Port Authority cops arrested a New Jersey business owner for allegedly racking up $308,600 in unpaid E-ZPass charges.
Jose Ramirez, owner of Mambo Transportation, a trucking company based in Jersey City, was nabbed on a warrant when he came to pick up his impounded truck at the Lincoln Tunnel offices on Wednesday.
Ramirez’s 2002 International truck cab was initially impounded in January when cops pulled it over because the license plate was blocked by a rear taillight.
Ramirez’s employee was driving the truck at the time, but when officers realized how much money the owner owed, they towed the vehicle and sent the driver on his way.
Police then sought a warrant for Ramirez’s arrest. The warrant was issued last month, and cops grabbed the business owner, 50, when he came back to get the truck, agency spokesman Joe Pentangelo said.
It’s unclear whether Ramirez purposely obscured his license plate in order to evade tolls, according to Pentangelo.
Ramirez was charged with theft of service and released pending a hearing. He did not return calls for comment.
He owed a total of $308,600 in tolls and fees for 3,250 violations, Pentangelo said, adding that his truck is still in impound.
New technology the state put in place on some of New York City’s bridges and tunnels this year has helped cops bust more toll scofflaws.
The E-ZPass scanners will now immediately tell cops if the car owes back tolls so that officers can nab the driver before they reach the other side.
Many of those busted this year have been avoiding tolls for years and are shocked when they’re finally caught.
There are some drivers who owe even more than Ramirez’s alleged bill.
In January, Port Authority cops busted a 51-year-old man who owed $644,804.
A commercial trucking company was also found that month to owe more than $1 million, said Pentangelo.
And last month, cops busted the assistant principal of the prestigious Manhattan charter school Harlem Children’s Zone when they realized she owed more than $14,000 in back tolls and fines