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Detectives from the Troop “D” Criminal Investigations Office arrested Lester Morales, 34, after discovering that roughly 100 trucks from his Jersey City company blew through tolls more than 100 times a day, the NJSP said.
Morales, owner of EAB Transport LLC/ Do it Right Trucking, "conducted operations with a delinquent E-Z Pass account," troopers said in a release.
He was ready to board an international flight Thursday when State Police detectives notified Port Authority police, who took Morales into custody.
He was being held without bail in the Middlesex County Jail, charged with theft of services.
"Our detectives will work closely with our partners from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and New Jersey Turnpike Authority to ensure justice is served," said NJSP Supt. Col. Rick Fuentes.
“Repeat offenders are committing serious fraud and pose an additional burden on taxpayers and the motorists who do pay their fair share of the costs to maintain and patrol the state’s highways and bridges,” said Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.
“People who cheat the system shift the burden of paying for the operation and maintenance of the Turnpike and Parkway to the honest toll-paying motorists who use those roads every day,” added Joseph W. Mrozek, the Turnpike Authority's executive director.
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