Alleged Cheat Took Free Rides On RFK Br.
A taxi driver has been charged with stealing more than $28,000 from the Metropolitan Transit Authority by crossing the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge without making a toll payment on more than three thousand separate occasions by “piggybacking” on cars directly in front of his cab between 2012 and 2014.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendant as Rodolfo Sanchez, 69, of 28th Street in Long Island City, who was arraigned last Thursday, Apr. 17, before Queens Criminal Court Judge Gia Morris on a criminal complaint charging him with third-degree grand larceny, theft of services and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
Sanchez, who faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, was ordered released on his own recognizance and to return to court on May 22.
“[Sanchez] is accused of crossing the RFK Bridge without paying the toll more than 3,000 times over a two- year period,” Brown said. “He allegedly accomplished the thefts by tailgating the vehicle in front of his cab, thus allowing both vehicles to pass through the toll lane before the barrier came down.”
“This type of behavior is egregiously unfair to the millions of honest, motorists who pay tolls every day, and we will continue efforts to root out toll evaders and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law,” added MTA Bridges and Tunnels Chief of Security Donald Look.
According to the criminal charges, MTA Bridges and Tunnels Director of EZPass Maintenance Joseph Gugliero discovered that a certain EZPass tag-previously reported lost-was regularly crossing the RFK Bridge toll plazas between Aug. 4, 2012, and Apr. 16, 2014, without making a payment.
The EZPass tag had become invalid on Sept. 2, 2011, but was still emitting a signal to the EZPass readers on the bridge.
Bridge surveillance video taken between Jan. 2 and Feb. 10 of this year indicated that the EZPass in question was emitting a signal to the EZPass readers, allegedly showed a yellow medallion taxi cab tailgating the vehicle in front of the cab, thereby permitting both vehicles to cross the toll plaza before the toll barrier came down. This allowed the cab to cross without making a payment.
A MTA Bridge and Tunnels Tag Activity Report for the EZPass determined that between Aug. 4, 2012, and Mar. 18, 2014, the EZPass had crossed the RFK toll plaza 3,017 times without paying the tolls, costing the MTA $28,242.50 in lost revenue.
Further investigation by Bridge and Tunnels investigators allegedly revealed that the license plates of the medallion cabs shown on the video surveillance were registered to two licensed yellow medallion cab services-United Management Group and White and Blue Group Corp.- and that on the dates in question, Sanchez was the driver of the cabs that crossed the bridge toll plazas without making a payment.
It is additionally alleged that Sanchez made statements to MTA Bridge and Tunnel investigators that he had found the EZPass tag that had been reported lost inside a cab he had driven in 2010. In other statements, Sanchez allegedly told investigators that he knew that there was no money on the EZPass, but he used it because he needed the money for his family.
According to the Taxi and Limousine Commission, passengers are responsible for paying all bridge and tunnel tolls.
The investigation was conducted by Investigator Jose Vasquez, of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, under the supervision of Paul Murphy, director of special investigations. The arrest was made by Det. Albert Ramos of the NYPD Queens District Attorney Squad, under the supervision of Sgt. Francis Teran and Lt. Keith Gallagher, and the overall supervision of Capt. John M. Zanfardino.
The case is being prosecuted by District Attorney Brown’s Kew Gardens II Bureau, which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Daniel M. Sullivan, bureau chief, and Mark Osnowitz and Jennifer L. Naiburg, deputy bureau chiefs, and the overall supervision of Senior Executive Assistant District Attorney for Trials James C. Quinn.
It was noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
