By Nick Norlen, Staff Writer
Last week’s two arrests by Princeton Borough police of individuals in possession of fraudulent foreign driver’s licenses — on two separate occasions — are just a few examples of a violation they see almost constantly, police said Wednesday.
On Jan. 31, 18-year-old Princeton resident Jose Gonzalez was arrested and charged with exhibiting a false government document — a fictitious Mexican driver’s license — just two days after 47-year-old Trenton resident Olivio Alvarado-Ruiz was issued the same charge for displaying a fake Guatemalan license during a motor-vehicle stop in the borough.
Princeton Borough Police Lt. David Dudeck said the borough’s patrol officers see such forged documents all the time.
”It’s very, very, very common,” he said. “In fact, almost constant.”
Unlike the counterfeit domestic drivers’ licenses confiscated just as often from underage teens looking to buy alcohol, Lt. Dudeck said, the prevalence of attempts at passing off bogus foreign licenses as legitimate may stem from the fact that driving with a foreign license can be legal if done with the proper documentation.
Persons planning on visiting the United States who want to drive while in the country must apply in their home country for an international driver’s license, or IDL, which would be printed in English, Lt. Dudeck said.
However, they must also carry their original license, he said.
A consumer alert about fraudulent international licenses posted at the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site warns that fake IDLs are often offered on Web sites, in spam e-mails, and are sold “on the street” and “through storefront operations.”
The warning also states that fake cards are often sold with claims that the documents will authorize individuals to drive legally in the U.S. “even if they don’t have state-issued licenses or if their state-issued licenses have been suspended or revoked,” and that such documents can be used to avoid points and fines and can be used as legal photo IDs.
Lt. Dudeck said that New Jersey even amended its statutes to change such a violation from a disorderly persons offense to a crime, depending on the case.
Individuals charged with the violation have reported paying between $50 and $500 for the counterfeit licenses, which are often produced and sold in larger cities like New Brunswick or Trenton, he said.
”I think they come from all over,” he said. “We deal with different ones in our town all the time.”
And others even come from the countries where they purport to be official, he said.
Either way, he said, officers can almost always spot what’s phony.
”Some are made better than others,” Lt. Dudeck said. “Some — they reek of being fake.”
