Tuesday, August 2, 2005

DA BROWN: SECURITY GUARD CHARGED IN DMV COMMERCIAL DRIVING EXAM SCAM; ALLEGEDLY STOLE EXAMS AND ANSWERS AND FORGED COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE CERTIFICATES FOR UNQUALIFIED DRIVERS; FACES UP TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a Flushing, Queens security guard has been charged with stealing New York State Department of Motor Vehicle commercial driver’s license examinations along with the correct answers and selling them and also forging license certificates for unqualified drivers.

District Attorney Brown said, “According to the charges, the defendant abused his position of trust as a security guard to steal examinations and license certificates which he forged and sold. The crimes helped put unqualified drivers on the road and posed a threat to public safety.”

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Alberto Duarte, 34, of 144-45 35th Avenue in Flushing, Queens, a security guard. The defendant has been charged with Tampering With Public Records in the First Degree, Forgery in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of Forgery Devices, Criminal Possession of A Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, Offering A False Instrument For Filing In The First Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The District Attorney said that the criminal complaint charges that the defendant on July 20, 2005 admitted that he stole five written commercial driver’s license examinations from the Department of Motor Vehicles while employed as a security guard at the DMV office located at 168-46 91st Avenue in Jamaica, Queens and sold the examinations and the answers to approximately 30 people who then took the exam.

The criminal charges further allege that the defendant admitted that he bought a booklet containing numerous five-hour class certificates and two rubber stamps of a driving school. He then allegedly filled out and stamped the certificates and gave them to people for money. The charges additionally allege that the defendant admitted that he did not actually work for the driving school and that he issued the certificates to individuals who did not take the five-hour driving instruction class.

According to the District Attorney, detectives of the District Attorney’s Detective Squad and investigators from the Metro Fraud Unit Division of Field Investigation of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles on July 21, 2005 executed a court-authorized search warrant drafted by his Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau at the defendant’s Flushing residence and recovered a New York State Department of Motor Vehicles commercial driver’s license written examination and answer sheet, 16 five-hour certificates, which were stamped with the name of Star Auto Driving School, and two stamps with the name Star Auto Driving School.

It is further alleged that the Star Auto Driving School certificates recovered at the defendant’s address were listed with a different address than the school’s actual address.

District Attorney Brown said the defendant was arraigned on July 21, 2005 in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Robert M. Raciti who set bail of $7,500 bond/$3,500 cash and a return date of August 4, 2004.

The investigation was conducted by Senior Investigator Mark Beharry of the Metro Fraud Unit Division of Field Investigation of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles under the supervision of Supervising Investigator Robert Ashford and Detectives Elizabeth Curcio and Edwin Driscoll of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau under the supervision of Detective Sergeant Franco Russo and the overall supervision of Lawrence J. Festa, Chief, and Al D. Velardi, Deputy Chief.

Assistant District Attorney Purvi Patel of the District Attorney's Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gerard A. Brave, Bureau Chief, Marc P. Resnick, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Christina Hanophy, Chief of Airport Investigations and Counter-Terrorism Unit, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.