|
TRENTON – Attorney
General Anne Milgram announced that a Monmouth
County man was arrested last night on charges
he has been selling counterfeit New Jersey
driver’s licenses to underage purchasers
that falsely indicate the purchasers are
21 years old.
The charges resulted from
an investigation that began in July when
detectives from the Division of Criminal
Justice assigned to the Division of Alcoholic
Beverage Control’s summer underage
drinking initiative arrested two underage
drinkers in South Jersey bars for possessing
counterfeit New Jersey driver’s licenses.
Detectives from the Division of Criminal
Justice Motor Vehicle Commission Unit ultimately
traced the licenses to the man arrested.
Claudio Innocenti, 20, of
the Oakhurst section of Ocean Township,
Monmouth County, was arrested last night
at the Deptford Mall by detectives from
the Division of Criminal Justice and officers
from the Deptford Police Department. He
was charged with sale and manufacture of
a simulated document and conspiracy to commit
sale of a simulated document, both second-degree
crimes. Each charge carries a maximum sentence
of 10 years in state prison and a fine of
$150,000 upon conviction.
Innocenti, who attends college
in Philadelphia, allegedly was at the mall
to deliver a counterfeit driver’s
license to a woman. The woman allegedly
had bought other counterfeit licenses from
him, including one for herself and one of
the licenses seized when the underage bar
patrons were arrested. She was arrested
last month and was cooperating with state
detectives.
“As this investigation
demonstrates, we’re serious about
fighting underage drinking and protecting
the integrity of New Jersey’s digital
driver’s license system,” said
Attorney General Milgram. “We charge
that this defendant was counterfeiting driver’s
licenses and assisting underage people to
drink, putting them and the public at risk.”
When arrested, Innocenti
allegedly had a counterfeit New Jersey driver’s
license bearing his name and photo in his
possession. State detectives have seized
seven counterfeit New Jersey driver’s
licenses that allegedly were sold by Innocenti
to the woman who served as a cooperating
informant in the case. She purchased the
fake licenses from him for $115 so she could
resell them for $150 to underage buyers
who placed orders with her. The woman was
arrested after she sold a license to an
undercover detective.
The computer-generated licenses
mimic the appearance of New Jersey digital
driver’s licenses but have invalid
numbers and are missing security features.
That is why they were identified as fake
when the initial arrests of underage bar
patrons were made by members of the Division
of Criminal Justice Alcoholic Beverage Control
Unit.
The investigation was led
by Detectives Shawn Gorlin and Richard Loufik
of the Motor Vehicle Commission Unit in
the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes
Bureau, in coordination with Deputy Attorney
General James Ruberton. They were assisted
by Detectives Max Henry and Christopher
Wenger of the Division of Criminal Justice
Alcoholic Beverage Control Unit and Detective
Christina McCarthy of the Division of Criminal
Justice Computer Crimes Unit. Attorney General
Milgram also credited the other members
of the DCJ Motor Vehicle Commission Unit
who worked on the investigation.
Innocenti was held overnight
in the Gloucester County Jail and was freed
today after posting $75,000 bail. The charges
filed against him are merely accusations
and he is presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
# # # |
