STATEN ISLAND: Now two members of the New York Police Department on Staten Island have been arrested on charges they used bogus license plates.
Sgt. Adrian Dejesus of the 123rd Precinct was arrested while off duty Wednesday, according to the NYPD. He faces two charges for possession of a forged instrument and falsifying business records.
A criminal complaint filed in Richmond County alleges Dejesus made a false report to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles in February that one of his license plates had been stolen. The complaint accuses the sergeant of using a fake paper license plate in March.
On Thursday, as previously reported by Gothamist, Officer Joseph Marino of the 122nd Precinct was also arrested and charged with using fake tags to avoid toll charges. Marino allegedly crossed the Outerbridge Crossing 12 times without paying the toll.
Both have been arraigned and released without bail.
Dejesus has faced discipline before. NYPD records show he was suspended 25 days without pay in 2014 for violating the department’s sick leave policy. He was punished for improperly calling out sick and then taking a trip to Puerto Rico without permission. The disciplinary record also states that DeJesus skipped an official department interview for an internal investigation into the incident.
In 2019, the Civilian Complaint Review Board investigated Dejesus for a complaint of offensive language and discourtesy. The claims were unsubstantiated. He was promoted to sergeant in 2020.
Marino’s police record shows no disciplinary history.
The arrests come just weeks after Mayor Eric Adams announced a crackdown on fake and covered license plates to dodge tolls. Days later, a Gothamist reporter watched as the driver of a van with a surgical mask covering its tags was pulled over, only to be let off without a ticket after the driver said he was an undercover NYPD officer.
By Samantha Max [Gothamist]
