Former N.J. Motor Vehicle Commission clerk pleads guilty to conspiring in illegal sale of licenses

June 22, 2012, 7:06 PM
By Christopher Baxter/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON ? A former clerk at the Jersey City Motor Vehicle Agency pleaded guilty to conspiracy Friday for illegally selling driver?s licenses to unauthorized applicants, state authorities said.

Sonia Noel, 48, of Union City, admitted that on more than one occasion in 2008, she entered false information into a state database for two people who did not have the identification necessary to get a license, the state Attorney General?s Office said in a news release.

Under a plea agreement, state authorities will recommend Noel be sentenced to four years in prison. She must pay $3,000 in restitution and will be barred from public employment in New Jersey. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 7.

In May, Noel?s daughter, Melody Noel, 27, of Union City, who was also a clerk in Jersey City, pleaded guilty to tampering with public records or information, the office said.

She admitted helping process one of the license applications sold by her mother. She was sentenced Friday to two years probation, community service and a $1,000 fine, the office said. She will also be barred from future public employment in New Jersey.

Last month Hernan Chica, 53, of Hackensack, one of the customers who illegally purchased a license from Sonia Noel, pleaded guilty to computer criminal activity, the office said. Chica was sentenced Friday to two years probation, community service and a $750 fine, the office said.

Chica and the Noels were among 40 named in indictments last year in connection with alleged conspiracies at motor vehicle agencies in East Orange, Edison, North Bergen and Lodi motor vehicle agencies.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012 ... motor_vehicle_commis.html

3 at MVC arrested in license sales

Jersey Journal
February 28, 2009

Three Motor Vehicle Commission workers in Hudson County, including a Union City woman and her daughter, are charged with selling driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, the state Attorney General's Office said Thursday.

State Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni said the three MVC clerks - two in Jersey City and one in North Bergen - were arrested Wednesday afternoon. The three were caught, authorities, said, when a detective posed as an undocumented immigrant and was allowed to obtain a driver's license.

Sonia Noel, 45, of Union City, a clerk at the Jersey City Motor Vehicle Commission office, is charged with two counts of official misconduct, two counts of accepting or receiving a benefit by a public servant for official behavior, and two counts of tampering with public records.

Her daughter, Melody Noel, 24, also a clerk at the Jersey City MVC office, is charged with one count of official misconduct and one count of tampering with public records.

Christian Toledo, 30, of North Bergen, a clerk at the North Bergen MVC office, is charged with one count of official misconduct, one count of accepting or receiving a benefit by a public servant for official behavior, and one count of tampering with public records.

"The sale of official documents to unauthorized persons is a serious crime with the potential to compromise public safety and security," Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a statement. "False identifications can readily be used to commit other crimes."

The three allegedly issued driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants and an undercover detective posing as an undocumented immigrant.

The buyers paid several thousand dollars for each license and were not required to provide the MVC with the required identification documents to demonstrate their legal authority to obtain a license, officials said.

Other individuals acted as brokers, arranging for the purchases and sharing the money, officials said.

RON ZEITLINGER