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For
Immediate Release: |
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For
Further Information Contact: |
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September
19, 2005
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Office
of The Attorney General
-
Peter C. Harvey,
Attorney General
Division
of Criminal Justice
- Vaughn L. McKoy, Director
Office
of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
- Greta Gooden Brown, Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor
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Rachel Sacharow
609-984-1936
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Hudson
County Auto Theft Trafficking Leader Sentenced
to State Prison
Defendant
Ordered to Pay More Than $120,000 Restitution
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TRENTON
- Criminal Justice Director Vaughn L.
McKoy announced that a Hudson County man
has been sentenced to state prison for
being the leader of an auto theft trafficking
network operating out of Jersey City that
was allegedly responsible for stealing
dozens of high-end luxury automobiles.
According
to Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Greta Gooden
Brown, Antonio Rodriguez-Baez, 30, Lembeck
Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, was
ordered by Hudson County Superior Court
Judge Peter J. Vasquez to serve four years
in state prison and pay more than $123,000
in restitution after pleading guilty to
being the leader of an automobile theft
trafficking network. The charge was contained
in an Aug. 19, 2004 indictment filed by
the Division of Criminal Justice - Office
of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.
At his April 22 guilty plea before Judge
Vazquez, Rodriguez-Baez a/k/a “Tony,”
Eladio Reyes, and/or Jaime Rodriguez,
admitted that he was in the business of
buying and selling stolen automobiles.
Specifically, Rodriguez-Baez admitted
that from Aug. 30, 2002 through Jan. 9,
2004, he possessed numerous stolen vehicles,
including a 2000 Mercedes-Benz, a 2001
Mercedes-Benz, a 2004 Cadillac Escalade,
and two 2002 Mercedes-Benz. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice -
Office of Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined
that Rodriguez-Baez also ran an automobile
re-tagging operation, which removed and/or
replaced Vehicle Identification Numbers
(VIN) in order to re-sell or transport
the vehicles out of state. VIN numbers
identify automobiles and major automobile
parts so that the identity and ownership
of the automobile can be traced by law
enforcement.
State Investigators Jarek Pyrzanowski
and Jeffrey Lorman, Civil Investigator
David Whitaker, and Deputy Attorney General
Jacqueline D. Smith coordinated the investigation.
DAG Smith represented the Division of
Criminal Justice - Office of the Insurance
Fraud Prosecutor at the Sept. 16 sentencing.
In addition, Det. Sgt. Stan Chuik, of
the Livingston Police Department, and
the Jersey City Police Department Auto
Squad assisted in the investigation.
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