10 moving companies in Hudson County among 34 hit with fines for operating without licenses

Thursday, October 28, 2010
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Ten Hudson County moving companies are among 34 that have each been fined $2,500 and cited for operating without licenses following an undercover investigation by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, officials announced yesterday.

"Unlicensed movers put consumers and their possessions at risk, since many do not have insurance," said Thomas R. Calcagni, acting director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs. "Other than a cell phone number, consumers may not know anything about an unlicensed mover. Licensure requires the mover to tell us who they are and where they are located."

Investigators posed as a father and daughter seeking to move the daughter's belongings out of storage and into the father's home, and the movers were contacted through postings on Craigslist and other Internet sites.

Nineteen movers were cited when they arrived at a self-storage facility in Belleville during the two-day operation, officials said, adding that an additional 15 were cited based on their advertising.

Those cited include Bayonne movers Wilton Rivera Jr., of Movers 123, and Christopher Escobar, of Jersey Movers; as well as Jersey City movers James Seagraves, Allen Burt of Flash Trucking, and Frank Mandator of Stallion Moving and Storage, officials said.

Others cited are North Bergen movers Five Star Relocation, Jose M. Delgado of Delgado Moving Co., and Moo Goong Hwa Moving Corp.; along with H.R. Services of Secaucus and Lazaro Geada of 123 Movers of West New York, officials said.

The mover can opt to apply for licensure and pay a $1,250 civil penalty to resolve the notice of violation or request a hearing to contest the notice, officials said.