U.S. Social Security Administration Inspector General (SSA OIG) Patrick O’Carroll Jr. confirmed recently that there was a violation of normal agency protocol when sensitive data for more than 100,000 Missouri driver’s licenses and concealed carry permits was requested and received, according to Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer. O’Carroll vowed to investigate the matter thoroughly and to answer specific questions posed by the congressman about the agency’s actions in the matter. In a telephone conversation with Luetkemeyer late last week, O’Carroll said agency protocol had been violated because a formal, written request was never provided to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for the data, which the law enforcement agency received from the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR). According to O’Carroll, following an informal conversation with an employee of the highway patrol, an SSA OIG investigator requested the information of Missourians holding concealed carry permits. That information was given to the investigator in fall, 2011, by the highway patrol employee but was unreadable on the investigator’s computer and the data was destroyed. In the fall of 2012, the same investigator contacted the highway patrol employee and again requested the information which was provided by the highway patrol employee in January, 2013, and this time the investigator was able to read the information. Upon seeing that the highway patrol had sent the entire list of Missourians holding concealed carry permits numbering anywhere from 167,000 to 187,000, the investigator called Social Security headquarters and was told to delete and destroy the list. O’Carroll said the information on that list was not shared and was not made public.