On Feb. 4, as part of the fight against fraud, all the employees at the Department of Motor Vehicles -- DMV, on Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, were dismissed.

Lack of attention

“There was clearly a lack of attention paid to what was going on there. Because of this, we chose to act for the security of our state. Truly, this was a necessary action,” said Diane Legreide, DMV director.

On Jan. 31, 10 employees were dismissed. The housecleaning extended to the supervising manager of the Newark DMV, who was warned ahead of time that he would be forced to leave, Legreide added.

Cleanup operation

The “cleanup” was the result of continuing investigations into the actions of a ring of employees who were helping undocumented immigrants and identity thieves obtain authentic drivers licenses and license plates using false documents.

“There were licenses distributed with inadequate documentation. In addition, individuals who were detained in other law enforcement operations asserted that they had gotten their documents in Newark,” Legreide said.

A succession of errors

On Jan. 6, an individual who, authorities believe, was habitually providing false documents that helped immigrants to acquire New Jersey drivers licenses, was arrested outside the Newark DMV. In addition, a series of articles published in the media listed lapses that had left the organization vulnerable to fraud and corruption. These reports exposed the existence of a lucrative black market in drivers licenses, fueled by a healthy supply of faked or stolen documents. The articles revealed that various employees and visitors to the DMV were involved in the license “scheme.”

Changes

Beyond firing the employees, DMV administration installed new alarms, locks, and a new combination to the safe. On Feb. 3, Caesar Clay, a retired official in the State Police, took charge of the Newark agency. The new director will work temporarily with DMV employees on loan from the East Orange, Elizabeth, and Trenton agencies until permanent replacements can be brought in.

“I’m lucky to have a trained team who can help me keep things running,” Clay said.

Mass dismissals

In the last 6 months, director Diane Legreide has already fired employees at 28 of the state’s 45 DMVs, including in the Lodi, Wallington, and Wayne city offices. Legreide said that she has gotten rid of over 50 employees all told, but that never before had she fired all of a local DMV’s workers at once.

None of the ex-employees of the Newark DMV, however, have been accused of any crime. The authorities are continuing to investigate the illicit operations that occurred at the organization. In the past year, 14 employees at the DMV and 66 others from across the state have been arrested for involvement in various types of frauds.

“I don’t think that any one area of the state is immune from people who are trying to get documentation illegally. Certainly, this will not be the last agency in which we will uncover problems,” Legreide concluded.

Action plan

In January, Gov. Jim McGreevey signed a law appropriating $200 million for the purchase of new computers, security cameras, and other equipment for strengthening security at the state’s DMVs. In addition, an increase of seven dollars in service charges will collect $40 million for the hiring of new workers, including new security agents across the state. According to plans, the DMV will rush to produce digital drivers licenses with security bar coding that, according to the experts, is harder to falsify.