| TRENTON
- Attorney General Stuart Rabner and Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A.
Paw announced that a former Motor Vehicle
Commission clerk at the Freehold MVC agency
has pleaded guilty to accepting approximately
$2,100 for providing New Jersey licenses
to unauthorized persons.
Valerie
Materia, 49, of Jackson, pleaded guilty
today to a charge of second-degree conspiracy
to commit official misconduct before Superior
Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman in Monmouth
County. The state will recommend that she
be sentenced to four years in state prison.
Materia
admitted that between February and August
2006, she conspired with Elvis Castro, 27,
of Sayreville, to use her position as an
MVC clerk to sell fraudulent digital drivers
licenses to unauthorized individuals. An
investigation by the Division of Criminal
Justice determined that the purchasers paid
as much as $2,300 for each license, with
Materia accepting $300 per license and Castro
keeping the rest.
On
October 16, Castro also pleaded guilty to
conspiracy to commit official misconduct.
Castro admitted that he brokered deals between
Materia and seven people who received fraudulent
licenses. The state is recommending that
he be sentenced to five years in prison.
Materia
was arrested by the New Jersey State Police
Auto Unit in August and was suspended without
pay from her position at the Freehold MVC.
As part of the plea agreement, Materia will
forfeit her public employment.
Deputy
Attorney General Debra Conrad prosecuted
the case. The investigation was led by Detective
Sgt. Michael Yager of the document fraud
squad of the State Police Auto Unit.
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