Port Authority Of NY and NJ Police Catch Toll Cheats Who Owe $200,000 On George Washington Bridge

George Washington Bridge Between New York and New Jersey

[From article]

Port Authority cops cracked down on toll cheats at the George Washington Bridge on Tuesday, busting six drivers who owe more than a total $200,000 in unpaid tolls and penalties, police said.
The alleged deadbeat drivers were caught between 4 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. trying to sneak from New Jersey to Manhattan by using such tricks as defaced or missing license plates to avoid paying the toll.
The biggest alleged toll cheat was Jerome Daly, 58, of Teaneck, NJ, who owes $79,423 in unpaid tolls and penalties. That sum includes $16,423 in unpaid tolls and $63,000 in penalties for 1,260 infractions.
“Cheats put additional stress on the transportation network without providing the resources needed to maintain it,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye.
“Today’s crackdown sends a clear message that if you don’t pay your share, you will be held accountable.”
Also busted was Carlos Acosta, 34, of Ridgefield Park, NJ, who drives for Krenz Express LLC, a Garfield trucking firm.
He allegedly owes $3,672 to the Port Authority, representing $2,272 in unpaid tolls and $1,400 more in penalties for 28 past violation. He was driving a tractor trailer with a defaced license plate.

http://nypost.com/2016/06/28/george-washington-toll-cheats-owe-more-than-200k/

George Washington toll cheats owe more than $200K
By Philip Messing
New York Post
June 28, 2016 | 11:01pm

EZ Passes Vulnerable To Hacking, Tracking

[From article]
Universal electronic tolling on the Pike is due by the end of next year. It is seen as a way to eliminate the state’s costly, patronage-laden brigade of toll takers and let Pike drivers whiz through tolls without stopping. But it could force tens of thousands of drivers who now use pocket change to switch to E-ZPasses. But experts say the electronic transponders are susceptible to hacking and already have triggered Big Brother concerns in New York.
“They’re not using encryption, so unbeknownst to most E-ZPass users, the tag can be read from almost anywhere,” cybersecurity expert Gary Miliefsky said, adding that crooks could travel free of charge on your dime. “Hackers could easily read your number from your car and make their own pass using your account number.”
While most drivers stick them to their windshields and forget about them, Miliefsky advises drivers to store their E-ZPasses in the glove compartment or a secure spot to prevent hackers from accessing information.
Meanwhile, in New York, city and state officials have been tracking E-ZPass users all over the city — even in locations that were nowhere near a toll — according to a recent report by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Michael Versekes, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said the state has worked to protect Bay State drivers’ cybersecurity. He noted that state law prohibits drivers’ information from being used for anything beyond the collection of tolls.
[Lots of laws on the books, and lots of them are ignored and violated by government officials. See, e.g., IRS.]
[. . .]
“The real issue is what is the government doing with that information, and are they collecting more surreptitious information that they haven’t told us about,” said Kade Crockford, director of the Technology for Liberty project at the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Crockford said state officials need to be transparent about who the information will be shared with, such as law enforcement or even insurance agencies. “We need to make sure that when people travel down the Turnpike they have a sense of who is getting their information, where their information is being collected, for what purpose and for how long their information stays on file,” she said.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/09/cyber_experts_warn_of_driver_risk_for_e_zpass_hack_track

Cyber experts warn of driver risk for E-ZPass hack, track
Monday, September 14, 2015
By: Hillary Chabot
Boston Herald

MA Turnpike Tolls To Subsidize Harvard University Train Station

"Toll revenue from the Turnpike, meanwhile, will fund the larger realignment project, according to MassDOT officials." New arguments, like this one, are needed to justify continuing collecting tolls many years after they were supposed to end. High ranking members of the Spending Other People's Money campaign run the state of Massachusetts. Many of them have Harvard degrees e.g., the lawyer governor.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2014/10/1/west-station-harvard-mbta/

MBTA To Build Commuter Rail Station on Harvard Property in Allston
By KARL M. ASPELUND

Harvard CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
October 1, 2014

NY Toll Collector Exchanged Counterfeit Cash For Real Money

[From article]
Germain worked 10 shifts between May 23, 2013, and June 13, 2014, and MTA cashiers found $24,270 in counterfeit cash in his deposit bags following those shifts, according to his complaint.

http://nypost.com/2014/06/25/toll-collector-busted-for-swapping-24k-with-counterfeit-bills/

Toll collector busted for swapping $24K with counterfeit bills
By Josh Saul
New York Post
June 25, 2014 | 1:44pm

NJ Toll Collectors Gone Wild

30 Complaints by motorists on the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike about rude toll collectors.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0222101tolls1.html