About a month ago, we learned about a bizarre situation in which one of Mitt Romney’s top campaign aides came under investigation for allegedly impersonating a state trooper. According to reports, the senior aide, Jay Garrity, allegedly pulled over a New York Times reporter in New Hampshire and said he had run his license plate. He also reportedly called a private company, threatening to cite the driver of a company van for erratic driving

Garrity, who was director of operations on Romney’s presidential campaign and a constant presence at the former governor’s side, quietly stepped down from the campaign to tend to his legal troubles. The whole thing was odd, but it was hard to blame Romney too much for the inexplicable actions of one member of his staff.

But what if it wasn’t just one?

In an apparent violation of the law, a controversial aide to ex-Gov. Mitt Romney created phony law enforcement badges that he and other staffers used on the campaign trail to strong-arm reporters, avoid paying tolls and trick security guards into giving them immediate access to campaign venues, sources told the Herald.

One guy allegedly impersonates an officer? Romney has plausible deniability. A whole group of aides are all given phony badges, which they’re encouraged to use? Romney starts to look like he’s the head of some kind of criminal enterprise.

How could the candidate not know?