Trenton
- Attorney General Peter C. Harvey announced
that three Passaic County residents have
been charged by the Division
of Criminal Justice with brokering the
sale of valid and/or simulated New Jersey
driver’s licenses and other legitimate
identification documents for up to $3,000
per document through the underground “black
market.”
“These
indictments represent a continuing commitment
to identify and prosecute anyone - at any
level - who would attempt to obtain and
sell valid or simulated New Jersey driver’s
licenses. New Jersey’s official identification
documents are not for sale and those who
attempt to profit by selling legitimate
and/or counterfeit documents on the black
market will be aggressively prosecuted,”
said Attorney General Harvey.
Vaughn L. McKoy, Director, Division of Criminal
Justice, identified the defendants charged
via the State Grand Jury indictments as:
- Marcos
Negrini, 44, 465 McBride Ave.,
Paterson, Passaic County. Alleged “broker”
involved in the sale of valid New Jersey
driver’s licenses. Charged with
conspiracy and two counts of the sale
of a simulated document;
- Ricardo
Danessi, 29, 200 Vernon Ave.,
Paterson, Passaic County. Allegedly
involved in the sale of valid New Jersey
driver’s licenses with Negrini.
Charged with conspiracy and sale of
a simulated document;
- Miriam
Hassan Reda, 51, 919 Main St.,
Paterson, Passaic County. Alleged “broker”
involved in the sale of a simulated
New Jersey driver’s license. Charged
with conspiracy and attempted sale of
a simulated document.
According to Director McKoy, a three-count
State Grand Jury indictment charged Negrini
and Danessi with arranging to sell a valid
New Jersey driver’s license to an
undercover State Police detective for approximately
$3,000. The indictment alleges that in Aug.
2003, Negrini met the undercover detective
at the Bernardsville (Somerset County) train
station and was paid a $1,500 down payment
to secure the driver’s license. It
is charged that on Sept. 10, Danessi accompanied
the undercover detective to the Burlington
MVC Agency in Mount Holly, Burlington County,
to obtain the driver’s license. After
completion of the fraudulent transaction,
the undercover detective paid an additional
$1,700 to Danessi. Nagrini and Danessi were
subsequently arrested on Nov. 5, 2003.
A separate State Grand Jury indictment charged
Hassan Reda with attempting to sell a New
Jersey driver’s license to an undercover
State Investigator from the Division of
Criminal Justice. The investigation uncovered
information that Reda was purportedly selling
fictitious New Jersey identification documents.
On Jan. 24, 2003, the undercover state investigator
paid $800 to Reda as a down payment for
the driver’s license. Reda failed
to provide the fraudulent document and the
investigation was terminated with Reda’s
arrest on Oct. 9, 2003.
“Ongoing
investigations and prosecutions targeting
document fraud focus on illegally obtained
and/or fraudulent driver’s licenses,
vehicle registrations, insurance cards,
driver permits and related identification
documents such as U.S. passports, social
security cards, birth certificates, county
ID cards, and other official documents,”
Criminal Justice Director McKoy said. “The
Document Fraud Initiative continues to uncover
areas of susceptibility and will prosecute
anyone involved in the black market trade
of illegally obtained and/or illegitimate
identification documents.”
The Negrini/Danessi investigation was conducted
by State Police Det. Wanda Stojanov and
Tpr. Jorge Recalde assigned to the New
Jersey State Police - Criminal Investigations
Bureau, Auto Unit, Document Fraud Squad.
The Reda investigation was conducted by
State Investigator Ho Chul Shin of the Division
of Criminal Justice - Organized Crime &
Racketeering Bureau, MVC Unit. Deputy Attorney
General Erin Callahan, Division of Criminal
Justice - Organized Crime & Racketeering
Bureau, MVC Unit, presented both cases to
the State Grand Jury. The New Jersey Motor
Vehicle Commission Internal Investigations
Unit assisted in the investigations.
The State Grand Jury indictments were returned
by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Maria
Marinari Sypek on Feb. 2. The Negrini/Danessi
case is assigned to the Burlington County
Superior Court for trial. The Reda case
is assigned to the Passaic County Superior
Court for trial. The defendants will be
ordered to appear for arraignment and bail.
Negrini faces up to 20 years in state prison
and a fine of up to $180,000; Danessi faces
up to 10 years in state prison and a fine
of up to $30,000; while Reda faces up to
ten years in state prison and a fine of
up to $30,000, if convicted on all counts
charged in the State Grand Jury indictment.
A copy of the indictments and related information
is available via the Division of Criminal
Justice web page at www.njdcj.org.
An indictment is merely a charge. The defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty
in a court of law.
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