Police: Man Pretended He Was His Brother To Avoid $7,500 In Unpaid Tolls

(Alan Rappa)

It’s a classic caper: passing yourself off as your brother or sister to squirm out of trouble when you’re caught doing something you shouldn’t. But New Jersey police say one man didn’t quite pull off the sibling switcheroo when he was stopped for $7,500 in unpaid tolls.

Port Authority police in New Jersey say officers stopped a 44-year-old man after he drove through an EZ-Pass lane on the George Washington Bridge toll without paying, reports NJ.com.

A police spokesman said the man couldn’t provide any documentation for the motorcycle he was riding and the license plates didn’t match the bike. After a search, police said they found baggies of cocaine in his pocket, which he at first said was just candy.

While he was being taken into custody, officers say he gave them a government ID card that had his brother’s name and photo on it. Unaware that it wasn’t him, police issued the man a summons under his brother’s name and let him go.

When Port Authority police figured things out, they issued a warrant for his arrest. He was later arrested by State Police on unrelated traffic warrants and was turned over to Port Authority police Officer to face wrongful impersonation, theft, hindering apprehension and cocaine possession charges.

Man used brother’s name to dodge unpaid tolls, drug charge, police say [NJ.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist