As a supervisor at a Washington Mutual mortgage processing center, John D. Parsons was accustomed to seeing baby sitters claiming salaries worthy of college presidents, and schoolteachers with incomes rivaling stockbrokers\u2019. He rarely questioned them. A real estate frenzy was under way and WaMu, as his bank was known, was all about saying yes.<\/p>\n
Yet even by WaMu\u2019s relaxed standards, one mortgage four years ago raised eyebrows. The borrower was claiming a six-figure income and an unusual profession: mariachi singer.<\/p>\n
Mr. Parsons could not verify the singer\u2019s income, so he had him photographed in front of his home dressed in his mariachi outfit. The photo went into a WaMu file. Approved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d lie if I said every piece of documentation was properly signed and dated,\u201d\u009d said Mr. Parsons, speaking through wire-reinforced glass at a California prison near here, where he is serving 16 months for theft after his fourth arrest \u201d\u201d all involving drugs.<\/p>\n