New Jersey man arrested for allegedly racking up more than $1M in unpaid tolls

WOODBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, N.J., Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The New Jersey State Police says it has arrested a 34-year-old man for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in tolls and administrative fees over 13 months.

Lester Morales, of Little Ferry, N.J., was taken into custody after an investigation determined the owner of EAB Transport LLC/Do it Right Trucking allegedly sent approximately 100 trucks through tolls more than 100 times per day using a delinquent E-Z Pass account.

Morales was picked up at Newark Airport Thursday as he was preparing to board a flight to Aruba. He was charged with theft of services and is lodged at the Middlesex County Jail without bail.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office is handling the case.

"Lester Morales was responsible for operating his company, Do it Right Trucking, but unfortunately he was doing it wrong by racking up more than $1 million in unpaid tolls and administrative fees," Colonel Rick Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in a statement. "Our detectives will work closely with our partners from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and New Jersey Turnpike Authority to ensure justice is served."

"Repeat offenders are committing serious fraud and pose an additional burden on taxpayers and the motorists who do pay their fair share of the costs to maintain and patrol the state's highways and bridges," added Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

"People who cheat the system shift the burden of paying for the operation and maintenance of the Turnpike and Parkway to the honest toll-paying motorists who use those roads every day," remarked Joseph W. Mrozek, executive director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. "I applaud the efforts of the State Police, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, and the Turnpike Authority staff to bring the owner of this company to justice."