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TRENTON
- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal
Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced
that an Essex County man has been sentenced
to state prison for leading an auto theft
ring that targeted luxury cars.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Saladine Grant, 34, of Newark, was
ordered by Superior Court Judge Joseph P.
Donohue in Union County to serve nine years
in state prison, with three years of parole
ineligibility. He was ordered to pay $3,000
in auto theft fines, and his driver’s
license was suspended for 10 years.
The
sentence is based on Grant’s Jan. 20
guilty plea to a charge of leading an auto
theft trafficking network. He also pleaded
guilty to two counts of receiving stolen property,
and one count of theft by unlawful taking.
The charges were contained in an indictment
returned on Aug. 13, 2008.
In
pleading guilty, Grant admitted that he organized
a ring to steal and sell automobiles from
various locations in northern New Jersey.
Grant admitted that he knowingly possessed
seven stolen high-end vehicles: a 2007 BMW
Alpina, a 2007 Audi S 4, a 2007 Audi RS4 and
four 2007 Audi Q4's. He further admitted to
stealing another eight vehicles: three Audi
Q7s, three 2007 Audi S8's, a 2007 Audi S6
and a 2007 Audi S4. The value of each vehicle
ranged from $50,000 to $124,000.
As
a result of the ongoing investigation into
the ring, the Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
has recovered approximately 25 vehicles that
were reported stolen and that had a total
value of more than $1.5 million. The majority
of the recovered vehicles were allegedly stolen
from New Jersey Port Authority new car holding
lots and other new car holding lots, as well
as from a long-term parking lot situated next
to Newark Liberty International Airport.
Detectives
Jarek Pyrzanowski, Amy Carson and Jeffrey
Lorman, and Deputy Attorney General John J.
Higgins were assigned to the investigation
into this case. Higgins represented the Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor at the sentencing.
Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Brown thanked the
Perth Amboy Police Department, the Port Authority
of New York and New Jersey, the New Jersey
State Police, the Edison Township Police Department,
and the Piscataway Police Department for their
assistance in the investigation.
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