NORTH BERGEN AND BEYOND — A clerk from the North Bergen Motor Vehicle Agency pleaded guilty Monday to participating in criminal rings that illegally sold digital New Jersey driver’s licenses to unauthorized persons, State Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced.
Cristian J. Toledo, 33, of North Bergen, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree computer theft before Superior Court Judge Paul M. DePascale in Hudson County. The state will recommend he be sentenced to four years in state prison, according to the attorney general’s office.
A former Lodi Motor Vehicle clerk, Anne Marie Manfredonia, 44, Little Ferry, also pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree conspiracy and third-degree tampering with public records before Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Roma in Bergen County. The state will recommend she be sentenced to four years in state prison, including two years of parole ineligibility, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
“These MVC clerks betrayed the public’s trust in order to enrich themselves,” said Attorney General Chiesa. “New Jersey digital driver’s licenses are a powerful form identification, used to open bank accounts and board airliners, and we cannot afford to have them sold on the black market to potential criminals, or even terrorists.”
Stephen Taylor, the director of the Division of Criminal Justice, said, “These defendants were among six Motor Vehicle Commission clerks we indicted late last year for allegedly conspiring with broers and other middle men to illegally sell driver’s licenses to foreign nationals.”
Chisea said, “We are working diligently with the Motor Vehicle Commission to maintain the integrity of our system of security checks.” -Stephen LaMarca