Secaucus Man Blocked License Plate With Leaf, Owes $22,423 In Unpaid E-Z Pass Tolls: Port Authority

SECAUCUS, NJ — Last week, Port Authority Police stopped three separate New Jersey drivers on the George Washington Bridge because their license plates were blocked. Drivers will sometimes block or obscure their license plate so it cannot be read by E-Z Pass readers.

Not paying E-Z Pass tolls is becoming an increasing problem across America as more and more tolls become cashless.

Each stop revealed that all three drivers had tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid tolls, with fees, said the Port Authority.

One of the drivers is a Secaucus resident. He and a man from Paramus both used very similar-looking leaves to block their license plates, said police. The leaves look natural, as if they were just naturally swept up onto the car and stuck to the license plate, blocking it. They sell these fake leaves online: https://fallplate.com/en/produ...

Justin Alleyne, of Secaucus, was stopped Jan. 14 by Port Authority Police; officers noticed the license plate on his BMW was obstructed by a leaf. Alleyne owes $22,423: $5,773 in unpaid tolls and $16,650 in fees, said Port Authority Police. The Port Authority said he has 333 known unpaid violations. He was issued summonses for:

• Toll evasion
• Unclear plates
• No front plate

Prior to that, on Jan. 10, Daniel Jenkins of Paramus, was stopped for obstructing his license plate with a nearly identical leaf. Jenkins owes $7,872.95, including $2,322.95 in tolls and $5,550 in fees, resulting from 111 known unpaid E-Z Pass toll violations, said the Port Authority. He was issued summonses for:

• Tampering with a public record
• No front plate
• Toll evasion

And on Jan. 16 Twinique Wright, a woman from Saddle Brook, was stopped after police observed her license plate obstructed by the packaging from an air freshener. She owes $16,209.96, $4,459.96 in tolls and $11,750 in fees, stemming from 215 known unpaid violations, said the Port Authority.

She was issued summonses for:

• Obstructed front plate
• Obstructed rear plate
• Failure to produce insurance documents
• Toll evasion

"Minor acts of plate obstruction can conceal extensive toll evasion and lead to significant financial and legal consequences," said the Port Authority Police in a statement.