Trenton, N.J. - 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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