outside computer contractor who did work four years ago for the Ohio Department of Insurance. The as-yet unnamed contractor is thought to have used an old computer test account to access the state databases.

The ongoing investigation is also looking into a search of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services records that was approved by the department’s director, Helen Jones-Kelly. Jones-Kelly said she approved the records check to determine whether Wurzelbacher was behind on child support payments.

Also part of the investigation are the three searches of Wurzelbacher’s Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles records that were made from within the Toledo Police Department.

Earlier this year it was discovered that private contractors repeatedly accessed passport records of Sens. Obama, Clinton and McCain.

The data contained in the breached state and federal records could be used to commit identity theft. Almost 1.5 million Americans use LifeLock’s identity theft protection services to help guard against credit fraud, identity theft and erroneous arrest. Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their award-winning service. Enroll using the Life Lock discount code Defense for a discount.

Joe Wurzelbacher’s fame began with a challenge to presidential candidate Barack Obama during a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio. Within a few days, he became the GOP poster child to discredit Obama’s tax plan when John McCain repeatedly identified Wurzelbacher as Joe the Plumber in the second presidential candidates debate.

Now, questionable searches for more information on Joe using Ohio state government’s databases have sealed his fate.

Investigators are looking into the inappropriate searches traced back to the state Attorney General’s office, the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency, the state Department of Jobs and Family Services, former state contractors, and the Toledo Police Department.Former state contractors also accessed Joe’s records by using accounts established years ago while they were creating the Ohio Local Law Enforcement Information Sharing Network. Officials with the attorney general’s office, which operates the network, say they had no idea the contractors were still able to access state databases.

James McCafferty, a Cuyahoga County administrator, said they have frozen the computer of a child support specialist in the county’s child support enforcement agency. McCafferty said yesterday they had not yet completed the forensics to determine whether the unnamed employee conducted the search.

“Just because you have the ability to access the information, you certainly don’t have the right to do that,” McCafferty said. “That’s private information.”

Helen Jones-Kelly, director of the state Department of Jobs and Family Services, admits she approved a check of state records to see whether Joe was behind on child support payments. Jones-Kelly cited a past incident in which an Ohio lottery winner was found to be in arrears in his court-ordered payments.

Additionally, three searches of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicle records were conducted from within the Toledo Police Department.

Ohio’s Gov. Ted Strickland said they have no reason to believe state employees disclosed the information gained in any of the searches.

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