2 Sentenced in NJ Driver’s License Scheme

Two more people were sentenced to jail Thursday in connection with a black market license scheme in New Jersey.

Gustavo Valencia and Ricardo Jalil had each pleaded guilty last month. They were among 40 people arrested in December 2011 in a crackdown on illegal license sales. Several others, some of them former clerks at Motor Vehicle Commission offices, have pleaded guilty and received prison terms.

Valencia, 70, of Morris, received a six-year sentence Thursday and won't be eligible for parole for at least two years. Jalil, 65, of Dover, was sentenced to 300 days.

Valencia admitted setting up the illegal sales of driver's licenses out of the Edison and East Orange Motor Vehicle Agencies. The licenses went to people who didn't possess the required six points of identification.

Jalil admitted conspiring with his wife, Martha, and others to help renew licenses for people who were in the country illegally. Martha Jalil pleaded guilty last month and faces seven years in prison when she's sentenced next month.

Martha Jalil admitted conspiring with a clerk at the Edison motor vehicle office, Lorena Escobar. Escobar pleaded guilty in March 2010 and has cooperated with state investigators. She is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

In addition to the Edison and East Orange offices, authorities said the scheme operated out of motor vehicle offices in Jersey City, Lodi and North Bergen. Customers paid $2,500 to $7,000 for a new license or renewal.

"We must shut down the black market for New Jersey driver's licenses, because we cannot afford to have dangerous drivers, con artists and those who may wish to hurt us obtaining this powerful form of identification through fraud," Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said.

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