Police charged a 25-year-old West Caldwell resident and graphic arts student with forgery Thursday after alleging that she printed and used a fake Hoboken parking permit to make it easier to commute to college classes in New York City.
Thursday afternoon, Hoboken Police Chief Carmen LaBruno, in the strongest possible language, warned anyone considering counterfeiting parking permits to think twice.
“This is a crime that we take seriously,” he said Thursday, “a crime that has the potential of a jail sentence. If you find that you are forging decals, we will boot your car, we will arrest you, and you will be charged with a crime.”
Police were still processing the arrest report as of Thursday afternoon, and declined to release the name of the accused.
While making a routine patrol of the city’s streets last week, a Hoboken Parking Utility officer noticed a vehicle with a decal that appeared to be slightly darker and whose numbers were spaced a little further apart, according to LaBruno. The parking officer checked the number of the decal with HPU records, and found that the number did not match with any issued permit stickers.
The car was then immobilized with a boot. When the woman arrived at the police station, she admitted to forging the permit and was arrested. She was charged and later released on her own recognizance.
According to state law, a fourth degree crime is punishable with up to 18 months in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, although a jail sentence is highly unusual on the first offense.
According to the police officials, the woman allegedly admitted using her skills as a graphic artist to create the phony decal. She said that she used the decal so that she could park on Hoboken’s streets and commute to her college in Manhattan. She also said, according to police, that no one else was involved and no one else has a copy of the forged sticker.
LaBruno said that commuters will not be using Hoboken’s streets “as their own private parking lot.”
He added that police are uncertain how many other fakes are out there, but that it is possible there are more.
“Parking in Hoboken is a commodity,” said the chief. “Because of that, there is going to be a market for this type of behavior. I have instructed [Parking Utility] enforcement officials to check for more forged stickers.”
City attorney Joseph Sherman reiterated the chief’s tough stance on the permits. “This type of behavior will not be tolerated,” said Sherman. “Those people that are caught will be prosecuted by the city.”
Joanne Serrano, the executive director of the Parking Utility, said that her enforcement officers are rarely going to miss a fake. “They spend all day, every work day, looking at these decals,” said Serrano. “My officers have pretty sharp eyes and are going to notice even the slightest difference.”