JERSEY CITY – On Wednesday, a Jersey City Department of Public Works (DPW) manager was arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitution while allegedly driving a municipal vehicle he was not authorized to use after work hours, according to Mayor Steven Fulop. That employee, George Reyes, 47, of North Arlington, is now facing termination for the alleged incident.
According to the mayor’s office, Jersey City police observed Reyes allegedly soliciting sex from an alleged prostitute on Danforth and Ocean Avenues just after 6 p.m. while in a marked DPW car. Reyes has been charged with prowling for the purpose of engaging in prostitution and unlawful taking of means of conveyance.
This incident comes just days after Jersey City Police Detective William Kallert was charged by the JCPD with DWI. Kallert was immediately suspended without pay after he was found allegedly intoxicated in an unmarked police vehicle he was not authorized to use after hours.
Referring to the Reyes incident, Fulop said in a press release Thursday, “This is the second time in just one week that a city employee has [allegedly] committed a crime while using a city vehicle without authorization, which speaks to the pervasive culture of abuse that has been allowed to exist in Jersey City. This is unacceptable and we are going to root out this type of behavior and put an end to it. We will not tolerate this…My expectation is that all city employees will be role models both on and off duty and clearly this was not the case tonight. We will deal with this incident both aggressively and fairly.”
To help address the alleged misuse of municipal vehicles after work hours, Fulop said he plans to add GPS devices to all city cars.