Trucker uses fishing line to avoid bridge tolls

Perhaps taking inspiration from the Aston Martin DB5 that James Bond drove in Goldfinger, a New York Area trucker was discovered using a very Q-branch style modification to his truck in an attempt to avoid paying tolls. On the evening of March 9, a white 2006 Freightliner approached the toll booths on the George Washington Bridge from the Fort Lee, New Jersey, side. Port Authority police officer George Kwiecinski watched the truck, which had no front license plate, blow through the E-ZPass lane without paying the toll. Kwiecinski pulled over the truck and the Port Authority Police discovered a quick and dirty modification to the truck that would have made Desmond Llewelyn proud.

"The vehicle's front plate was rigged on a hinge with monofilament fishing line that ran into the cab and ended on the dash where the suspect could control it to conceal the plate, and then restore the plate into view after exiting the toll and security cameras," PAPD spokesperson Joe Pentangelo told NJ.com. A video shot by PAPD officers shows that with the fishing line modification, the driver could pull the plate up behind the truck's bumper to hide it from view.

Had it worked, the trick would have saved driver Javier Marte $126 dollars in tolls. Now Marte is looking at much more than that in fines and legal fees. Marte was charged with tampering with public records, theft of services, and possession/manufacture of burglar's tools. The possession/manufacture charge was brought against him because, according to Pentangelo, Marte allegedly "used the fishing line to facilitate the crime."


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