Even a powerful state senator is no match for the Department of Motor Vehicles.
State Sen. Ruben Diaz has gone through 17 months of DMV hell trying to get the title on a 20-seat passenger bus for the disabled that he wants to donate to a nonprofit in the Dominican Republic.
The hair-pulling drama began in October 2010, when the bus was given to the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization, which Diaz (D-Bronx) heads. But the senator was unable to get the title because a defunct business in Missouri had a lien on the bus.
The frustrated pol even had to visit a local DMV office, get a number, sit on a bench and wait just like everybody else, said his lawyer, Luis Sepulveda. They told him to take a hike because they couldn’t remove the lien.
Exasperated, the senator earlier this month filed a petition in Bronx Supreme Court against the DMV and the secretaries of state for New York and Missouri, asking a judge to remove the lien.
Diaz did not return several messages left at his office. The DMV declined to comment.
A hearing on the matter will be held April 4.