12-21-05 -- Flores, Jose L. -- Guilty Plea -- News Release

15th Plea in New Jersey DMV Corruption Scandal

NEWARK – An owner of a driving school in Plainfield pleaded guilty today to conspiring for a decade with employees of the Division of Motor Vehicle Services to produce drivers’ licenses in exchange for illicit cash payments, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Jose L. Flores, a/k/a “Mr. Pepe,” 45, of Watchung, admitted before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to participating in a state-wide scheme with multiple DMV employees to unlawfully generate drivers’ licenses. Flores, who was an owner of a driving school he identified during the plea as Mr. Pepe’s Driving School, in Plainfield, admitted making cash payments ranging from $20 to $100 to each DMV employee, who assisted in generating a particular driver’s license.

In exchange for illicit cash payments from him, Flores confessed that DMV employees did any of the following:

• produced drivers’ licenses for students of his, who were illegal aliens not entitled to such identification documents;

• completed written drivers’ tests for his students;

• scheduled his students early for commercial driver’s license (CDL) road test appointments;

• tested his students for CDLs without a road test appointment; and

• exercised leniency in grading the performance of his students.

Flores admitted that his involvement in this scheme lasted for a decade, from 1993 to 2003 and that he paid DMV employees on a weekly basis during that time. Flores said that the fraud involved DMV employees working at offices throughout the New Jersey, including facilities in Springfield, Trenton, South Plainfield, Randolph, Edison, and Cherry Hill.

When he is sentenced by Judge Walls, Flores faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Howe. Judge Walls scheduled sentencing for March 28.

Flores is now the 15th individual to plead guilty in connection with the driver’s license fraud scheme, in which employees of the state agency and non-employees received hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce and procure licenses in an unlawful manner. Flores is cooperating with the authorities in the investigation of others.

Others who have pleaded guilty:

• Linda Love, of Willingboro, an examination technician at the MVC's Driver Testing Center in Mount Holly, admitted to permitting certain individuals to take multiple written examinations for drivers' licenses for other individuals. Love admitted to fraudulently generating approximately 750 drivers' licenses - approximately five every week - over a three-year period and receiving cash payments of about $300 for each one. Love was sentenced in April to 30 months in prison.

• Tonya Horn, formerly of Scotch Plains and now of Easton, Pa., a service representative of the Springfield MVC office, admitted that she processed driver permits and licenses without ever having spoken with the respective applicants; she received between $100 and $150 for each of more than 100 fraudulent licenses.

• Marcella Lewis, of Plainfield, an examination technician at the MVC office in Elizabeth, admitted to permitting certain individuals to take multiple written examinations for drivers' licenses for other individuals, and receiving $150 for each of more than 100 fraudulent licenses.

• Sheilina D. Moore, of Clementon, a customer service representative at the MVC Mount Holly office, admitted receiving between $100 and $200 for each of more than 100 bogus licenses she helped produce. Moore was sentenced in June to 12 months in prison.

• Linda Carlo, of Newark, a customer service representative at the MVC Springfield office, admitted receiving $100 for each of more than 100 bogus licenses she helped produce.

• Lyliana Pablo, of Newark, a customer service representative at the MVC Springfield office, admitted receiving $100 for each of more than 100 bogus licenses she helped produce.

• Anita Feathers, of Sloatzburg, N.Y., also a customer service representative at the MVC Springfield office, admitted receiving $100 for each bogus license she helped produce.

• Barbara Carter, of Roselle Park, a customer service representative at DMV Plus, a private agency in Springfield, admitted to receiving $500 for each bogus license and MVC identification card she conspired to produce with MVC employees at the Springfield office.

• Rita Peterson, of Newark, a customer service representative at the MVC Springfield office, admitted receiving $100 for each bogus license she helped produce.

• Lori Awan, of North Plainfield, a customer service representative at the MVC Springfield office, admitted receiving $100 for each fraudulent license she helped generate.

• Lauren Joyce, of Union Township, Union County, an MVC customer service representative at the Springfield office, admitted receiving up to $150 for each license she helped to fraudulently produce.

• Juvenal Galarza, a/k/a "Uncle Johnny," of Belleville, an owner of a driving school in Harrison, admitted to having fraudulently transferred between 25 and 99 drivers' licenses to illegal aliens and to receiving cash payments up to $2,000 for each such license; Galarza stated that he made cash payments of $100 to $300 to each MVC employee who assisted in fraudulently generating a particular license.

• Martha Flores, of Warren, admitted to paying $100 to a customer service representative at the MVC Springfield office, for each bogus license she helped produce for Flores.

• Paul Aroniss, of Trenton, an MVC road test examiner for CDLs at the Lawrencville driver testing facility, admitted receiving more than $30,000 in cash payments, i.e., $100 for each road test appointment he scheduled early or that he administered without an appointment.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI in Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser, Jr., for their work in developing the MVC cases. The fovernment is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Howe of the U.S. Attorney's Special Prosecutions Unit in Newark.

-end-

Defense Attorney for Flores - Paul J. Fishman, Esq., N.Y.