NYC sheriffs seize 43 vehicles for fake paper license plates in overnight sweep
Deputy sheriffs seized 43 vehicles with bogus paper license plates on Brooklyn streets during an overnight crackdown on Friday, officials said.
The operation began at midnight and ran through 6 a.m. — spanning the 69th, 63rd and 67th Precincts, which include neighborhoods such as Canarsie, Flatbush and Mill Basin.
They used license plate reader technology to identify some of the offending vehicles, according to NYC Sheriff Joseph Fucito.
The sheriffs will probe who really owns the cars, Fucito said.
“Once we discover the true owner, then the true owner will get noticed,” he exclusively told The Post during the operation. “And then the true owner will have to come in and show that their vehicle is properly registered.”
“If it’s not, they have to have the vehicle registered, or the only way they can remove the vehicle is by towing it out,” he said. “They can’t drive on the public street.”
The owners will be held accountable for any outstanding judgments for unpaid speed, camera, and parking violations summonses, as well as any criminal sanctions for their actions, Fucito said.
“Picture this as almost like a cover, and it’s really hiding the true ownership of the vehicles,” Fucito said. “So what we want to do is find out who the true owner of the vehicle is, and then hold them responsible for any of the violations they may have under their vehicle.”
Illegal or counterfeit license plates allow vehicles to circumvent speed cameras in school zones, red light cameras, bus lane cameras and other public safety programs, according to Fucito.
The illicit plates are also used to evade tolls at the city’s bridge and tunnel crossings.
Sheriffs conducted the operation with the technical support and cooperation of the New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, officials said.
