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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: Dispatcher charged with theft

By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
   A dispatcher for Propak Distribution in Dayton is facing bribery charges for allegedly demanding money for giving drivers routes to work, according to police.
   Police said that two truckers from Middlesex County came forward last week and complained that a dispatcher at the Stults Lane warehouse had allegedly collected some $18,000 during the last eight years in return for giving out routes to various drivers.
   The drivers claimed that the dispatcher was raising the payment amounts for the routes and would not give routes to drivers that did not pay him. They also told police that they could not afford to pay the higher cost for the routes.
   A dispatcher at the company identifying himself as Martin “George” Serrano, met with Patrolman Dennis Yuhas and Detective Mike Pellino Aug. 17 and allegedly admitted giving routes to drivers for money, with the better routes going to the drivers that paid more.
   After being arrested for theft by deception, a check on the man’s fingerprints identified him as Jorge Martinez-Lopez, according to police.
   Mr. Martinez-Lopez had been convicted for illegally entering the country in 1993 and was subsequently deported, according to U.S. Customs officials.
   Mr. Martinez-Lopez was additionally charged with providing false information to police and lodged at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick on a warrant from U.S. Immigration and Customs, according to police.